Hi Michael. As long as you’re pushing back with your leg, from when it’s directly under your torso, you’ll be using your glutes. When climbing, if you reach too far forward with your leading leg or if you try to pull yourself up with your leading leg, before it’s under your body, you’ll be using your quads or hamstrings (which you want to avoid over straining). So always try to make the effort with your stride from under your body backwards & then you’ll be using your glutes. Have a look at our ‘Leg Drive’ video for more guidance. Cheers
Couldn’t say for sure as we’ve never climbed that long but the logic says yes. It’s the most efficient way to climb, so in theory it’s going to work whatever the duration & the longer you go, the greater the benefit from using a really efficient technique.
I love hills. Going up. Not so much going down! I try to get into a sustainable breathing rhythm and slow down down to maintain 60%ish maximum heart rate. It's definitely harder with full on camping gear
I grew up in a village with hills. A visit to a friend or going to school wasn’t done without ‘climbing’ one. I had the choice: climb 1, 2,3 or 4. I always imagined going back home. Flying down 🌬️💨.
It could be a couple of things. Firstly, when the incline gets steep, you will feel it in your calves, as your feet are forced to tilt upwards. If you go on your toes to try & alleviate this, you can end up with the same feeling, as the calves then take the strain from your feet not being fully supported. It’s difficult to avoid it to be honest but the more you climb & get stronger, your calves will be able to handle it more. You could also do some calf raises to build their strength up. Also, try to make sure you’re using your glutes (bum muscles) to power your stride, as this will ensure that your biggest & strongest muscles are taking the strain. This won’t remove any ache in your calves but it will lessen it. Hope this helps. All the best. Roger
I guess the first thing to check is if you’re well hydrated before you start? Dehydration is a big cause of cramps or spasms & especially a lack of essential electrolytes. Also, if you’re just starting out it could be that your muscles aren’t used to the specific movement & level of activity, so make sure you start easy each time for the first kilometre or mile before pushing on. If you warm up, then stop & do some leg stretches, especially your calves this is not only a good habit to get into, it could help with the spasms. Massaging your calves if you get spasms can help & also you could just massage them before & after too, to help them adjust to being under more load. If none of this works it would be worth speaking with a doctor or physio, as it could be a sign of injury or inflammation in a muscle or tendon. I’d start with hydration & electrolytes though. Have a strong electrolyte sports drink with good levels of potassium & sodium about 30 minutes to an hour before you go out & see if that helps. Hope you find a solution soon 🙂 Roger
Helpful video, but how do you use the glutes instead of the calves, because my calves explode uphill and not my glutes, and I need the calves for running.
It’s all about your climbing action & getting all your drive from your rear leg to activate your glutes. Your calves are still used but if your glutes are taking the strain then the pressure on your calves will be a lot less, unless there’s something going on with foot placement, like being on your toes with heels lifted etc. Best way to make the transformation is to get yourself on a slope, then slowly go through the motion of moving uphill & as your front leg moves to just in front of your body, focus on powering the rest of the motion with your glutes. It may take a while to feel your glutes working (glute activation generally can take a lot of practice) but stick with it & once you can feel the glutes working, you’ll be better able to drive your climbing with your glutes not your calves. Hope that helps! Roger
Thank you for that and thank you for introducing me to sport walking. I've been a runner for over 30 years, particularly trail running. A few years off 70, I'm finding running harder, but I'm really getting into this, it's like trail running, but less high impact on the knee joints.
Thanks Keith! Glad you’re getting into it. You’re absolutely right about the similarities with trail running. I run myself, although only up to about 10 miles and I know how sport walking can be as much of a challenge if you do it right, so it’s really great to hear a serious runner find value in it too. I hope you continue you to enjoy your walking! All the best. Roger
@@sportwalk as I comment earlier , we use zig zag technique walking up hill or down hill as to prevent from knee pains , this my grandparent told us cos long times is good for our knees
Very informative and very well explained/demonstrated! I'm a trail runner and with practice this will help me improve my technique and efficiency on the varying climbs I come across. I've looked at a few videos over the years on hill techniques but this has been the best by far! Thanks!
As someone who often worked in areas without road access, where climbing and descending hills was the only to get to the workplace, where people expected you to arrive at a certain time and so there was no time to stop and take a breath at the top of a hill, and going to work sometimes meant strapping on a rucksack. this video reminded me of many of the techniques I employed. I never used poles, couldn't get used to them. I did place my hands on my thighs when the slope got steeper, but often the thighs would hurt upon reaching the top of a hill. Didn't know about the swinging of the arms though, would have helped.
