Benefits of Running Uphill and Downhill

Bring your running training program to a new level by adapting running hill training. Most runners dread hill running because it looks hard to tackle but uphill running, even downhill running, provides a lot of benefits to runners. Check out below the benefits that you can gain from hill running.

Builds strength

Hill training works your upper leg muscles more than running on flat ground. It tones your calves, quads, hamstrings and glutes. It also targets your hip flexors and Achilles tendons.  Strengthening these muscles will provide a lot benefits as you improve your race times.

Enhances speed

Another benefit of uphill running training is that the muscles you use to overcome hills are the same ones you use for sprinting. As you build strength in uphill running, you also get faster. In other words, running the incline improves your speed by building strength and power and you run faster on flat ground.

Develops stamina

Running hill training improves cardiovascular fitness and develops maximum speed and strength that enables you to use less oxygen to run at longer distances.

Burns more calories

Because you exert more work on inclines, hill repeats running can burn more calories than running on flat ground.

Strengthens your upper body

Hill running not only targets your leg muscles but also your upper body. In uphill running, you pump your arms harder than you do on flat ground. In this way, you improve your upper body strength.

Increases stride length and frequency

Your stride length and frequency is as beneficial as your speed and stamina during your uphill and downhill running training. You improve your co-ordination, control and stabilization. In the duration of your hill running program, you develop power and muscle elasticity, increasing your stride length and improving your stride frequency.

Builds confidence

Regular running hill training improves your strength and speed that can boost up your confidence during races especially when the course is flat.

These are just a few of the benefits of uphill and downhill running. The more you run hills, the easier it is to deal with inclines when you encounter them in a race course.

What’s better is that you’ll also have more options for your runs. As you go along, running wouldn’t be that boring anymore!

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