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Training in summer can be hard: better to choose shady climbs for short, intense sessions, forgetting about speed.
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If you want to train in a different, challenging way (perhaps because you can’t take it anymore on the flat), the uphill training solution can give you a leg up.
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Below we propose a classic workout, a pyramid workout, and a short but no less challenging workout.
Insummer, the heat and the sun beating down on your head as its rays heat your skin until it burns can test your willpower.
Going out for a run in certain temperatures can turn into absolute hell.
This does not mean you should give up training.
It just means that you need to revise your training plan.
Or better yet, change the spot of your workouts, for example by locating a hill, even better if it is shady, and devote yourself to intervals uphill.
Doing so will give your body a new stimulus with an average workout of short duration but still super effective.
These are high-intensity sessions that work on both strength and tempo changes.
One thing you won’t have to worry about: speed.
When you do these workouts you need to forget about the pace at which you used to run.
This is a wrong comparison that would make no sense to make.
The truth is that running uphill will slow you down just as particularly hot days will.
This is completely normal and should in no way be a problem for you at this time.
The classic
You can indulge on any type of climb, at any incline and running at any speed.
This workout for example is a classic: you will have to identify a climb with a modest incline, challenging but on which you can sustain a steady pace for at least 30 seconds.
Set up the workout like this:
- Warm up with 10 minutes of easy pace running;
- sprint uphill for 20 to 30 seconds at a medium to high intensity without reaching your maximum effort level;
- walk or jog lightly for 1/2′ to allow you to rest and recover as you return to the foot of the climb;
- repeat sprinting+walking/jogging for a total of 6 to 8 times;
- Do 10′ of easy pace running to defatigate.
The pyramidal
We have discussed it extensively in this article where you can learn more about the origins, benefits and all the variations of this type of training.
Here we adapt and build on it by incorporating uphill sprint phases within it.
Try it this way:
- Warm up with 10 minutes of easy pace running;
- sprint uphill for 15 seconds, then recover by walking or jogging;
- sprints uphill again but this time for 30 seconds, then recovers;
- Now sprint uphill for 45 seconds before recovering;
- the last uphill sprint will have to last 60 seconds in order to recover afterwards.
But that’s not the end of it.
Now you’ll have to reverse the order: so the sprint phases will start with 60″ and then decrease to 45″, 30″ and 15″ seconds, each interspersed with the recovery phase.
Finish with 10 minutes of easy pace running to defatigate.
The short (but intense!)
If, on the other hand, you really don’t want to spare yourself, look for a climb with a challenging incline: the steeper the better, as long as you can run on it for a short distance.
After that, set up your workout like this:
- Warm up with 10 minutes of easy pace running followed by a few strides to wake up the legs a bit and get them ready for the next phase;
- Sprint uphill for 10-15 seconds at maximum effort;
- Recover 1/2′ by walking or jogging;
- Repeat the sprint+recovery phase 8-10 times;
- Do 10′ of easy pace running to defatigate.
(Via Running magazine)