Here we go!!! Bring on the hills!!! This workout is equally a lung burner and a leg burner. Give it a whirl to stoke that inner fire for running fast and strong.

WHAT?

Hill Reps

6x 1 minute uphill @ 3k race effort
Jog back down very easily for your recoveries

Terrain: Mild-to-moderately steep hill

You could describe this workout as intensity under fire.

The intensity comes in because whenever we’re talking about 3k race effort, we’re basically asking the lungs to max out (to reach an effort level that’s often called your VO2max pace).

The fire comes in from the fact that uphill running is like resistance training where we’re just asking so much more from our muscles (particularly the posterior chain from glutes to calves).

WHY?

This workout is effectively a high intensity interval session (a.k.a. HIITS). These are known for boosting fitness and boosting it fast. Our bodies can’t handle doing this sort of training too much, but inserted strategically every so often in our training year they can provide that brilliant boost in fitness just when we need it most.

HOW?

Do this workout on a mild to moderate hill that isn’t so steep that you can’t run properly and isn’t so flat that you’re not getting that extra resistance from gravity.

Keep the recoveries very cruisy so there’s enough time to recover between reps, but only just enough time.

Your first rep will give you a marker that you can use to gauge the effort of your remaining reps. Ideally you’ll want to end at the same spot after every 60-second effort, if not getting slightly further each time.

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