[Closed] Leg exercises for running up mountains?

Was gonna say stairwell.

Sprints otherwise

I will be doing sprints, but I was thinking leg press etc.

Molly, are you going to be doing the run itself with weight, or just with a small running pack?

From my experience, I'd say go for things that are going to strengthen your hips so that you avoid ITBS. Things like step downs from a bench, weighted lunges, squats will all help, but running up and down hills will help a lot too.

A bloke from the fell running forum practiced for his Bob Graham by running up and down the stairs in one of our local car parks and the only [vague] hill in the city. Can you not get over to Lewisham and just spend a few hours running up the hill there?

stairs, lots of them...

stepper machines, not on the hardest but somewhere like 7 (i.e. not fast stepping).

interval sprints

Yeah, why not, can't hurt, but I'd def be trying to kill myself with sprints, just find a street with a slope on it, 15 mins run to it to warm up then, hard as you can for as many times as you can* then hobble home trying not to cry 😆

* yeah, hilarious 🙄

Based on what hurts after doing whinlatter duathlon, 3pcx, skiddaw run etc. I would say calf raises are the big thing for me but that is because of how I run (might need to do it for you as well). Otherwise lots of squats, try bulgarian split squats (where you have one leg steadied off the ground behind you and squat on one leg, really helps build core stability, along with raised lunges (one leg on a chair thats against the wall so it doesnt slip) and then you can easily get deep lunges.

Disclamer: not a personal trainer, just what seems to work for me with body weight exercises.

Not with weight - just essentials.

Lewisham's a bit of a trek.. I just wondered since I think I might be going to the gym anyway, if there was something in there that would be useful. Otherwise I'll just do the sprints and do my upper body in the gym.

I did the Fan Dance last year and I coped surprisinly well with the general running and fitness, I felt fine afterwards but my quads (and/or thighs, whatever muscles are in there) were utterly shredded after the first ascent. I could run down and along quite well but I had to keep stopping on the last big steep set of steps, even though I was only trying to walk!

Hills. Stepper as a substitute. I'd say leg press was a waste of effort - that strength in a single plane isn't useful. You can do more useful stuff like one legged squats that will at least work your balance and core.

Walking weighted lunges (to balance), single leg squats and bulgarian split squats.

Btw, Fan dance??

jumping up stairs both feet at the same time and two steps at a time is surprisingly hard, I find

http://www.thefandancerace.com/index.html

Ignore the SAS waffle, it's a good event 🙂

I tried one-legged squats unweighted, they were hard so probably a good thing to work on 🙂

Thanks folks.

Molly you dont need "hills" to build your hill running ability you just need a "hill" even in London I suspect you could find some relatively steep ground.
I lived in Lincoln for 2 years and was quite fit running hard reps over a short stretch of road with short recoveries. At weekends you could always travel a few miles for a specific hard hill session which only leaves maybe one session during the week anyway.
Make sure you practice running downhill as well as IME that takes the most toll.
Some running even on less than ideal steep ground would be more beneficial than non running "exercises" IMO

even in London I suspect you could find some relatively steep ground.

I bet there isn't one this side of a 45min tube journey. If anyone knows of one let me know - I'm staying in Southwark.

Hills are not a problem at weekends of course.

Southwark to Archway on the northern line is about 30 minutes. It's a steep climb up to Highgate, or Waterlow Park for a grassy hill, or the Heath.

But there should be closer in South London.

perhaps there's a multi storey car park nearby you could use? that and a few sets of good old burpees mixed up would be good training.

My best ever fell running times were by accident a week after riding in the Alpes where we foolishly booked a chalet in Alpe d'Huez, which meant ever day's ride ended with the climb back up all 21 hair pins. I was well sick of that climb by the end of the holiday!

10 days later I was running up hills in the UK like they weren't even there.

Southwark - break into the Shard and borrow the staircase. Failing that, some of those nice tall buildings round there must have publicly accessible staircases...

Pistol squats, walking lunges, lots of stretching

2 stairs at a time, all the time. I wouldn't have thought there would be much at the gym to help, unless you can jack up the treadmills, the one's at my gym go to 10% I think which feels pretty steep but it's no mountain.

Body weight squats and lunges would be better than using heavy weights as you'll build up strength but it won't help your endurance.

Maybe pistol squats if you're hardcore (I'm not, I just fall over)

I'd be running twice as much as you are at the moment and add in lots of running up and down stairs too.

I bet there isn't one this side of a 45min tube journey. If anyone knows of one let me know - I'm staying in Southwark.

There's a few mention in that '100 greatest Climbs' book, no idea if they were local to you or work, I'll try and dig it out tonight.

Looks a good event that.

2 stairs at a time, all the time

I haven't done stairs one at a time since I was a kid. It feels really weird 🙂

Throw in a spin session and some swimming to mix it up.

Don't go crazy on the weights, you don't want to be carrying any unnecessary bulk. Weights should be used for conditioning / injury prevention only IMO.

Find a block of flats and run up and down the stairs as much as you can. Otherwise lots of short hill reps.

Stair climber is a good call too, and then heel raises.

