Whether you’re a competitive uphill athlete or just looking to improve your uphill performance, strength training is an essential part of your training regimen. Uphill athlete strength training can help you build the muscles needed to power uphill, improve your overall athleticism and reduce your risk of injury.
Uphill athlete strength training typically focuses on lower-body exercises that target the quads, hamstrings, and glutes. These are the muscles that are most important for uphill performance. However, uphill athlete strength training should also include core and upper body exercises to help you maintain balance and stability.
No equipment uphill athlete strength training
If you’re new to strength training, starting with bodyweight exercises is the best idea, then progressing to using weights when you feel comfortable. There are many uphill athlete strength training exercises that you can do with just your body weight, such as:
Squats x10
Doing a squat is simple: stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and lower your body as if you’re going to sit in a chair. Keep your knees behind your toes and your weight in your heels as you lower down. Once your thighs are parallel to the ground, press back up to the starting position.
Lunges x10
Lunges are another excellent bodyweight exercise for uphill athletes.
To lunge, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and take a big step forward with your right leg. Lower your body down, so both legs are bent at 90-degree angles. Keep your front knee behind your toes and your weight in your heels as you lunge. Push back up to the starting position and repeat with your left leg.
Situps x10
Situps are a great way to strengthen your core, which is vital for uphill athletes.
Lie on your back with your knees bent and your feet flat on the ground to do a situp. Place your hands behind your head and curl your upper body towards your knees. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Push-ups x10
To do a push-up, start in a plank position with your hands shoulder-width apart and your feet hip-width apart. Lower your body toward the ground, keeping your core engaged and your back straight. Once your chest touches the ground, press back up to the starting position.
Calf raises x10
Calf raises are a great bodyweight exercise for uphill athletes because they target the muscles on the back of your lower legs.
To do a calf raise, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and raise onto your toes. Lower back down and repeat.
Uphill Strength training with equipment
You can start using weights if you want to take your uphill athlete strength training to the next level, as this will help you build even more muscle and power for uphill performance.
Once you realize that you can do all bodyweight exercises without struggling, you can add weights to them. Apart from lunges, squats, calf raises, push-ups, and pull-ups, some other uphill athlete strength training exercises you can do with weights are:
Turkish getup x10
The Turkish getup is an excellent uphill athlete strength training exercise that targets the whole body. To do this exercise, start lying on your back with a weight in your right hand. Press the weight to the sky and then sit up, keeping your right arm straight. As you sit up, push your hips forward and place your left hand on the ground. Stand up, keeping the weight in your right-hand overhead, and then reverse the movement to return to the starting position.
Dumbbell row x10
The dumbbell row is an excellent exercise for uphill athletes because it targets the muscles used when rowing uphill.
To do this exercise, start by holding a weight in your right hand and placing your left hand on a bench. Bend your knees and hinge at the hips, keeping your back flat. Let the weight hang toward the ground and then row it up to your chest, keeping your elbow close to your body. Lower the weight back down and repeat.
You can do many other uphill athlete strength training exercises with weights, but these are a few of the most effective. As you get stronger, you can increase the amount of weight you use. The key to uphill athlete strength training is to focus on quality over quantity. It’s more important to do a few reps with good form than to do a lot of reps with poor form.