Next, drop the thigh downward and backward until the entire thigh and leg are extended behind the body as though following through on a running stride. Paw the ground with the nonsupporting foot as it passes under the body, scraping the ground with the midfoot area (figure 14.10c). Keep the knee at close to full extension through the backswing. At the end of the hip extension, bend the knee and move the heel close to the buttocks (figure 14.10d). Finally, move the knee quickly forward, returning to the starting position with the thigh parallel to the ground. Complete this entire sequence in a smooth manner so that the hip and leg move through a continuous arc without stopping or pausing. When the movement is well coordinated, perform the swings at a cadence of about 12 to 15 swings every 10 seconds. Carry out 50 reps on each leg, and then repeat.
Figure 14.10 (a) Starting position, (b) knee extension, (c) pawing the ground, and (d) end of hip extension.
Progression
Gradually increase velocity without loss of control and balance. When the basic bicycle leg swing can be performed with control, balance, and excellent movement speed, use a cord that provides greater resistance.
Reverse Bicycle Leg Swing With Resistance
Purpose
This version improves the strength of the hip flexors, promoting increased resistance to fatigue in these muscles during running.
Execution
The movements employ an intermediate-strength stretch cord and are the same as the regular bicycle leg swing except you face away from the stretch cord’s attachment point, which is also at knee height for this exercise. The cord then resists forward leg swing (figure 14.11) instead of enhancing it, and the overall effect is to strengthen the hip flexors. Do two sets of 50 reps with each leg.
Figure 14.11 Starting position.
Progression
Increase the resistance of the stretch cord and speed up movement without losing coordination.
Sprints
Purpose
Carrying out running-specific strengthening movements fires up the nervous system and enhances the ability to run fast. Thus, when sprints are carried out following running-specific drills, faster running velocities are reached. The higher-speed running steadily advances maximal running speed, a key predictor of endurance performance.
Execution
Run at close to maximal speed for 8 × 100 meters. Accelerate for the first 20 meters of each sprint, and then maintain close-to-maximal velocity for the final 80 meters (figure 14.12). Take short, 20-second walking breaks between the sprints. Stay relaxed at all times during the powerful sprints; avoid the tendency to tighten up. Maintain fluidity of motion. Complete eight 100-meter reps in all.
Figure 14.12 Sprinting at close-to-maximal velocity.
Progression
Run faster! Additionally, run on a surface with a slight declination.
Partial Squat
Purpose
Of all the running-specific exertions, these are the most specific. Partial squats improve the strength of the entire leg in a running-specific way and thereby augment propulsive force, stability, resistance to fatigue, and running economy.
Execution
Stand in the kinetic-chain position with one foot directly under the shoulder, keeping that knee just slightly flexed and maintaining relaxed, upright posture. Flex the other, nonsupporting leg at the knee so that foot does not touch the ground. Hold a barbell on the top of the shoulders just behind the neck and incline the upper body slightly forward for balance (figure 14.13a). Direct your body weight through the middle of the supporting foot.
For a traditional one-leg squat, one would ordinarily move from this basic position by bending the supporting leg at the knee and lowering the body until that knee almost reaches a 90-degree angle and the thigh is parallel with the ground. For the partial squat, bend the supporting leg at the knee and lower the body approximately half the regular distance so that the angle between the back of the thigh and lower leg is about 135 degrees (figure 14.13b). Initially, spot-touching the floor with the nonsupporting leg occasionally for balance is acceptable. To complete one rep, return to the starting position, maintaining upright posture with the trunk.
Complete 10 normal reps and then without any recovery initiate another partial squat and hold in the down position for 10 seconds. Continuing without rest, complete a second set of 10 partial squats, another static hold in the down position for 10 seconds, a third set of partial squats, and a third 10-second hold in the down position. Then, repeat this sequence on the other leg. Finally, complete one more round on each leg. Do two sets on each leg.
Figure 14.13 (a) Starting position and (b) the squat.
Progression
As soon as it is possible to complete two full sets on each leg without having to stop, add additional weight to the barbell using 5- to 10-pound (2-5 kg) increments. Continue to add weight for subsequent workouts each time two sets can be completed on each leg without major problems.
Falls to Earth With Forward Hops
Purpose
This exercise improves the strength and explosiveness of the ankles and upgrades stability during landing and stance.
