I live on a coastal barrier island, and all I have access to is flat ground. The bridges around here are 1. very crowded, and 2. not really steep enough for hill work. I don't own a treadmill, so what should I do about hill training? (I've actually never really incorporated it into my training before.)
Stairs are the next best option
Definitely not the same but I guess the closest you could get to hills, without hills, would be stairs?
I've never done stairs before but I imagine they would have a similar effect, however, not the same as hills.
parking garage?
QM
RE: Simulating hill training where there's no hills 10/27/2010 9:29AM - in reply to desperately seeking hills Reply | Return to Index | Report Post
There are absolutely substitutes for hills. You first have to realize what the purpose of your hill training is; it is to build speed. Some may say it is to build "strength", but that's a term that's thrown around pretty commonly with no definition. Either way it doesn't build strength, it doesn't increase raw strength that can be tested with weighted squats or lunges and it doesn't increase the strength to endure long runs or difficult workouts either.
So, speed. Yes. You can build a speed base through plyometric exercises, weight training, and sprints.
I was once in an area pancake flat, without a rise in elevation within a 30min drive of where I was living and training. there was absolutely no way to do hill training. Even the stadium seats for football fields were very short.
What I did to substitute was a heavy dose of plyometrics as well as short sprints.
+1 for this
Plyometrics, bounding, circuits, weight training/power lifts
Try google, it is your friend.
Plyometrics.
Lunge thrusts (cant remember if thats the actually name for the exercise) You start in a lunge position, explode up, switch legs in the air, repeat. Walking Lunges as well.
Or what I like to do is run on soft sand, as long as you dont have any achilles or calf issues. The soft sand absorbs all your energy. I felt that really built my output force. Generating more power with each stride with less effort translates to more speed. And you can feel the difference too when you switch back to running on dirt/grass/cement.
My 2 cents
One thing I would caution is to build in to any plyo routine slowly. If you over develop your quads too fast, your hamstrings will pay, etc. You want to keep a good balance between opposing muscles or you can have issues.
bounding, lots and lots of upward and outward bounding, its a great way to maintain speed too.
Are you looking to do hills for short, fast running on doing hills in the middle of a distance run?
Several flights of stairs can be a partial substitute, obviously its hard to achieve maximum explosiveness going up stairs. I wonder if hurdle drills/hurdling might help you. I always find that hills are a good way to simulate sprinting, so conversely, maybe you could just add more 60 meter maximal effort sprints into your routine. And, as stated before, lunges.
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Try google, it is your friend.
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