Winter Hill Workouts (Indoors)

If your reaction to the last article was - no way, I'm not putting on all the layers and drilling screws into my shoes, this article may be more your style.

Just because you've taken your training indoors doesn't mean you are stuck pounding out hour after hour on the treadmill at a slow pace.  Those workouts will help you maintain aerobic endurance and help your body burn fat as fuel, but they will grind down your enthusiasm.

One of the ways we change things up at TFI is to include some indoor hill work.  They're challenging but a heck of a lot safer than slipping and sliding down the ice covered sidewalk on your favorite hill.

Warm up with some speed walking and jogging.  Crank up the incline and pick up the pace to your 10k pace and go for 1 minute.  Walk for 2 minutes and repeat 4-10 times.

This will help you build strength and prepare you for the speedwork to come in the spring.

One tip (and the inspiration for this post) - Do not, I repeat, DO NOT grab onto to the top of the treadmill display or grab bars and hold yourself up.  Unless you're working your back muscles to prepare for waterski season, I can't for the life of me understand what this accomplishes.  When was the last time you saw a tow rope on the run course?

Lean into the hill, shorten your stride and use those arms to power your way through the interval (or to the top if you're outside).