Treadmill Hiking Tutorial To Improve Power Hiking
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- You all are amazing! Here is a video to accompany this week's Trail Runner Magazine article on how to use treadmill hiking. Check out the Some Work, All Play podcast here! podcasts.apple...
From the article:
Practice 3 form tips to start:
1. Glutes (Forward Lean)
I like athletes to imagine that they are mimicking the grade they are approaching. On a 15% grade, think a more pronounced forward lean. On a 4% grade, it will be almost imperceptible. Try to generate power from the glutes, like they are two badass windmills that will mesmerize birds so that they fly into them at full speed.
2. Knees (Knee Drive)
Many athletes tend to walk with straight legs. But this isn’t walking, it’s power hiking. In power hiking, you should still bend your knee slightly as your leg pulls through, limiting the angle formed by your tibia and femur to prevent excess energy use. Particularly on very steep hills, you want to feel like you are pawing forward, almost like you are creating imaginary stairs that help you engage those glutes.
3. Arms (Active Swing)
In running, the arm swing is passive, focusing on maintaining posture and limiting energy use. In hiking, the arms can be another chance to generate power. I like athletes to alternate between hands on thighs (using your arms as poles that push into the ground with your foot) and a focused swing.
Use that form outside too, viewing every time you hike on a trail run as an opportunity to deploy your secret weapon. Scratch that, your secret weapons. I’m talking about those glutes!
Combine that form with 3 treadmill training principles:
1. General timing
Consider treadmill hiking in the 6-8 weeks before events that will involve substantial hiking time, which should be plenty of sessions to maximize the adaptations. You can also use the treadmill to improve hiking generally if it’s a weakness, or as supplementary cross training.
2. Specific timing
We don’t want hiking to replace much running training. Those running economy adaptations take years, and it’s key not to let intermediate goals get in the way of long-term growth. Instead, Megan and I like athletes to practice treadmill hiking at the end of runs, as doubles, or as cross-training, aiming for two or three stimuli a week totaling 30 to 60 minutes in key training before steep events for athletes that don't have to hike much in training.
3. Structuring a session
15% grade is a sweet spot where you can focus on maximizing speed, with the added reality that most treadmills don’t go higher. But even if you have a treadmill that goes to 40%, raw output is still going to be limited by the form, so we don’t like athletes to spend excess training stress on practicing extremely steep grades outside of the 4-6 weeks before bonkers mountain races (think the Hardrock 100).
Start at 2-3 miles per hour, remembering that every treadmill is calibrated differently so the exact numbers aren’t that important. Later, if an athlete finds that 15% and 4.2-4.5 miles per hour becomes easy, we’ll have them increase the grade if their machine goes higher. They can also add a weight vest to increase the difficulty once their speed stagnates.
As an addition to a run, 10 minutes works wonderfully. Start at a speed that is manageable, and alternate 1 minute faster with 1 minute easier until those faster speeds become the norm.
As a double, 20 to 30 minutes gets a great adaptation stimulus. Start with a manageable speed, then turn it up, alternating every few minutes. Ideally mix in some steep running practice too, working on the hike-to-run and run-to-hike transitions. Very advanced athletes can do a treadhill running double, tacking on 10-15 minutes of hike/running at the end.
For cross-training, an athlete can go up to an hour with the same protocol. Any more than that risks excess stress without much physiological rationale.
If possible, combine that general skills-building practice with specific training on steep trails that will require slightly different biomechanical patterns, particularly during long runs. As your body gets used to the new demands, you’ll likely see a wildly cool change, even if you never considered yourself a great hiker.
Comfort will go up, speed will skyrocket, and heart rate will go down.
Treadmill hiking can turn a weakness into a superpower.
5 mph @ 15% and spinning hilarious. Thank you for all your very helpful videos. You are AWESOME!!!
Always good to see another post by you David, thanks
Beginning to power hike. thanks for your information to help guide my fitness goals
David you are the MAN. LOVE LOVE LOVE these videos and will be adjusting my current training plan tomorrow to add in smart TM work.
Another excellent way-to-play trail-running training video! But man, something about your shoes makes that tiltscape wonky on your treadmill! Love it! 'Til next-time, Peace & Greens!
Great info as always, but I can't help from being distracted by what appears to be an odd configuration of doors in the corner :).
Any tips if my treadmill only goes to 10% incline?
p̴r̴o̴m̴o̴s̴m̴ 😡
Audio ssssucks big time.