Why Is Running Downhill Hard?
There are many reasons why running downhill is harder on the body than running uphill.
First, a bit of biology. Your muscles contract in two different ways: isometrically and isotically. With concentric contraction, muscles shorten—like when you’re running uphill. With eccentric contraction, they lengthen—like when running downhill.
As the muscle fibers lengthen, they produce more force, which allows you to control your speed.” When going downhill, your muscles lengthen to help control your speed. The more the muscle fibers lengthen, the more force they can produce, allowing for more speed control. More microtears in muscle fibers leads to more gains in strength, according to Dr. Buckingham.
Eccentric movements, or movements that cause your body to go off balance, can be more strenuous and put more strain on your body, according to Nelson Tuffor, lead reviewer at fitness site cardiozero.com.
Running downhill is a form of resistance that forces your ankle into more plantarflexion with each step. This means that more weight is placed on the front of your knee, which in turn places more stress on your quadriceps, the tendon connecting your quadriceps to your kneecap, and the muscle in front of your shinbone. Downhill running often leads to knee pain or IT Band syndrome.
Using too much force while running downhill can put a strain on your ankles, calves, back, core, and arms. Doug Liantonio, a certified fitness trainer, notes that stretch bands are often used to hold someone in place rather than help them stretch.
When running downhill your feet are in contact with the ground for a longer period of time than when running on a flat surface, which puts more strain on your feet.
” When going downhill, you toes tend to point out more and this activates more foot muscles to help with strength and grip. “If you’re heel-striking, you land on your heel before rolling through the rest of your foot.” When you run, you should push off as soon as your foot touches the ground,” says Shaun Toh, physiotherapist and founder of Fhysio. If you heel-strike, you land on your heel before rolling through the rest of your foot.”
A few reasons downhill running can feel so hard:
- Running downhill results in more ground force, in other words landing harder
- This more intense pounding creates more tears in the muscles, causing that burning sensation when you finish
- Natural tendency to lean back results in slamming the ground with your heel and pushing pressure up through the knees
- The body thinks that’s a break signal and tenses all the muscles to slow you down
- Running downhill for a long period requires different muscle control that flats, uphills or rolling hills
- When running uphill our knees are bent and we naturally lean forward
8 Tips for Downhill Running Training
One way to help you prepare for a race is to try to run on a course that is similar to the one where the race will take place. Can you have someone drop you off at a location that is mostly downhill? It’s difficult to find routes that are long enough and only downhill, but it is possible.
As soon as you have a safe space to practice running downhill for long periods of time, use these tips to keep your body feeling strong, and make the most of the effort you’re putting in.
# 1 Training Frequency
If you’re training to run a long race downhill, like the Revel, you need to be sure to include consistent downhill training in your routine.
Running downhill can help improve your overall speed and form. Try to include at least one steep long downhill run in your training each week. run two miles downhill and then check for any unusual soreness.
Running uphill may result in more DOMS than regular runs, but this can lead to muscular gains and remind you that you need to specifically train for hills.
While on your run, think about the following form tips.
#2 Mid to Forefoot Landing
Be sure to keep your focus on landing with your mid to forefoot when you are running. Stepping on the heel creates a braking effect that shocks the entire body.
Flat ground is easy to run on midfoot, but it is hard to do that going downhill. We don’t want to land too far on the ball of the foot because we would lose the benefit of the full foot making contact. We might be focused slightly more on the forefoot to prevent ourselves from heel striking.
Heel striking is not necessarily a negative thing.
However, when you are running downhill you are likely striding out and thus placing more pressure on your leg when you land. You will be able to take longer strides on a gradual downhill as gravity will be working in your favor, however, you should still be careful about how you land and make sure your foot is placed centrally.
If you want to avoid losing your toenails or getting black toenails from running, this is huge. Downhill running puts more pressure on your feet than any other type of running, because your feet are constantly pushed forward in the shoe.
#3 Lean In To It
One of the reasons that downhills tear up the legs is that people tend to sit back during the movement. It’s often called sitting in the bucketseat. Come out of your tall posture by tucking your pelvis.
We do it for understandable reasons; it seems like this gives us more control over our speed and movement.
Although it is beneficial, it is causing more strain on the joints.
You should slightly lean from your ankles or hips so that your knees and ankles stay aligned.
#4 Land Light
If you can hear your feet hitting the ground while you’re listening to music, you need to focus on thinking words like “light and easy.”
The extra force you have going downhill makes your landing more powerful. You must maintain an upright posture and not give in to the intensity.
#5 Change Your Arm Swing
Bend your arms at a 90 degree angle and swing them a little faster. Your legs will normally move at the speed your arms are moving, so go with the flow instead of slowing down.
#6 Look Forward
Looking at our feet while running uphill and downhill can slow us down. This will throw you off balance and stop your brain from being able to spot potential hazards.
If you look a few feet in front of you instead of looking at your phone, your brain will have time to process anything that might be coming. The short chainstays make it easier to avoid roots and rocks when you are changing direction or picking your feet up higher.
#7 Relax In To It
Try to relax and let the gravity do the work. Let go of any nervousness and enjoy the ride as you move downhill!
