I can remember, very clearly, the dizziness/nausea rushing through my body after my brothers and I ran as fast as we could to the top of a hill during one of our first Spartan Races. This was a Super course in 2015, unfortunately I can't remember exactly which one. At the time, none of us were runners or had much of any cardiovascular training in general but, even during the open heat, we wanted to be the fastest ones to the top of the hill. This hill was at the very start of the race and now with over 7 miles to go, the three of us felt terrible.
Hills are ROUGH... especially during an Obstacle Course Race because the course is often over rocks, roots, mud, etc. To be fair, hills are also part of the reason we keep coming back to OCR because we love the challenge... the feeling of being pushed past what we was thought possible. We need to have consistent hill training in our OCR workouts not only because then we can crush them on the course, but because it will greatly improve our overall running performance.
Note: The main muscles being used when you run up hills are your: Glutes, Quads, and Calves.
Below are 10 exercises you can add into your workouts to help improve your hill climbing!
Trio Fitness Training has specialized in training Obstacle Course Racers for almost a decade. No matter what goals you have, we can design a custom training program to help you reach those goals. View our OCR Training Programs and Sign Up Today.
Hill Sprints
Sandbag Hill Carry
Sandbag Squats
Jump Squats
Walking Lunges
Step Up + Hop
Box Jump
Sled Push/Pull
Give these exercises a try! If you train with them properly/consistently, you'll notice a drastic improvement with your hill climbing and overall running performance during Obstacle Course Races!
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