How to optimize your hill training routine while without moving to the mountains.
The hardest obstacles in an Obstacle Course Race (OCR) are the terrain and hills.
Yes, carries are hard. Crawling under barbed wire is exhausting. And failing a monkey bar rig is devastating.
But, a mountain with technical uphills and sharp downhills dominate most racer.
There are a lot of ways to train for OCR. But, the best mountain runner gets the best results. So, you need to be better at hill running to see the best results.
The struggle of many athletes is a lack of mountain access. But, you CAN improve your hill training with workouts in the gym.
Three routines to improve your hill training at the gym.
Compound Movement for Muscle activation
A climb requires your muscle fibers to be active, engaged and trained for endurance. The best way to access your muscle fibers is through a significant stimulus like squats or a steep climb.
Athletes who run on flat surfaces do not tax the body enough to activate the requisite muscle. So, if you do not activate your muscle fiber for endurance training, you will ride the struggle bus on race day.
A compound movement, like the box step up, will activate more muscle fibers. After a heavy set of box step ups, you can train your body for endurance with a sustained aerobic effort.
Try the following workout:
45-minute AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible)
2 minutes step ups with moderate weight
8 minute of aerobic work
Lactate Introduction and Endurance
Your energy systems struggle to provide you with fuel up during a steep climb. An intense effort will signal your body to produce lactate. Lactate is a quick dose of fuel to keep you going. But, a chemical reaction to lactate in your blood will that burning as a signal to slow down. You know the feeling!
But, you can build resistance and tolerance to lactate byproduct when trained. It sucks to train for lactic tolerance, but the juice is worth the squeeze.
Dynamic movements like “plyometrics” and sprints are the best way to create lactate. Use a blend of dynamic movement and endurance training to improve lactic tolerance.
Lactic Tolerance Workout:
5 Rounds
20-30 Jumping Lunges
800 m run @ tempo pace
no rest between sets
Treadmill Incline Repeats
The obvious way to train for incline is on a treadmill. Set that beast on the highest level and run.
But, get the most from your treadmill sessions with thoughtful progression and intervals.
Treadmill climb workout:
4 Rounds
3 min climb @ Easy run
1 min climb @ “hard interval.”
3 min Flat @ “tempo.”
Living in the plains or a city should not limit your performance on race day. Train smart and be creative when it comes to hills and you will see results.