Just spotted that you'll be carrying a bergen. I'd do a fair bit of your training carrying the weight. As nothing else you'll need to toughen the skin up to avoid chafing.

I won't be carrying a bergen, I'm doing the un-weighted version 🙂

Weights should be used for conditioning

What do you mean by 'conditioning' here?

i can run up things easy, its running down that is harder.

i can run up things easy, its running down that is harder.

Me too!

2 stairs at a time, all the time.

Nobody really uses one stair at a a time, unless they're carrying something heavy, surely?

What will you do if you're in second place on the home straight?

Be very worried as I wonder what the hell happened to everyone else.

Molgrips, you might want to read this blog;

http://www.wartnaby.org/running/bgr/bgr_for_flatlanders.htm

I couldn't do it, I'd lose what few marbles I have.

I wonder how long I can run up the down escalator at a tube station before I get stopped?

Unfortunately his attempt wasn't ratified IIRC which is disappointing.
The thing that will slow you down most on the hills is your lack of fitness not your access to steep hills on which to train. Simply up your mileage and speed and the hills will take care of themselves
If words posted were = to miles run then you would be giving mo a run for his money 😀

I'm sceptical that flat miles will be optimal training for running up Pen y Fan to be honest!

But flat miles are being run, rest assured.

[i]I'm sceptical that flat miles will be optimal training [/i]

1. It's training the same muscles
2. If its all you've got...

Just run Hun, it'll take care of itself promise

1. It's training the same muscles

Really?

When running on flat ground the hamstring muscles are the primary muscles used, propelling the body forwards. When we start running upwards, more demand is placed on the quadriceps (thigh), gluteal (buttocks) and calf muscles.

I wonder how long I can run up the down escalator at a tube station before I get stopped?

You want one of the ones with emergency stairs. Intervals up that'll sort you out. And the backroad Highgate climb, erm, [url= http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?X=528512&Y=187141&A=Y&Z=110 ]Swains Lane[/url], which is in the 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs book.

1. It's training the same muscles

Oh I'd have to question that.

I annihilate road runners on steep climbs, and they humiliate me on the flat.

Shows how much I know 😆

I have a mighty arse

Mind you, it's all running, it's just legs. Still reckon sprinting would be better than the gym

Pie monster, thanks for sharing

Sprinting is definitely on the list, and the gym is likely to feature for fat loss purposes. Hence the question.

Molgrips, you might want to read this blog;

http://www.wartnaby.org/running/bgr/bgr_for_flatlanders.htm

I couldn't do it, I'd lose what few marbles I have.

I read that too last week, as I've recently entered this -

http://www.10peaks.com/the-lakes/the-route/

So, I'm desperately scrabbling for anything that works and doesn't require effort. Currently toying with giving Stannah Stairlift their biggest order ever 😀

Box jumps
Deep squats
Lunges
Mountain climbers
Squat thrusts
Kettlebell swings

Tabata protocol and burnouts you will have thighs like a Titan and glutes for a tight 'un !

If you can run up and down hills at the weekend do you really need to fit in hill sessions during the week?

A flat recovery run, tempo run, some intervals and some core work along with a decent ride and a hilly LSR at the weekend would seem like a plan to me.

I've also been invited to the gym by a colleague

Sound suspiciously like a taxable perk 😉

If you can run up and down hills at the weekend do you really need to fit in hill sessions during the week?

Hmmm.. yeah.. maybe...

Forget the gym, find a local hill and do hill reps twice a week, on top of a daily running regime - there are no shortcuts!

Well I wasn't asking for a shortcut now was I? 🙄

But do the reps down rather than up 🙂
I reckon there's two things going on, generally aerobic fitness and muscle strength for going up. Building of resilience with respect to eccentric muscle loading for going down. I have a feeling the latter is easily gained and lost, and as such is maybe only worth concentrating on closer to the event. I have no evidence, or logic for that though 🙂

Why train downhill when your race is uphill? It doesn't make any sense. Sorry!

Race is up and down hill...

surfer - Member
Unfortunately his attempt wasn't ratified IIRC which is disappointing.
The thing that will slow you down most on the hills is your lack of fitness not your access to steep hills on which to train. Simply up your mileage and speed and the hills will take care of themselves
If words posted were = to miles run then you would be giving mo a run for his money

POSTED 1 HOUR AGO # REPORT-POST
molgrips - Member
I'm sceptical that flat miles will be optimal training for running up Pen y Fan to be honest!

Depends on your strengths. A friend who's a track runner with sub-30 10k entered a big fell race in the Lakes while up there on a stag do. 9 miles, 3000'. He was 6th to the top and finished about 30th. Lack of bottle and downhill technique cost him.

He's a bit of a special case given how fast he is, but he never runs hills in training.

Anyone can run downhill, although training to run downhill over rocky terrain might be useful, but only if you are hoping to figure in the prizes!

How much does this fella weigh. If he's a proper flyweight it might not be that relevant depending on what Molgrips is built like.

A 6 foot 6 brick crap house is going to need to train for hills. A 9 1/2st twig can get away with far less. Power to weight and all that guff.

