Hill Sprints 8 x 10 s
Eight 10 second all-out sprints up a steep hill with a slow 2 minute walk back, added to an easy run to build power and resilient legs.
- Duration
- 47 min
- Distance
- 8.4 kmestimated
- Effort
- 45
- Level
- Intermediate
- Focus zone
- Sprint
Your values
Targets relative to your threshold values. Enter your values to see absolute numbers.
| # | Step | Length | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm-upEndurance Easy 20 min to the hill | 20 min | 68-78% HRmax72-82% FTP |
| 8 ×Repeat these steps | |||
| 2.1 | IntervalSprint Steep hill, 10 s max, stay tall | 10 s | 85-100% HRmax130-160% FTP |
| 2.2 | RecoveryRecovery Walk down, full recovery | 2 min | 55-68% HRmax60-72% FTP |
| 3 | Cool-downRecovery Easy jog | 10 min | 55-68% HRmax60-72% FTP |
About this workout
Short hill sprints recruit a large share of the muscle fibers in the legs and load the tendons strongly, yet they are so brief that they cause little fatigue. Coach Brad Hudson popularized them for distance runners as a way to build power and make the legs more robust against injury.
Run 20 minutes easy to a steep hill of around 6 to 8 percent. Sprint up for ten seconds at maximal effort, staying tall and driving the arms. Walk slowly back down and rest until you feel fully recovered, about two minutes in total. Repeat eight times, then jog ten minutes easy. Each sprint should be as strong as the first. If your speed drops, stop the set.
This suits intermediate runners who already run several times a week. Do it once or twice a week in the base phase. If hill sprints are new to you, start with four and add one or two per week.
Tips
- Heart rate lags on 10 second sprints, judge them by effort.
- Choose a hill with good footing and no traffic.
- Never sprint on cold legs, finish the easy run first.
Origin
Short, steep hill sprints were popularized for distance runners by coach Brad Hudson.
Good for5k10kHalf marathonMarathon
Season phaseBaseBuild