hill training

[alexander19]

can improve running twice a day?. And do strider hills as training is beneficial? thank

[cesar]

about the first question, if you are increasing your mileage gradually and keep that mileage consistently high, the answer is yes, if you only do it for a short time and in an iregular way, so the answer is no, you gotta keep that mileage high for several weeks to see if it applies to you.

for answer numbert 2, the answer is absolutely yes, only think that strides are benefitial in a flat terrain, just imagine what they can do to you doing them in a hilly terrain, plus i have read some training of the elites and rodgers rop incorpores hilly strides of 50-80m on hills. it does improve your economy, your form, your vo2 max, leg strength, etc. hope this helps.

cesar

[Ed]

I was under the impression that strides were intended for flat to slightly downhill on a soft surface.  I also thought that strides were about turnover rate versus strength and VO²Max.

Hill training is about strength and interval training about VO²Max.

Or am I incorrect?

[Ryan]

While they can't completely replace strides, short hill repeats are at least a great complement to strides, especially in the early season. They are good turnover work, great strength work, and great form work (another stated benefit of strides).

I'm not sure how much short hill repeats would do for VO2max but, seeing as this is affected by many variables, I suppose it wouldn't be unheard of for them to help to some extent.

[denton]

...hills can be done al yr round...at least in my world...

...like any workout u can make them suit your objective. egs long uphill (touhg to find a 30min uphill, but it's possible) as a 'tempo',  3-6min repeats as vo2 max, shorter hills (egs 30-60 sec) to replace anaerobic work and 10-15 sec to replace strides....

.....i have persoanlly done them all and i find that they not entirely rpelace hard track/road work on flats, but i also find that there other benefits (see below comments)

I personally find that hills help my mechanics and they don't tear me down.

 I had this conversation with jonathan wyatt (wld mtn running champ and sub 28min guy) as he uses his hill racing for marathon training. He'll do an uphill race on the weekend and finds that he is ready to go the next day (makes sense as there is no eccentric motion to tear apart your muscles)

[Ryan]

Denton, fully agree that you can do pretty much any workout you want on a hill if you have the right hill. I've done all kinds of workouts on hills. As you stated, they don't replace workouts on the flat but, in my opinion, workouts on the flat don't replace hills either.

Interesting comments from Mr. Wyatt. I've actually been thinking of doing some hill repeats on the weekend with the hope that they wouldn't tear me down as much as some other workouts, recalling how I would bounce back from some very intense hill workouts in the past.