← EXERCISE LIBRARYConditioning
Hill Sprints
Short maximal efforts up a moderate gradient. The incline limits stride length and impact, which makes them safer than flat sprints while still building power.
- 01Warm up with ten to fifteen minutes easy running plus two or three build-up efforts on the hill.
- 02Find a gradient of roughly six to ten percent with safe footing.
- 03Sprint uphill for eight to twelve seconds at full effort with a forward lean and hard arm drive.
- 04Walk all the way back down, taking two to three minutes before the next rep.
- 05Run six to ten sprints and stop when the effort no longer produces speed.
- 01Drive the knees, punch the arms.
- 02Lean from the ankles, not the waist.
- 03Full recovery, every rep is a fresh maximum.
- 01Shortening the walk-back recovery, which turns a power session into a hard conditioning grind.
- 02Bending at the waist as fatigue builds, which shuts down hip extension and slows you further.
- 03Running them longer than fifteen seconds, which changes the stimulus and adds unnecessary fatigue.
Note: Reference material, not a prescription. Load, volume and whether this movement suits you at all depends on your assessment — if something hurts, stop and get it looked at.