Tension in your muscles will be increased on harder downhill runs due to worry. If you increase your workload and change your stride, you could end up injuring yourself.
#8 Handling Steep Declines
This is usually my biggest struggle. I can end up going slower on the super steep descents than I did uphill! I’m so lucky to have some great trail running friends who encourage me to keep going. I’ve gotten a lot better at it over the years by following my own advice to keep practicing.
A few things to help on steep declines:
- Use your arms like wings to create more balance
- Think about much shorter steps, which gives you more speed control
- Run in a zig zag pattern if needed to gain control over your speed and lessen the steepness
How To Train For Downhill Running
The best way to master downhill running is to practice. This way, you will get a feel for how to lean your body, how to control your speed, and how to use your arms and legs to keep yourself balanced.
practicing not only provides you with the opportunity to learn the proper techniques, but also strengthens the muscles required to handle the impact.
To begin, start conservatively. Steve Stonehouse, a certified personal trainer, run coach, and Director of Education for treadmill studio franchise, STRIDE, says that your legs will thank you.
Run the down hills
Increase the incline of the treadmill gradually, starting at a -2 percent gradient and increasing to a -5 percent gradient. After that, increase the gradient to -10 percent.
It may also help you feel less sore after each workout.” The reason for this is to give your body a chance to get used to the extra muscle damage. It could also assist you in feeling less achy after each workout is completed. After you’re accustomed to the additional pressure on your muscles, you can move on to steeper slopes, Buckingham says.
Buckingham says that it is difficult to control your body if the incline is greater than 10 percent, which increases the risk of injury and falling.
Start slow on soft surfaces
Begin your workout on surfaces that will be gentle on your muscles and won’t cause injuries if you fall. After you feel comfortable running on grass, you can try running on the road.
Be prepared for discomfort
You may experience some soreness after working out, especially if it’s a new type of workout for you. This is called delayed onset muscle soreness, or DOMS.
DOMS is not a bad thing in and of itself and does not automatically mean you are injured. But it does show how much strain running downhill causes.
If a runner starts to feel worse after 48 hours, it means they need more rest.
Also, be prepared for it to be difficult.
Downhill running techniques take some time to get used to. Although it may be discouraging, Meghan Hicks, managing editor for the running website IRunFar.com, says not to be discouraged.
“Soon it will start to come naturally. You will likely find that you feel better running downhill and that you can run faster too.
Lift weights
You can improve your downhill running by doing strength exercises that focus on the eccentric movements of your calves, quads, and glutes.
” runners typically don’t engage in weight lifting, but this can be a great addition to any runner’s repertoire According to Buckingham, lifting heavy weights and performing slow, eccentric contractions are particularly effective.
Exercises that are useful to runners training for downhill running include:
- split leg squat
- reverse Nordic curls
- squats
- calf raises
To get the most out of this exercise, do the movements slowly, taking up to 5 seconds to extend your arms before powering back up.
” Buckingham recommends going extremely slowly when squatting down and then returning to an upright standing position. This text is saying that if you do a slow, eccentric movement, it will have similar effects to running downhill.
Do plyometrics
Just as running downhill can damage your muscles, performing running drills and plyometric exercises is a great way to cause eccentric muscle damage without running at all.
Some exercises you can do include:
- squat jumps
- alternating split squat jumps
- single leg jumps
- skater hops
- carioca
- skipping
- quick feet
Buckingham says that these exercises can be very helpful for runners who don’t have hills to run down for training.
How to Train for Downhill Races Without Hills?
You can’t just skip downhill training if you want to do well on race day. A few options
- plyo drills for runners that focus on the down movement. i.e jumping down off boxes
- running down stadium stairs
The 4 Big Downhill Running Mistakes
There are a few things to avoid when learning to run downhill, including getting tense, overstriding, and hunching over.
Mistake #1: Do not push your heel into the ground
” You should be careful not to push your heel down too hard when you walk. Look up and ahead of you, not down at your feet. Lean back when running to help stabilize your body. Liantonio says to quicken your stride and hold your arms back.
Mistake #2: Don’t run down as fast as possible
If you go too fast while running, you will feel out of control. This can cause you to overstride and over-arch your back, which can lead to injury, Toh says. You can use your arms for balance by keeping them at your sides or crossed in front of you.” Stand with your feet beneath your hips and your arms either at your sides or crossed in front of your chest, avoiding leaning too much forward or backward. Stay close to the ground and take light steps.
Mistake #3: Not changing your running form
Running downhill is different than running on a flat surface or uphill.
Your running form needs to change.
Ken Stonehouse, a bicycling coach, notes that if the correct adjustments are made to your bike, you can use the momentum to your advantage and ‘coast’ to prepare for the approaching level ground or even the next hill.
Mistake #4: Resisting the hill
Downhills will hurt less if you don’t fight them.
Stonehouse says that the excessive resistance is burning out the quads and causing pain.
If you are able to adapt to the situation, you can use the opportunity to your advantage for the future.
It seems like a good idea to use this strategy for the Boston Marathon, any race that has hills, and in general for life.
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