10 Of The Best Hill Workouts For Runners

I think many runners can relate to me when I say I have a love/hate relationship with hill workouts.

This is most certainly because hill sprints and longer hill training sessions are challenging and require a lot of mental and physical grit to complete while at the same time being an incredibly beneficial and efficient way to improve speed and power.

Running hills is a fantastic way to supercharge your cardiovascular system and work those legs as if you were strength training in the gym. 

Another great perk of hill workouts is that there are a wide variety of sessions you can add to your training, depending on your current running objective and training cycle. Whether it be speed, strength, power, or endurance, there’s a hill workout with your name on it. 

In this guide, we will discuss the benefits of hills for runners and give you eight great sessions to choose from for your next cycle of hill workouts.

What Are The Benefits Of Hill Training For Runners?

If running hills isn’t on your list of favorite workouts, mentioning its excellent benefits will hopefully motivate you to add some into your training program. 

Hill intervals: 

• Develop an explosive and powerful running stride by strengthening leg muscles involved in uphill running, such as your calves, hamstrings, hip flexors, quads, and glutes.
  There is a very high muscle fiber activation percentage¹Cai, Z.-Y., Hsu, C.-C., Su, C.-P., Lin, C.-F., Lin, Y.-A., Lin, C.-L., & Hsu, M.-C. (2010). Comparison of lower limb muscle activation during downhill, level and uphill running. Isokinetics and Exercise Science, 18(3), 163–168. https://doi.org/10.3233/ies-2010-0379 while climbing hills, making it a two-for-one with cardiovascular and strength training.
• Improve your running mechanics by using a short, quick stride and good upright posture. This will, in turn, help increase your running efficiency and running economy.
• Increase your speed. Short, explosive hill workouts have similar benefits to short speed workouts on a track. They help improve your top speed while assisting in injury prevention, as you will be running uphill instead of flat running, which means there is less impact.
• Improve your endurance. Longer hill sessions will increase your aerobic capacity and train you to tolerate running uphill for extended periods.
• Benefit muscle growth and bone formation.²Kim, J.-S., Lee, Y.-H., & Yi, H.-K. (2016). Gradual downhill running improves age-related skeletal muscle and bone weakness: implication of autophagy and bone morphogenetic proteins. Experimental Physiology, 101(12), 1528–1540. https://doi.org/10.1113/ep085852
• Help prepare you for a hilly race. Whether you are trail running or running a road race with a lot of rolling hills, these workouts will help train you to maintain your goal race pace in tricky terrain.

Tips For Performing Successful Hill Workouts

When performing the following hill running workouts, you will first need to find a hill.

Now, depending on where you live or train, you may or may not have easy access to hills. If this is the case, most treadmills have an incline range of 0-15 degrees; some specialty treadmills even reach 30 degrees which is a very steep hill!  

When using a treadmill for your hill workouts, you have complete control over the incline, which can be a great advantage.

Also, you won’t have the impact of constantly pounding down a downhill outside after each repeat. Instead, you can opt to recover by walking or doing some easy running on a flat surface. 

What Is The Best Gradient For Hill Workouts?

When looking for a hill or incline for your hill running workouts, choose an incline anywhere from 5 to 15 degrees, depending on the length of the uphill interval, your current fitness levels, and, ultimately, what you have available.

The shorter the interval, the steeper the hill can be.

The most important thing to consider is that the incline is challenging but doable; you want to avoid being forced to take walk breaks during a running interval because the gradient is too steep. 

The idea with these hill workouts is to advance at the effort level instructed in each interval while thoroughly challenging yourself with a “runnable” incline. 

Here are my top tips as a running coach and hill runner myself to ensure your hill speed work sessions are successful:

• Use a powerful stride with a strong knee and arm drive that propels you up the hill.
• Focus on maintaining an upright posture with a slight lean toward the hill.
• Use a quick foot turnover and propel yourself from the balls of your feet.
• To avoid burnout, run the first repeat of the series with caution. Then, after you have a feel for the interval length, gauge if you need to push harder or pull back during the following intervals to complete all of the hill reps with the same energy as the first. Each repeat should result in a similar distance covered. 
• Take note of where on the hill you end up after the first interval to ensure the second hill and each following interval are similar in distance. If you begin to slow in the later repetitions, it’s better to start your cool down than burn yourself out over trying to push through.
• Do not pound on the way down during the recovery intervals of your hill workout. Land softly to avoid intensifying the impact forces of downhill running. 

What Are The Best Hill Workouts For Runners?

#1: Short Uphill Sprints

This workout will improve your speed, power, and running form. Since these are short hill intervals, a sprint or all-out effort can be given as long as you can perform all repetitions similarly. 

1. Warm up with a 15-20 minute jog and dynamic stretching exercises. 
2. Run 10-15 seconds at a hard effort uphill.
3. Walk back down to the starting point.
4. Rest for 1 minute at the starting point.
5. Repeat between 6-12 times, depending on your fitness level.
6. Cool down with a 5-minute easy jog.

#2: Short Uphill Bursts 

These uphill intervals increase in time significantly. Therefore, the effort is still hard, but it can not be an all-out sprint, as 30-45 seconds can be an eternity when running uphill. 

