Uphill runs and ( or vs.) downhill runs?

Question

I was thinking about combining those two for better speed. Will it work? I have heard both increase your sprinting speed. And when I do downhills, should I sprint down?

Answer 1

If you can run up hills, you can pretty much run anything. Hills are great for speedwork because they build up your leg muscles, and when you're running on flat ground your leg muscles will allow you to run faster. There's certain techniques to running hills though, because you can't really just go up it. When you run up hill, you want to make sure you that you're keeping your body up straight, like you're perpendicular to the ground. Keep your head up and straight as well. As you're running, swing your arms back and forth to help push you up the hill, push off on your feet smoothly, and bring your knees up. It might feel weird at first but it'll make it easier going up the hill.

Downhill is the easy part, and it's where you take your recovery, because gravity takes over and your body just naturally flows with it. As you're going down, you should be at a good speed but definitely not sprinting, because that kind of cancels out the recovery. Lean forward a little bit, but not too much that you're wobbling and losing your balance. Your legs will naturally start adapting to the downhill, so just focus on keeping your balance and just let your legs carry you down. Also, you want to let the downhill carry you through the rest of the run. Continue with the same pace and let the momentum push you through the rest of the run. If you have another hill right after the first hill, then pick up on the downhill and use the momentum to push you up the next hill. This will save your energy and give you an advantage, especially if you're running a race because a lot of people slow down on the hills. Don't worry about working hard going up the hill because you can relax on the downhill since gravity's pulling you down, and then you can continue with your run. If you're doing hill repeats, again just let the downhill carry you right back up.

Answer 2

No, sprinting downhill could cause injury because of the stress. However sprinting on a very slight decline could help with turn-over

Answer 3

When my team does hills we usually focus on the uphills or the downhills.

If we're sprinting uphill we use the downhill as recoveries so we job down.  This increases strength and power for running.

If we sprint downhill, we usually jog or walk back uphill.  

When you sprint downhill lean into the hill.  It'll feel like you're going to fall but you won't unless you lean too much.  Your feet shouldn't be slapping the ground and it should be a smooth run down.  If you lean back, you will feel very uncomfortable and perhaps painful.  Downhills help for faster turnover.

Answer 4

Uphills increase your strength, but shortens  your stride length.

You should do downhills during the same workout.

It is best to run up then recover on the flat, then run down.

Running downhill you should run fast, but under control, this lengthens your stride. It is not a sprint, let yourself run fast, keeping your foot contact under you not out in front.

Answer 5

up hill will really help you when running outdoors and not on the road. and when running down hill just let your legs stretch out as if you are not controlling them and you will fly down. try it sometime

Answer 6

I don't really know the answer to that, but I can tell you that running downhill is really bad for your knees.  Your knees will take on a lot of impact because basically every time your foot hits the ground you are stopping (not literally stopping running, but preventing your body from going down).