Optimal Life Fitness, for health, fitness and a new lifestyle outdoors.

Regardless of your sport, physique or fitness ambition running/ sprinting hills (doesn't matter too much the type) are hugely beneficial for you getting fitter- faster!

Percy Cerrutty (a mad professor type) who trained Herb Elliot to 1mile and 1500m world records and gold medals was an advocate and even moved his home and where he trained his athletes to where hills were prolific. I was introduced to them by Paul Watson (former NRL club and Australian National Team strength

Kurnell Sand Hills, Sydney

and conditioning coach) who uses them as a weekly staple with all of his athletes. The Kurnell Sand Dunes are even given names: Main face, Mexican wave, K2, Fish bowl, Road to nowhere and other descriptive and often humerous names. Seb Coe's father thought hills were so beneficial he apparently used to get Seb to run the hills and he would meet him in a car at the top and drive him back down just so he could run up more!

Everybody from tennis players to marathon players, football and rugby players to office workers, and from dancers to boxers and wrestlers can and will benefit from running hills. Some of the reasons as to why running hills is so beneficial:

• increases anaerobic/ aerobic power


• improves running posture and technique


• improves strength and strength endurance


• improves ability to deal with lactic acid


• hugely metabolic= Fat burning!

As well as the benefits listed above, I'm a big fan as they achieve alot in a very little amount of time. For example I aim to get a hill session in at least once per week. Depending on the incline of the hill and the length I'll aim for between 5-10 sprints up the hills with walk or jog/bounce back recoveries. The hills can generally take between 30seconds and a minute. This whole session including a dyanmic warm up and a cool down to get rid of some of the lactic build up takes 20-25minutes tops. Talk about efficiencey!

Primrose Hill, London

Primrose Hill between 30-40 seconds of lung busting, heart pounding sprinting to the top! Give six a go and tell me how you feel. The views from the top and the satisfaction of getting there on the last one give you a real Rocky moment.

So go on you've heard about the benefits, go find a hill and sprint up it a couple of times.

London Hills: Primrose Hill, Parliament Hill, Greenwich, Muswell Hill, Little hill a the back of Finsbury Park track.

If you know of any other hills let us know!

Enjoy

BJ Rule

Labels: conditioning, fitness, hill sprints, intervals