I recently posted a blog called Conquer Your Everest which discussed the importance of trail/hill training in preparation for a race. A couple emails filtered through about having no access to hills and looking for an alternative. So in response, read on 🙂
While having access to hills obviously is an advantage, its not essential. If you live flat low lying area, like a city or town, well all is not lost. Let me break this down for you.
You need to find an ascent, it doesn’t need to be a 45 degree incline, just enough to build up a puff of breath, and do 3 x 10 minutes working up and down, stopping to stretch out after each 10 minute spell. If you can do that regularly, increasing the repetition and durations as your fitness levels increase, you will be flying. Another great advantage of doing this is….drum roll….
Repetition conditions the mindset.
It can be easy to do a big loop of a run and get back to the comforts of your warm car, pat yourself on the back and lead yourself into a small sense of fitness security. Picture this, you cover the same distance but shorten your hill run, each time coming back to your original starting point, and then to return back up that hill, it takes a tougher mental resolve to do that same distance. You ask any ultra runner and they will agree, the key to mental toughness and discipline is repetition. Check out this video from Tim Van Orden – running champion from our Tips and Tricks section.
If you find this informative and helpful, and think it maybe of use to someone you know, please feel free to share.
Make sure to like and share our facebook page too.
We are also up on Instagram too
Leave A Comment