1. Warm up with a 15-20 minute jog and dynamic stretching exercises. 
2. Run 30-45 seconds at a hard effort uphill.
3. Walk back down to the starting point.
4. Rest 1-1:30 minutes at the starting point.
5. Repeat between 5-10 times, depending on your fitness level.
6. Cool down with a 5-minute easy jog.

#3: Long Hill Repeats 

With this hill workout, we are still running at a hard effort. Still, since the time has increased in these intervals yet again, you will have to find where your max effort is for this interval time to stay consistent throughout. 

You’ll also see no rest at the end of each interval. This is because the uphill running interval is longer, and in turn, the recovery jog back down is longer, too. Therefore, you will have more time to recover in between without stopping completely. 

However, if you are more of a beginner and need a full recovery when you reach your starting point, give yourself time to catch your breath before you begin the next repeat.

1. Warm up with a 10-15 minute jog and dynamic stretching exercises. 
2. Run 60-90 seconds at a hard effort uphill.
3. Jog back down to the starting point.
4. Repeat between 4-10 times, depending on your fitness level.
5. Cool down with a 5-minute easy jog.

#4: Uphill Endurance Intervals 

This workout is great for distance runners.

If you have access to a much longer hill, a treadmill, or one of your hilly running routes, you can really work on your uphill running endurance with this hill workout. 

1. Warm up with a 5-minute light jog and dynamic stretching exercises. 
2. Run uphill for 3-10 minutes at a moderate to hard intensity (the interval length will depend on your current fitness level and uphill running capacity).
3. Recover, still walking uphill, for 2-3 minutes.
4. Repeat intervals for a duration of 30 minutes.
5. Return to your starting point as a cool down.

Note: If you run straight up one hill for this workout, the cooldown will be long, as you will need to jog back down to your starting point, so consider that when planning your route. 

This is why running it on a hilly route or treadmill could be much more advantageous to avoid the long downhill after you complete your intervals. 

#5: Power Hike Intervals 

This hill workout benefits trail runners, especially those who often alternate between hiking and running during their long-distance runs and races. 

Being an efficient hiker is very advantageous for any trail runner. However, few runners take the time to work on this important skill.

1. Perform the following 5-8 times throughout your long run: 
2. When you reach a steep uphill, power hike for 1-3 minutes or until you reach the top of the hill. 
3. Be sure there are at least 10 minutes of recovery hiking or light jogging between each power hiking interval.

#6: Fartlek Hill Workout 

You have probably seen Fartlek sessions in your training plans but have most likely performed them on the road or primarily on flat terrain. We can also use them as hillwork.

A Fartlek Run translates to “speed play” and involves hard intervals interspersed with recovery intervals throughout the length of the run. These unstructured workouts allow runners to choose how many and for how long each “hard” interval will last. 

Runners usually use landmarks for this speed play, such as “from this tree to the next lamppost,” I will run at a hard effort. 

So, for your next Fartlek hill workout, choose hilly terrain, whether a trail run or road running with elevation changes and have some fun! Add 8-10 hard intervals for a one-hour session. 

#7: Summit Strides 

This workout can be done as repeats isolated on one hill or during any other hilly route run or long run. 

1. Climb all the hills you encounter on your run at an easy pace, whether walking, hiking, or jogging.
2. When you reach the top of the hill, run a strong 15-20 second stride on the flat or downhill section that follows, with a quick stride and excellent form.
3. Repeat for some or all of the hills that pop up along your route, but be sure to give yourself time to recover after each one. 

#8: Downhill Strides

Be careful when performing downhill workouts, as running downhill will create more and stress on your body because of the pounding. 

However, these types of hill workouts can be beneficial for feeling comfortable running downhill during a race and working on concentric muscle contractions. 

If possible, perform downhill workouts on soft terrain such as a groomed trail or grass, and ensure the incline isn’t too steep.

1. Warm up for 5-10 minutes. 
2. Jog uphill at an easy effort for 2 minutes.
3. Run back down to the starting point at a moderate to hard effort. 
4. Repeat 4-8 times
5. Cool down with a 5-minute jog.

How Do I Incorporate Hill Workouts Into My Training Schedule?

When adding any of these hill workouts to your training program, once a week is just plenty. Also, repeating the same hill workout for four weeks will be a great way to see your progress. 

If you choose to increase the difficulty each week, be sure to adjust one variable at a time, whether it be adding more reps, increasing the interval length, or decreasing the recovery time between each one. 

Believe me, you will see excellent results in your uphill running and overall performance. It’s worth the effort! 

For ideas for other types of running workouts, check out this next guide:

All Types Of Running, Explained: 10 Workouts Every Runner Should Know

References

• 1
  Cai, Z.-Y., Hsu, C.-C., Su, C.-P., Lin, C.-F., Lin, Y.-A., Lin, C.-L., & Hsu, M.-C. (2010). Comparison of lower limb muscle activation during downhill, level and uphill running. Isokinetics and Exercise Science, 18(3), 163–168. https://doi.org/10.3233/ies-2010-0379
• 2
  Kim, J.-S., Lee, Y.-H., & Yi, H.-K. (2016). Gradual downhill running improves age-related skeletal muscle and bone weakness: implication of autophagy and bone morphogenetic proteins. Experimental Physiology, 101(12), 1528–1540. https://doi.org/10.1113/ep085852