Hill Work How To's

How to Pace Hill Repeats Properly

It all comes down to effort over pace because the gradient (steepness) of your hill will change how hard it feels.

💡 Target about 70% effort. That means:

• Controlled but hard breathing

• You’re not all out sprinting, but you are working

📉 Don’t chase your normal flat-ground pace. The steeper the hill, the slower your pace will be. 

Walk or jog back down the hill slowly for recovery. Walking is perfectly acceptable, especially early in a training cycle or for beginners.

Progressing the Workout Over Time

Start where you are — especially if you're new to hill work or returning from injury.

Beginner progression idea:

• Week 1–2: 6–8 reps of 10–15 seconds uphill

• Week 3–4: 6–8 reps of 20–30 seconds

• Later weeks: 4–6 reps of 45–60 seconds

Choose a hill with a steady, runnable grade. You don’t want to be gasping for breath or slogging by the end. 

Heads-up for Hamstrings

Hill work loads up the posterior chain, meaning the muscles in the back of your legs: glutes, hamstrings, calves. This is especially true for hamstrings and glutes. 

⚠️ Hills are a common complaint for people with hamstring pain.

So if you have a history of hamstring tendinopathy (that deep ache high near the sit bone), be cautious. Hill work can aggravate that area if the load jumps too quickly or the grade is too aggressive.

If that's you, reply to me in this email because you'll likely need to add in supplemental hamstring exercises before you work too much on hills.

Final Tip:
Make hills a regular part of your training, even 1x/week, and you’ll notice stronger legs, more power off the ground, and better form without needing to overthink it.

Questions about this topic? Reply to this email and we can talk more about it. 

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