Two easy steps to get you Running!

You can't run because you don't have the time.

You can't run because it hurts your knees from the impact.

You can't run because it hurts your back which is because you sit all day and your glutes haven't been in working order since Olivia Newton John told you to get physical.

The reality is, is that you CAN find time to run and you CAN avoid the pitfalls of running endless kilometres on unforgiving concrete.

How?

Hills.

Hills can cut your training time in half because the "cost" of hill running is a lot more then flat ground running meaning you don't need to do it for as long, much like sprinting vs jogging.

When running up an incline your front side mechanics (steps) are cut "short" so that there is far less impact then with full steps.

With shortened front side mechanics,  there is then a vast increase in backside mechanics (push off) which will hit those hard to reach area's like the glutes and hamstrings, taking a lot of the stress off the knees.

When starting out with hills follow these simple rules:

- the incline of the hill doesn't really matter, use what you have available

- the length of the hill also doesn't matter, again use what you have available and if it's too long only use part of the hill and work up to the full distance

- use the number of steps to gauge your volume starting at 100 each leg on your first session and increasing by 25 each successive session by adding sets or distance

I'm about to turn 35 this month and still play senior grade football and I'll be using a lot of hill sprints for my conditioning leading up to pre season training 2014.

So to recap:

Step 1 - Find a Hill

Step 2 - Run Up It