Hill Training for Flatlanders

Yesterday an FB friend posted a complaint about the Spartan World Championship taking place at altitude.  “It’s not fair for people who don’t live and train at altitude,” he said.  As a New Jersey flatlander, I have to take some exception.

Number one pal, read the other FB posts from fellow OCR athletes.  “No excuses!”

Second, here are my flatlander tips on training for altitude. 

I will tell you right up front that as an experienced altitude outdoorsman, there are three major factors to consider from the perspective of an OCR athlete.  Two are obvious – your legs and your lungs.  These two you can train for on flat land and do well at altitude.  I run the Tuxedo and Blue Mountain Spartans with just flatland training.  Some of the podium finishers this year at Tuxedo likewise are flatlanders.  So the advice I give you here is not just from some old guy, it comes from moneywinners like my good friend Charles “Jazz” Vassallo who lives and trains in flat as a sheetcake Brooklyn, NY.

The third, and not obvious factor in altitude training is air pressure.  As a flatlander, there is absolutely nothing you can do about this.  Running “mountains” like Tuxedo and Blue does not really involve this factor.  Get above tree line, say over 9000 feet out in the Rockies, and air pressure is a potential game changer.  This is the factor that can produce altitude sickness.  Not only is there less oxygen up there, but the air pressure delta also affects breathing, equilibrium (inner ear fluid balance), and bloodflow.  Wearing a flow restriction mask does not help you train for these factors.  Only training at altitude can help.  That’s why, for countries that can afford it, they send their Olympic athletes to at-altitude training centers.

That being said, there are a few things you can do on flat field training to help compensate for this last factor.  I’ll mention just one here then move on to the legs and lungs.  Train harder!  Higher intensity.  Way past your comfort zone for breathing.  Make your lungs and blood vessels as big and efficient as possible.  That is all.

I find the best flat land training for hills/mountains to be the tire drag.  Sled pushing is also good.  But sleds are expensive.  I made my own tire drag rig with a tire from the junk yard (free), an heavy gage extension cord (free), and a leather weight lifting belt (had it since I was seventeen).  Tie it up and get going.  Fast.  Long.  Hard.  Add weight.  Find little bumps and rises on wooded trails.  Make it tough.

Now mix it up with footwork.  Hills go up and down and sideways (the fall line).  So besides dragging your tire forwards, turn around and run backwards.  That simulates the downhill run and will burn your quads like you won’t believe.  Now turn to the right and the left to do sideways work.  Simulate that narrow single track trail running where you are constantly turning side to side, up and down.  Do foot crossovers in front and back.  Do shuffle steps.  Go fast, long, and hard, just like you do on the course.

Now for a little technique.  Some people complain that the tire drag hurts their back or core.  So posture is critical here.  The heavier your tire, the more you have to lean in to get moving.  The lean has to be straight body.  Don’t bend at the waist.  That’s where the lower back pain and core issues come in.  Just before you start your run, stand up straight and check your spinal alignment.  Then lean into your run by bending at your ankles.

Next, arm pumping.  Efficient uphill arm pumps have been shown to help improve speed.  So unlike flat or downhill runs where arm pumps can be full swings, do uphill pumps by making sure on the backstroke that your elbows do not pass your body.  On the forward stroke, your fist goes no higher than your chin. 

Finally, use your hips.  Hopefully you at-altitude trainers already know this trick from the ancient native Indians of the mountains.  You walk uphill like a catwalk model.  Swing those hips.  Boxers and martial artists know this too.  Throwing punches with the leading hip maximizes power by all that added mass moving forward.  So run from the hips, not the calves, not the knees, not the upper legs, but by swinging the legs forward using those big, powerful hips.  Rotation happens where the spine meets the hip bones.  So your upper body remains pointed uphill, arms pump in the same direction, but swing those hips to get the whole body moving up.  It is a tough technique to master.  It is best taught by folks who practice what is called chi-running.  Look it up here  Get the book on Amazon here.  Great stuff.

See you on the mountain.