Execution
The runner stands on a step or box that is 6 to 12 inches in height. Ankles, knees, and hips should be slightly flexed, and abdominal muscles and buttocks should be tightened (figure 14.14a). Step forward off the box with the left foot and release the right foot from the box to lean forward into a free fall (figure 14.14b). Do not reach down and touch the ground with the left foot while the right foot is still on the box. Let the lean turn into a fall so that the whole body is accelerating toward the ground. When the left foot hits the ground, explosively hop forward, spending as little time as possible on the ground (figure 14.14c). Land with great stability on the left foot and preserve the landing position for three seconds with an upright torso and as little quavering in the leg and upper body as possible (figure 14.14d). Repeat seven times on the right and seven times on the left.
Figure 14.14 (a) Starting position, (b) lean, (c) hop, and (d) landing.
Progression
Over time, increase to two sets of 12 repetitions per leg, focusing on maintaining solid coordination and explosiveness. Then, increase the height of the box, working up to a little more than knee height.
Tips for Implementing Running-Specific Strength Training
When carrying out the running-specific exertions, maintain a feeling of actual running as much as possible. Do not tense the upper body and gaze downward at the legs during movement because this would not happen during normal running. Perform the exercises rhythmically and smoothly, not with choppy timing and movements. Do the workout on days when you are well rested; fatigue blocks the attainment of good form during the exercises. If time is a limiting factor, complete half the session on one day and the other half on the following day.
Conduct this running-specific strength session about twice a week during the running-specific-strength phase of overall training. The running-specific phase should last from 4 to 8 weeks, follow a thorough general-strengthening program, and precede hill and explosive work in a runner’s overall training plan. Carry out the running-specific workout occasionally within the subsequent hill and explosive phases of training to preserve running-specific strength.
Conclusion
Running-specific strength training is the perfect follow-up to general strengthening and paves the way for outstanding hill work and explosive workouts. It augments pure running training (i.e., workouts with no strengthening components) by increasing running economy, resistance to fatigue, and maximal running velocity. Running-specific strength training gives its devoted followers a decided edge in competitive situations: Most competitors will not be adhering to a running-specific strength program and will thus not have optimized the performance-related variables that are so responsive to this type of training.
Chapter 15
Hill Training
Most coaches and runners realize that hill tra
ining is highly beneficial, and science backs them up by confirming that hill training offers many advantages. In fact, few other training modalities are as productive from a fitness-enhancing standpoint. For example, hill training can
enhance running economy,
lift lactate-threshold velocity,
improve resistance to fatigue,
increase maximal running speed,
increase O2max and vO2max,
protect against soreness and injury, and
prepare runners to compete on hilly race courses.
Though coaches and runners are aware of the benefits of hill training, what occasionally stumps them is not the question of why but rather how to do it. Fortunately, science provides answers to many of these questions, and this chapter explores them by explaining which hills—long and gradual or short and steep—provide the most benefits, the optimal incline of training hills, how often hill training should be conducted, and when to include hill training in an overall program.
Effects on Muscle Groups
Compared with flat-ground running, hill running places considerably different demands on the leg muscles. The calf muscles in particular are placed under greater strain and must perform significantly more work per minute of running during hill training compared with running on even surfaces. The reason for this is simply that greater ankle dorsiflexion occurs during the stance phase of gait during uphill running compared with running on pancake-flat ground. The increased dorsiflexion during stance increases eccentric strain on the calf muscles, particularly the gastrocnemius and soleus, enhancing their eccentric strength over the long term. An upswing in calf-muscle eccentric strength improves stability of the ankle and foot during the stance phase of gait, which should enhance running economy and also improve ankle springiness during running.
In addition, for a specific stride rate, the velocity of calf-muscle contraction must increase during hill running compared with running on the flat; the calf muscles are more stretched out because of the increased dorsiflexion during stance, so they must snap back into place more quickly than they would on flat surfaces in order to create toe-off and propel the body forward. In a study carried out with turkeys at Oregon State University, velocity of calf-muscle contraction during uphill running increased by 21 percent compared with flat-ground running at the same speed.1 Mechanically, turkey muscles work very similarly to human sinews, with the same stretch-shortening cycle, eccentric strains, and increased velocity of calf muscle contraction following augmented dorsiflexion. Ultimately, uphill running should promote greater power development in the calf muscles, which are key sources of propulsive force during running. With this additional propulsive force, runners can go farther between steps and increase speed significantly.
The quadriceps muscles in the front of the thigh also benefit greatly from hill training, although it is the downhill component of hill work that optimizes quad functioning. During downhill running, each impact with the ground creates an unusual level of eccentric strain on the quads, which must create significant force to control knee flexion and keep the leg from collapsing. As the quads generate this force, they are stretched considerably by the natural, postimpact flexion of the knee. This combination of force production and simultaneous stretching dramatically enhances quad eccentric strength and makes the quads less prone to soreness during subsequent training. This increased eccentric strength also makes the leg more stable and springier during the stance phase of gait, enhancing economy and speed.
