Hill Sprints & NRD

Happy National Running Day!

I've been doing more sprint & speed work and doing a lot of hill sprints lately. There are tons of people smarter than me in fitness who can explain the why's and how's of hill sprints but I am going to just keep this simple - they work.

My primary goal has been to cut fat and get healthy. Sometimes I forget and/or complicate this simple goal and I definitely suffer from Gym A.D.D. (more on that in the future). My journey to getting fit has been a long, sometimes frustrating process. I've tried a ton of different techniques and strategies, some successful, some complete failure - many chronicled on this blog.

What is working right now is a combination of diet (smart, healthy, whole food choices), calorie restriction (I am trying to lose weight & fat) and exercise. With respect to exercise I am really zeroing in on things I enjoy. I love to lift weights and do strength & conditioning work. I love basketball. I love to run. I love playing with my kids. So each day I am trying to do one of those to break a sweat and move around.

Back to Hill Sprints - after much encouragement I finally added them to my running routine and I have really come to enjoy them. This is pretty funny because for the one season I ran Cross Country in high school I dreaded "hills". Now I run on the same hill at Donaldson Park (in Highland Park) that we used to train at in high school.

For me they are enjoyable because they are quick and effective. I get my heart rate up, break a sweat, work my legs/body and I am done pretty quickly.

Here was my hill sprint routine today:

- 15 minute walk as part of warmup with my dog before heading to the park
- warmup at the park - 15 jumping jacks, 10 arm circles, 10 squats, 10 hip extensions X 3
- 5 easy hill sprints to get loose
- 9 hard hill sprints
- 15 minute walk around the park

You could cut out the pre- and post-sprint walks and literally have a 20-30 minute, high intensity cardio workout. The sprints themselves don't take long to be effective. I do this two or three times per week.

Here are a couple things to keep in mind:

- warmup is key
- depending on the hill shoot for 5-10 sprints at a harder pace but never at 100% effort - somewhere just a level down from full sprint
- when I feel I am slowing down and not pushing up the hill as fast as the first few sprints I stop
- Donaldson Park gets pretty muddy and is usually wet in the early mornings when I run, so use an older pair of sneaks or Vibram FiveFingers. I use my older pair of Vibrams that I don't wear in the gym any more
- be careful walking back down the hill - I slipped and fell once when it was really wet
- my rest period is walking back down the hill - I turn around and fire back up each time

Today I tried to use my Nike+ with the Vibrams and it was a disaster - there was almost no accuracy to the pace. I have definitely felt the hill sprints get me stronger for flat ground sprints and regular distance runs - I highly recommend them.