If you live in a hilly area, you might assume you’re covered when it comes to hill training
But here’s the truth: they are not the same.
✅Running hills on easy runs = great for general aerobic fitness and durability.
🔥Hill workouts = targeted adaptations that improve performance.
Here’s what you miss out on if you skip structured hill training:
💥 Hill Sprints
🏔️ Hill Repeats
📈 Efficiency & form gains
1. Hill Sprints
- (8–10 sec max effort)
- Build explosive power, speed, and muscle recruitment.
2. Hill Repeats
- (30–90 sec at effort)
- Train leg strength, lactate tolerance, VO2Max, mental grit, etc., all of which help on climbs and flats.
3. Efficiency & form gains
- Upright posture. Strong knee drive. No overstriding. Hills reveal and fix breakdowns in form.
Just because you encounter hills doesn’t mean you’re training on them.
Be intentional. Train with purpose. Your legs (and finish times) will thank you.
