You may have noticed that there are many running hills in most cities and towns. Running hills gives you a good cardio workout, increases your stamina, and makes you feel fit and strong. It is an excellent way to burn fat and build muscle. However, it is not just for athletes. There are many benefits of running hills that you can enjoy.
Strengthening
Hill running strengthens your leg muscles and whole body. As you run uphill, your heart and lungs will pump more blood through your body. This will increase your metabolism, which results to the burning of calories and fats. As your metabolism increases, you will also notice that you start to lose weight. It is due to the fact that when you run uphill, the muscles pull your body and that results to loss of fats and calories from your body.
Cardio aerobic exercise improves your endurance and mental toughness. It has been found out that people who go on downhill running enjoy a longer physical performance and they are happier than those who do not engage in downhill running. According to experts, this can be due to the fact that downhill running forces the body to work harder. It is due to this hard work that the brain gets the signal that it is time to exert its effort to complete the task. With this effect, you will enjoy better cognitive ability and mental toughness.
Metabolism
Aside from increasing your metabolism, hill running will also force your body to burn more fats. This is because it provides a tough challenge to the body as it attempts to complete the uphill path. Most runners do not realize that hill running also stimulates the body’s natural metabolism to burn more calories. With the presence of more calories in the body, runners will notice that they get fitter and their endurance level increases as well.
Experts have discovered that hill running also strengthens the leg muscles. Most runners perform uphill sprints for one reason: to build up their leg muscles. Because the feet are placed at an incline to facilitate the sprint, the leg muscles are forced to adapt to the change in motion. Thus, these muscles are gradually strengthened. This is good for runners who may be experiencing joint problems.
Cardio Aerobic Exercise
Hill running is also beneficial when it comes to increasing the amount of calories that you burn. Your heart will have to adapt to the change in motion in order to cope with the uphill challenge. As you can imagine, this makes the heart work harder so that it can be used to pump blood. With this extra work, you burn more calories as your heart pumps blood through your body. However, keep in mind that you must always maintain your speed when running uphill. Otherwise, you will over-work the muscles in your legs and end up hurting yourself.
Strengthening Muscles
During hill running, you will need to use more muscles. This is due to the extra resistance that the muscles will face. Since your feet are placed at higher elevations, you will be exerting more pressure on your lower extremities, which is a good way to strengthen those muscles.
These are just some of the many hill workout benefits. If you want to add an extra challenge to your normal run, try running downhill. It is an excellent way to not only burn extra calories but to also strengthen your muscles.
When it comes to running, there are two main types: trail running and marathon running. Trail running allows you to run on hard surfaces that would normally be considered smooth. Marathons, however, are events where you race on an incline. While running on hills won’t provide you with the same challenge as running on flat surfaces, it will still give you an overall body workout. Many runners refer to it as the perfect run for them.
Ground Level Running
If you have to always run on level ground, you might think that running downhill is out of your league. But as long as you have the endurance and motivation to keep going, it should not be too hard. You can increase your distance by running faster and further than you normally would. Also, you can gain a better time by running uphill. For example, if you normally run on level ground twice an hour, but on a hill every time you go uphill, you will be able to shave a minute or two off of your usual time.
Conclusion
Some runners choose to run uphill even when the weather is not nice. Most experienced athletes recommend against this practice because it could cause unnecessary injury. So if you choose to run uphill during the winter months, make sure that you are safe by wearing a high-visibility, windproof running jacket and possibly a reflective vest.
