UKC

Stupid question I guess but are there any tips for getting in lots of ascent if you live somewhere with only small hills? About the biggest hill near me is roughly 120m ascent in roughly 1.5km, or 50m of ascent in about 300m is the steepest bit.

In an 8 mile run I got in about 350m of ascent going up and down various bits, but is going downhill lots bad for your knees etc.?

I was thinking of just running up and down the steepest bit several times to get in lots of height gain to simulate going hiking somewhere with bigger hills but not sure if this is just a recipe to screw my knees. 

What do people think?

I used to do a loop 60 m up 60 m down, about 2x as steep on the up path.  Treat it as intervals, run hard up the up and walk down the down.  That mixed it up enough to stop me going out of my mind with boredom.  

I think it very much depends on how you descend. If you thud down without thinking about form and technique then I'd say yes it's going to be bad, but if you think about what you are doing and take note of your form then no not really. Is it road or fell? 

Also, descending hills on long days is probably more knackering than the uphill, so preparing your legs for descent is equally as important.

I've found squats etc to be beneficial for my climbing/descending. I'm not a big fan of doing millions of reps but learnt how to zercher squat to avoid trying to get a big weight over my shoulders without a squat rack. Alternatively 1 leg squats against a door frame are good.

It'd be off road but not super rough terrain. Rough enough to roll an ankle if you weren't concentrating. 

I might give it ago in the next week see how I get on, never really ran laps of anything i always aim to do big aesthetically pleasing loops!

I've had my knees for 70 years.  They've been everywhere I have, fell running, walking, climbing,. skiing and they still cause me no bother.

If you're worried about mucking your knees up perhaps you should consider something less stressful.

Proper small hills, sprint up them and try not to allow your lungs to burst at the top.

Finish of my early morning run is a railway bridge over the line to Penzance and I end the run with 5 or 6  ascents of full speed double steps up and single steps down. 

One dislike???  Oh, perhaps I shouldn't have added the last paragraph.  Or don't you believe my 70 legs are OK?

I think running and hiking are going to work different muscle groups to an extent, so there is limited benefit from running (plus additional risk from injury due to a fall / sprained ankle).  Cardio - yes, running gives more of that, but you can get that from doing other things.

How about just hiking up with a large volume of water to create extra load for your climbing muscles, then tipping it out on the top to reduce the wear on your knees in descent?

With seventy legs to spread the load your knees should be in fine condition...

Are you looking to improve aerobic fitness or leg strength? If the former then hills are a help but it's running intervals (long up-tempo to start, graduating to short HIT intervals as you improve) that does the work. 

If it's leg strength then you'd be well advised to strengthen muscles and connective tissues with low impact, high resistance workouts (elliptical trainer gets my vote) before tackling descents at speed. Good technique will help you preserve your knee cartilage; as others have said, though, slope angle and hardness of surface both play a large part in determining whether you'll be walking or hobbling next day. With this in mind I wouldn't session the steepest section unless you can descend the long way round to lower the slope angle.

LoL    ha ha - I've just noticed I claimed I've got 70 legs.  Oh dear!!   I can assure you I've only two and both are the same age - 70.

Sorry about that, Bill; I couldn't resist pulling your leg...

Don't apologise.  When I saw what I'd typed it made me laugh too - I'd have probably replied along similar lines if someone else had done it.

We need some amusement in these Covid times!

Hi,

Not quite what you’re asking about, but this blog post (+/- others), by a Mountain Guide, might be worth checking ...

Thanks,
R

https://www.chrisensoll.com/chris-ensolls-blog/how-to-stay-mountain-fit-dur...