One thing you never will hear someone say after a Spartan Race is, “I wish I didn’t train for hill climbs as much as I did. They were too easy in the race.” Hill climbs and grip work are the two most undertrained skills. Hill climbs can be tough to get into your training program. Maybe you don’t live that close to steep hikes and it is a hassle to drive somewhere. I get it. Any barrier to performing exercise usually wins out.
But there are some great things you can do to still get a hill workout in when you aren’t near a mountain or maybe don’t have time for a long workout.
Here is one routine I have been working on. It is one of those workouts that don’t look too challenging on paper, but will kick your butt. All you need is a sand bag, a stair climber, and a treadmill.
Indoor Hill Climb Workout
Perform 10 floors on the stair climber with a sandbag over one shoulder
Immediately repeat on the other shoulder
Perform a 400m treadmill sprint as fast as you can
Rest for 1-2 minutes
Repeat for 4 total rounds
For my workout I did the stair climber on level 5-7 (adjusted it a few times), using a 40lb sandbag. My sprint was on zero incline at 10mph. Try this workout once a week if you do not have direct access for any hills or just need a quick butt kicking workout.