[Dane]

I’m a few weeks into doing hill sprints leading up to my race and they feel super easy. It feels like I’m going as fast as I can but by the next day my legs feel fine. Not having any real running background is it possible I’m just not able to engage enough FT fibers yet to really get the full effect out of them? It seems like most people talk about hill sprints as feeling like a leg workout but I don’t feel like I’m getting that effect from them. I’m doing them on a 30% hill and basically make it to the same spot about half way up every single time.

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on February 14, 2020 at 2:06 pm #38199

Not having any real running background is it possible I’m just not able to engage enough FT fibers yet to really get the full effect out of them?

Yes.

Is it that they don’t feel hard during? Or that you’re not sore after? Or both?

[Dane]

Dane on February 14, 2020 at 3:07 pm #38200

Kind of both. By the end of the 8 seconds I can feel my power drop off but I never feel like I can’t do more reps. For instance last night I did 2 sets of 7, resting 2 mins between reps and 5 between sets, and I felt like I could have kept that going for another hour. Then today at work I ran up a flight of stairs just to test my legs and they felt pretty good.

I’m comparing the feeling on the hill sprints to the one 30/30 workout I did last week on a track where I had to cut it short because I just couldn’t get my HR up the even my AnT by the end and had to make my run the next day a recovery effort because I was feeling it still.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on February 15, 2020 at 10:11 am #38224

By the end of the 8 seconds I can feel my power drop off but I never feel like I can’t do more reps.

When your power drops off, you’re done. After that point, the fibers you’re trying to target have checked out so there’s not much to be gained by more volume.

I had to cut it short because I just couldn’t get my HR up

Good choice. At that point, the same thing is happening. Your heart rate won’t rise because your legs are fatigued and can’t put enough stress on the heart for it to beat faster. SO continuing would be a different kind of stimulus.

I’m comparing the feeling on the hill sprints to the one 30/30 workout I did

Hill sprints are too short to be generally fatiguing, so you won’t feel really tired after a session. It would be more comparable to a max strength session which would have little general fatigue after.

[Dane]

Dane on February 17, 2020 at 11:07 am #38318

OK it sounds like I might have been expecting a different feeling from them. Regardless I can feel an improvement when I have to go uphill on my long runs so they seem to be having a positive impact. Stuff like this is why I’m looking forward to getting some coaching this summer.

Thanks