Hill Training Considerations
Unless a runner lives in the flattest of areas on the globe, he or she has a variety of hills from which to choose for training. These hills will differ in length and incline, two variables that have an impact on the physiological responses to a hill session and therefore must be considered when a hill workout is planned. Treadmills can also be used to simulate hill workouts if the surrounding terrain cannot accommodate a runner’s needs. Of course, a hill workout includes both up and down running: The up portion is usually viewed as the productive part of the session, but downhill running—when performed correctly—also provides several benefits.
Longer Versus Shorter Hills
Coaches and runners frequently have a range of different hills from which to choose for hill training but are uncertain about optimal hill length. An advantage of relatively short inclines is that higher average running velocities can often be sustained because the more abbreviated durations of the uphill surges keep fatigue at manageable levels and thus facilitate faster running. Faster running speeds teach the neuromuscular system to operate with greater motor-unit activation and power outputs that can generate higher heart rates and larger percentages of O2max, as well as higher levels of blood lactate compared with running more slowly on longer slopes. However, it is possible that longer hills could actually create greater physiological demands, for example higher heart and oxygen-consumption rates, because of the more sustained nature of the effort.
Hill work is the most running-specific type of strength training.
Jochen Tack/imagebroker/age fotostock
The relative merits of long versus shorts hills were examined in a study carried out at Pennsylvania State University, where exercise scientists asked 10 participants (5 men and 5 women) to complete two separate workouts each of which included 960 seconds of simulated hill climbing on laboratory treadmills.2 Both training sessions used inclines of 6, 12, 18, and 24 percent, but in one instance the subjects completed 5 treadmill climbs of 192 seconds each that simulated long hills; in another situation, the participants finished 20 hill intervals of 48 seconds each that simulated shorter hills. Recovery intervals lasted for 60 seconds each during the long-hill workouts and 12 seconds for each shorter climb. Each workout lasted a total of 20 minutes.
The metabolic cost of the workout was actually about 10 percent greater when the 192-second intervals were employed compared with the short intervals, indicating that average oxygen-consumption and heart rates were higher with the longer climbs. This is advantageous since increased demand on the oxygen-delivery and use system (i.e., the heart, blood vessels, and leg muscles) should promote superior adaptation and thus higher levels of fitness.
Interestingly, top exercise physiologists often recommend a duration of about 3 minutes (180 seconds) for hill-climb repetitions,3 very close to the 192-second intervals used in the Penn State inquiry. A potential weakness of the Penn State study, however, is that treadmill speed was held constant. If athletes could sustain higher average speeds during shorter climbs compared with longer efforts, which is likely, the total metabolic cost might actually be greater with the shorter hills, and the power-advancing effect on the neuromuscular system would increase. This possibility has not been carefully studied in controlled scientific research.
What is the take-home lesson? At any specific running speed (for example, 15 kilometers per hour, or about 6:26 per mile), longer hills are better than short hills for training because they maximize the probability that extremely high heart and oxygen-consumption rates, plus high blood lactate levels, will be reached during each climb. In general, a short hill can be defined as an incline that requires a minute or less to climb; a long hill takes more than a minute to climb.
The more abbreviated inclines can be superior, however, if an athlete runs faster on shorter hills than on longer hills, which is likely because runners tend to run more quickly when they know that the duration of each intense effort is minimized. Shorter hills are linked with higher neural outputs, greater motor-unit recruitment, and advanced power outputs by the leg muscles. The brief recoveries (e.g., the time taken to run quickly back down the hills) associated with short hills should also keep heart and oxygen-consumption rates from falling too far between climbs, allowing both rates to climb progressively over the course of a workout.
Shorter hills are great because they allow runners to take off like rockets and thus optimize their neuromuscular power, but the potential disadvantage of shorter hills
is that the duration of each climb is shorter. Thus, short hills may not be as good for optimizing resistance to fatigue—the capacity of the brain to tolerate and then promote continuous, hard exertion for longer and longer periods of time. (For discussions of fatigue resistance and how to improve it, see chapters 12 and 29).
Taking these factors into account, a runner should balance short and long hills in training; each kind of incline has its place in the overall program: Short hills are great for advancing power and running speed, and long hills should be excellent for promoting fatigue resistance.
Hill Incline
Running Science Page 22