{"id":284039,"date":"2026-01-14T14:47:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-14T14:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/284039\/"},"modified":"2026-01-14T14:47:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T14:47:10","slug":"hill-sprints-can-replace-lifting-weights-says-world-class-running-coach-heres-how-to-bag-the-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/284039\/","title":{"rendered":"Hill sprints can replace lifting weights, says world-class running coach. Here’s how to bag the benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"

Runners are often being encouraged to lift weights<\/a> several times a week. But what if there was another, equipment-free way to build the specific strength required for running? Actually, there is: hills<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Renowned running coach Brad Hudson advises his runners to not lift weights and instead incorporate some hill sprints into their weekly schedule. <\/p>\n

\u2018These brief, maximal-intensity efforts against gravity offer two key benefits,\u2019 he told Runner\u2019s World. \u2018First, they strengthen all of the running muscles, making you much less injury-prone. They also increase the power and efficiency of your stride, enabling you to cover more ground with each stride with less energy in races.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Hudson recommends hill sprints of no longer than 12 seconds in duration, to be run at a maximum effort with generous 2-3-minute recovery times between reps, and advises runners to tack these on to the end of their easy runs. <\/p>\n

Shane Benzie<\/a>, a world expert in the body\u2019s fascial system and a man who works closely with some of the best runners in East Africa, also believes hills are a better form of strength training than weights for runners. <\/p>\n

\u2018With strength and conditioning, I think we have to be careful that we\u2019re not building strength that isn\u2019t actually going to help with running,\u2019 he says. <\/p>\n

Instead, Benzie suggests that runners think about \u2018conditioning their body for the specific movement of running\u2019. To do that, strength and conditioning work has to relevant and similar to the task at hand. And what could be closer to running than, well, running up a hill?<\/p>\n

\u2018Most East African runners don\u2019t have access to any gyms or weights,\u2019 says Benzie. \u2018Their strength and conditioning is done out on the trails. They\u2019re creating what I call Darwinian fitness: the fitness to perform that specific task.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Not everyone agrees with this, of course. The majority of strength and conditioning coaches would maintain that traditional strength work trumps hill sprints. Moreover, it doesn\u2019t have to be an either\/or: the best solution is likely to combine the two. However, if you dislike the gym or have struggled with strength work in the past and prefer to be out running, hill sprints might offer you the best of both worlds. <\/p>\n

Movement is key<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the main reasons touted for traditional strength and conditioning is its ability to make runners less susceptible to injury. Benzie, however, prioritises something else: learning to move well. <\/p>\n

\u2018If you don\u2019t move well, that impact of running could injure you. But if you do move well and dissipate that impact effectively, that\u2019s actually going to strengthen your body: bone remodelling, muscle re-architecting, fascial rejuvenation all react to the pressure you put on them.\u2019 <\/p>\n

One of the main reasons Benzie is a critic of traditional strength and conditioning is that he believes it affects how we view ourselves as runners. <\/p>\n

\u2018So much of our movement is based on our perception of it,\u2019 he says. \u2018We grow up thinking that the skeleton is our main structure and we have lots of muscles that power that structure. If you go to the gym and start building muscle, you are bolstering our perception of being a muscle-propelled animal. But I think that\u2019s wrong. We are dynamic, elastic and connected \u2013 the way the best East African runners move is testament to this.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Related Story<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Runners are often being encouraged to lift weights several times a week. But what if there was another,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":284040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[278],"tags":[35639,142763,343,18,525,135,19,17,342,142762,142761],"class_list":{"0":"post-284039","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-content-type-advice","9":"tag-contentid-c83c7564-6cfb-4507-a542-d4e72570b74b","10":"tag-displaytype-standard-article","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-fitness","13":"tag-health","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-locale-gb","17":"tag-says-world-class-running-coach-heres-how-to-bag-the-benefits","18":"tag-shorttitle-hill-sprints-can-replace-lifting-weights"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115894002888829937","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=284039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/284040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=284039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=284039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=284039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}