Daily Fit Tip! Tibute to my beloved "Hill" running!

                                 

Got To Love Those Hills!

If there’s a hill in your path, don’t turn around and go the other way... run up it! While for some people running hills may seem comparable to climbing Mt. Everest, the payoff is worth working through your fears. You can burn twice the calories by walking, biking or running hills as long as you keep your speed constant.

That’s not all: Taking on the challenge of a hill routine will also make you faster and stronger, as well as improve the stability of your knee joints. The most important thing to remember when running hills is to run up as fast as you comfortably can, but take it slow on the way down to avoid putting undue strain on your knees and quads. 

If you just don’t have a hill to climb in your area, you can simulate hill running inside your gym simply by adjusting the incline of your treadmill. But if you want to fully appreciate your hard work, take your routine outside. When you reach the peak and look behind you to see what you’ve just accomplished, you’ll truly feel like the king (or queen) of the mountain. 

My runs always have steep hills included in them.. I have always loved running hills and felt they made me stronger when running normal flatter terrain. My brother taught me early on to run hills for power, building muscle, and run down hill for building speed. It is so true and it truly makes you feel good when you can complete a nice long steep hill all the way to the top...then look down and see what you have climbed.

Remember when just starting out that it takes time to run hills all the way up without stopping.. You need to build up to it. Just make markers on each hill and go further each time you run them. Try to make it further past those markers each time you run until you can do the whole hill without stopping. It just takes building up your stamina and power to make each hill without any stopping.. It's a great feeling!

Running down is fun and builds speed.. You do have to be careful of your knees and footing while running down. Take wide strides and open your hips up and don't fear the speed of running down hill.. It can be a great feeling..especially after you have climbed up the steep hill..

I got a new phone over the weekend...iphone =) So today I will take some pictures of my beloved hills  and post in my "Today's workout" for all to see just how steep and intense they are to climb. Love my hills!