athletes are climbing up and down for a total of 30 minutes. Cycling:


Incorporate cycling into


workouts by including 1-to-2-minute intervals in harder gears to further develop leg strength. For example, warm up riding 10 minutes in an easy gear,


then repeat


1-2 minutes in a hard gear followed by 3-4 minutes in an easy gear. this simulates the resistance of riding uphill and will develop leg strength without impact. Cyclists can also use a bigger gear or


ride into headwinds to practice for hills. On regular routes, have athletes use a bigger gear than they would normally use and maintain the same speed. this slows cadence and increases the force an athlete will apply to the pedals, simulating a hill workout. if you live in very windy regions, intentionally ride into the wind. athletes will need to generate more force to ride against the wind, similar to riding uphill. adjust body position to stay low and aerodynamic, while maintaining a reasonable speed. Strength


training: It’s important to


incorporate strength training into your training programs to develop balanced total body strength. exercises such as single leg lunges, squats, calf raises, and hip extensions can be done anywhere and will make a significant contribution in the strength you’ll need to tackle hills. So now that you know a few tricks of


the trade around hill training on flat land, encourage your athletes to pick a race and begin incorporating hill work into their weekly training program. like any new exercise, avoid injury by starting out easy and build into longer, more intense workouts. also be sure to mix up the type of hill training your athletes do each week. You don’t want their bodies to become too accustomed to doing the same workouts if you want to maximize the benefit of weekly hill work.


Angela Caprigno is a USA Triathlon Level II Certified Coach and a Level 5 personal trainer with Life Time Fitness. She has worked with clients ranging from beginners to elites and is also a seasoned age group triathlete. You can reach her at acaprigno@aol.com.


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