Anyone can run downhill, although training to run downhill over rocky terrain might be useful, but only if you are hoping to figure in the prizes!

There's a big time gain to be had for running downhill well, not everybody can do that.

Some folk are proper rubbish at it, and in a race that'll cost them.

I've done a few mountain ultramarathons and a lot of adventure racing. The thing that will stop you is fitness and not being used to moving with a lot of weight on. Core strength is the most undervalued element in all this as a really well sorted core will mean you manage your legs a lot better. A general statement is that your little muscles go quicker than your big ones which then dominate and everything starts to unravel. I would be doing a bit of running, anything you can really, off road if possible to increase your proprioceptor and balance. If you can get into the hills with a big arse pack and do some walking, that is often the best method of starting to get fitter and also used to having weight on. When we train for long races we do 2 days treks with little sleep and a big pack generalyl full of wine ! Running from there is simply a matter of more fitness. It all depends if you want to finish it or win it. A mate of mine came first or second in one of them and he is a machine - ex world AR champion etc. so if you want to place you need to have done the work.

How much does this fella weigh. If he's a proper flyweight it might not be that relevant depending on what Molgrips is built like.

Too much.. 89kg lately and 5'11. Time crunched too so whilst I would dearly love to hit the hills with a big pack it's unlikely to happen!

so if you want to place you need to have done the work.

Ah.. so that's how they do it!

I'd do the gym stuff if it's a bonus session, not instead of plain old tedious mileage. Worth getting as much time offroad as you can too, it's just different like NZCol says. Ian's point about quads and eccentric load descending is well made, but I think it's as bankable as anything else though.
...just back from 1000' of reps in the drizzle 🙂

I'm on the 8th floor at work... twice a day, once in the morning and once at lunch + any trips between the floors are all taken by stairs.

+ take the stairs where possible in the Tube or at least fast walk up the escalator.

Build it into your daily routine...

I used to run up the stairs to our customer's office in Nairobi with a laptop bag, 32nd floor and the ground floor is at 1650m altitude. Felt fine at the time, but about 2 mins after finishing I'd normally collapse in a sweaty mess.

take the stairs where possible in the Tube

Tube?

I'm on my bike!

£35 😯

Anyway, best training for running uphill, if you haven't got a hill to run up, IMHO, is cycling up one. If you haven't got one of them, then get on the turbo and turn the resistance up. combine this with some calf raises I reckon.

But seriously, the best training inputs would be a couple of long steady days in the beacons

Ooh.. The Garth would be a good training run..

best training for running uphill, if you haven't got a hill to run up, IMHO, is cycling up one

If, as above, running uphill is all about calves, quads and glutes, those are cycling muscles, so this makes sense.

Losing weight will make far more difference than any strength gains from hitting the gym, I'd have thought? Although, just two months, with Christmas included, isn't a lot of time.

The reason for going to the gym is to help lose weight.

+1 for loose weight, run hills, big days out, ride hills, gym weights in that order. That's how I'm preparing for the weighted class anyway.

As I'm also in London, my hills are the treadmill at 20% at 3000m altitude (by virtue of where I work (we have a Groupon offer on at the moment so feel free to join me!), then getting from the city up to highgate on the SS via Swains Lane at the end of the day. Big weekend in the beacons twice a month as of last weekend, plus normal longer rides at the weekends.

I could cycle over to Highgate actually, that would be fairly straightforward and provide me a reason to ride.

Losing weight is a standing order around here anyway 🙂

do you think you can improve your descending, strength and technique, on stairs, or is it just too easy with even spaced steps?

The reason for going to the gym is to help lose weight.

Eat less and run more, you're entering a running race not a weightlifting event. Gym weights will do next to squat for hill running.

Your training needs to be specific, all endurance with some of the up/down hill specific stuff that's already been mentioned, and as mentioned that's best covered by running up and down some hills.

In short, find a hill, then run up and down it. A lot.

Eat less and run more

Oh give over. Already running as much as my legs can stand, and eating as little as I can to fuel it.

And we are NOT GOING DOWN THAT ROAD AGAIN!

as mentioned that's best covered by running up and down some hills

I know, but the actual question was 'is there anything gym based that is worth doing for hill training?' and that has been answered in the negative.

I know, but the actual question was 'is there anything gym based that is worth doing for hill training?' and that has been answered in the negative.

Not sure it has been conclusively answered in the negative, there seems to be a division of opinion. If you've got enough time to do some weights/leg specific exercises I'd certainly include them.

That said, losing 20kg would be the best thing you could do!

I know it's not exactly the same, and I know that winter conditions make it the fan dance more of a challenge but [url= http://www.breconfans.org.uk/home ]this[/url] would allow extra training time and save a chunk of cash into the bargain.

Interesting.

I am hoping for bad conditions for the Fan Dance, I think that boosted my place by a massive amount last time!

That said, losing 20kg would be the best thing you could do!

Yes, I know that too!

Not sure it has been conclusively answered in the negative, there seems to be a division of opinion.

Exactly.

If you don't like the free advice, you can have your money back.