As I mentioned in my prior post, I am a big fan of the book Run Faster by Brad Hudson and Matt Fitzgerald.  One of the most interesting parts of the book is the discussion on “hill sprints” as way to reduce running injuries.

Don’t Hills Cause Injuries?

This was my first reaction when I read Coach Hudson’s suggestion that running hills prevents injuries – and I still think I’m right.  If a runner trains too much on long, hilly terrain he or she increases the chances of developing injuries, including achilles tendonitis.

However, by using the phrase hill sprints, Hudson is referring to very short and very quick bursts of hill running of about 8-10 seconds.  The idea is that these workouts enable runners to make tremendous gains in strength and muscle power that will help prevent overuse injuries.

The hill sprint workouts start in the initial “introductory” period of a training plan and gradually phase out as the runner gains the necessary strength to handle the more challenging, race specific workouts later in the plan.

Building Functional Strength

If you have ever been to a physical therapist for a running injury, he or she most likely prescribed certain strength exercises to build areas where you are weak. For example, you may be told to perform “clam shell” exercises for weak hips, or squats for weak quads.

However, it can take a long time for these exercises to make a noticeable improvement in your running because muscles do not work in isolation – the activity of running is only possible through the coordinated movement of many different muscles in the body (hips, glutes, hamstrings, calves, quads and so many others).

The idea for hill sprints is to build stability muscles through all of the coordinated movements of running.  In this way, hill sprints are a form of “functional” strength training in which the specific movement is trained rather than just the individual muscles involved in the movement. This could be a way to build the strength of running muscles that need the most improvement.

How to Get Started with Hill Sprints

As stated in Run Faster, a runner can start doing hill sprints at the beginning of the training plan.  Initially, the sprints should be on a hill of 6% to 8% grade (take a look at veloroutes.org to determine the grade of a hill) and should only last for about eight seconds. On two days of the first week of your training plan, run one hill sprint after a run.

Gradually increase the number of hill sprints until you are running 6-8 after a run.  After about four to six weeks, you will have probably developed enough strength to shift from the hill sprints to strides after your runs.

I know that the hill sprints for injury prevention idea seems a bit crazy at first, but it is a really great way to quickly strengthen your foundational running muscles and reduce the chance of injury.

The post Always Injured? Try Running Hill Sprints appeared first on The Runner's Resource.

Additionally, many runners who do go to the gym allow their competitive side to get the best of them and lift more weight than they should, which can lead to injury. The good news is that there is a now much better way for runners to gain the specific kind of muscle strength that will prevent injuries and improve performance – this method is called Functional Strength Training.

What is Functional Strength Training?

Functional Strength Training is a new and innovative idea that focuses on viewing the human body’s muscles as one unit and strengthening them cohesively. This makes sense because the human body uses many different muscles together when running – quads, hamstrings, hips, etc. To better target running muscles, many of the exercises are done from a standing position and emphasize rotational and diagonal motions – opposite shoulder to opposite hip.

The goal of functional training is to develop the core and stability muscles much better than traditional “heavy lifting” techniques. Not only does it make runners stronger, but it makes them much more efficient.

How Does Functional Strength Training Differ from Other Weight Training?

The key concept of functional strength training is that muscles are best strengthened for use in the world by working them together cohesively. For example, in order to lift a leg during a run, the body relies on coordinated movements between numerous muscles, including the hips, back, quadriceps and hamstring muscles.

Conversely, many traditional weight and machine based training isolates individual muscle groups.  For example, leg extension machines do a good job of strengthening the quadriceps or hamstrings (depending on how you use the machine), but it is not going to do a lot for back or hip muscles.

It is of course important to note that tradition weight or machine training does have positives.  One of the most important benefits is the ability to isolate and strengthen a specific muscle that may have become weak and underused.  Muscle imbalances are a huge problem for many runners so isolated strength training of a specific muscle group can really cut down on the risk of injury.

Sample Functional Strength Training Exercises

Good exercises for runners can be as simple as controlled lunges and squats.  YouTube also has a lot of good sample exercises to try.  One of the best functional strength training videos that I have seen is the one below. In the video, the trainer provides an example of 10 of the best exercises for runners.

If you want to try any of these examples, please note that the trainer goes really fast and has an impressive range of movement.  Therefore, it may be smart to make these movements more slowly and only try one or two exercises to start out.  Additionally, please immediately stop any movement if you feel any pain.  The purpose of functional strength training is to cut down on injuries, not cause them or make them worse.

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