almostaugust

I just finished doing some hill sprints. They are really buggering and great if you are looking to increase your sprinting speed and leg power.
My advice is to do a sets of 6 a couple of times a week. It is advised to do them on an incline of about 10 degrees. The only one i could find today was about 35 degrees.
The trick is, like any sprint training, is to start of at a easy pace and increase per repitition. Once you finish a sprint walk down the hill.

Remember, if its your first time take it easy.

limey

Hill sprints are the best. I used to do them weekly for soccer but I would encourage a higher incline than 10 degrees. I think that if 10 degrees is too much then you should probably be working on increasing your speed over flat ground. However, I'm glad that someone has started a thread like this. It shows that there are proven methods for gaining fitness without blowing the bank.

tarvuz

My advice as a former competitive collegiate runner is not to overdo hill sprints. Trust me, this has cut down many an eager runner.

The effort expended by just keeping good form and using muscles going uphill at a fast but not murderous pace will do the trick.

Please be careful and limit yourself to once a week - 10 days.

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jmad

I love running up hills, but not at a sprint pace. On my longer runs during the week(5 or 7 miles) I will go out of my way to charge a hill. The form is definately the hardest part, as I have a tendency to lean forward quite a bit. Otherwise, they're a great way to get more out of your workout

sailor

Hill repeats, just like any interval or sprint workout, has its place in a training regimen--but cannot become the training regimen. Your body needs a break. I dont run, but am big into cycling. My typical week week will consist of a decently hard day with some sprint intervals, followed by a recovery ride day, followed by another decently hard day with some hill repeats. Ill then take a day off the bike, with the next day a nasty hammer ride with the local almost-pros. The next day is a recovery ride to loosen up the legs, then a day off the bike. Lather, rinse, repeat. Gives me time to recover, but also lets me work.

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