Hi Abbas. Difficult to say from here but it could be if the walking you do in the week is on easier terrain, when you go hiking, the trail is more difficult. The best way to train for what you experience when hiking is to try & match it in your week day walking, so if you have hills at the weekend, try to include hills in the week. Also, you can try to work harder all the time during your week day walks, so that you’re then stronger by the weekend but last thing would also be to do some weight training to build up extra leg strength. Hope that helps. All the best. Roger
I use zig zag walking up and walking down hill for hurting my knee this technique I followed from my grandparent as they ascending descending the mountains during my childhood times it is good
Hey Roger Can I ask if the technique changes using poles when very steep and technical? As in is it still most efficient with small steps and high cadence when each step costs more energy due to upper body pole use, and when it’s steep and technical do we still want small steps or larger ones aiming for rock footholds etc
Hi Joel. You want to keep everything the same, especially when it’s steep & technical because that’ll keep your momentum up. BUT…. it does depend on what we mean by technical. Steep on its own but with an undulating or rough surface is quite simple - you maintain small steps & high cadence because that’s the most efficient. Adding poles in this instance is more about maintaining momentum, rather than adding power as such, so the extra effort shouldn’t be as much as if you’re using poles to actually add momentum - it would be a lighter touch approach (hope that makes sense). That said, you would still need to judge the distance you’re going to be climbing & make a decision about whether using poles would tip you over the edge in terms of effort, so making sure it wouldn’t take you into the red. If the terrain is really rocky, very uneven or very technical in some other way, you’re not going to have the luxury of being able to maintain momentum with regular foot placement, so there will be some steps you have to make that will be longer than ideal but your overall objective should still be to use short steps wherever possible to give you that efficient climbing action. Poles in this instance are more about stability than momentum because of the nature of the terrain. Hope that helps? All the best. Roger
@@sportwalk You are a legend Roger! Thank you. I am not sport walker but an ultra runner and usually do steep technical races. I already made huge gains on runnable climbs with the advice on your video. This makes sense. Thanks again for the reply
Very encouraging video, thank you. I am taking more and more to 'brisk walking' rather than running these days - I tend to mix the two especially on trails. I was reminded also of the advice re cycling up hills to take it steadily rather than attempting to rush it.
Just climbed Mt. Ralston in the Sierras. 2730 rise up to 9200 feet. Poles were absolutely mandatory the whole hike . Not pressing myself too fast was what got me to the summit and back. I'm 69 years old doing this 8.2 miles hike.
My abilities are nothing. I have no endurance. Haven't exercised in a 2 years. Doc's orders, I started rebounding around a week ago. This weekend I did a 2300 ascent 10 mile hike (I didn't really notice The "2300 ascension" tbh or I probably wouldn't have gone). I'm sorrre rn and on YT watching other people suffer ;-)
Yeah, maybe that was a big bite for the first week but hey, you did it! Hope you keep at it & regain your fitness. The hardest part is always at the start. All the best. Roger
I've managed to make around 10 accents and I can see that your tips are spot on! I made them intuitively, but it's great to see that you encourage them as well! Thanks!
Never heard of sport walking but wow! How helpful that was thank you! Spent many years trail running but finding it hard on joints so looking at hiking but this looks more fun 👌
Sure, we’ve got a video just for that. It’s called ‘Free Speed’. Should be one or two vids before or after How to Climb (can’t remember exactly). Basically though, just take the breaks off & offer no resistance. Hope the video helps but fire over any questions if not. Cheers. Roger
Hi, glad you liked it. So, with contouring, I’d split it into two options - the first is when the trail has a relatively steady incline, in which case I’d approach it pretty much as I’d walk on the flat, from a technique point of view, obviously with the pace fitting the steepness of the incline. The second would be where you’re still contouring but the trail rises steeply, in which case I’d revert to what we discuss in this video. The only caveat being the camber of the trail because there’s always a strong potential that a contouring trail will have a camber, in which case I’d be looking to move around as much as possible, to avoid picking up a repetitive strain. Hope that helps. All the best. Roger
Hi Peter. Without prior testing to see where your heart rate limit is on a climb, it would basically be about playing safe & operating at a pace where you’re working hard but you’re able to sustain it for the full duration of the climb. This may mean that on that occasion, you’re not going as fast as you could but without doing a range of measured tests on different gradients to establish what your optimum heart rate is, it’s always going to be a question of learning by experience. My advice would be to go hard on a few non-critical occasions & actually overdo it, so you know what going too hard feels like & how it feels when you’re in the red & need to stop. Then, make sure you go easier next time & eventually you’ll automatically climb at a speed & effort that is fast but sustainable & that will effectively be your optimum climbing heart rate. I hope that helps? All the best. Roger
The track’s called ‘Twelve Speed’ by Slynk. It’s production music from the RU-vid music library, so not sure if it’s available elsewhere but you should be able to find it on your RU-vid account under RU-vid Studio at the bottom on the left.
very helpful thanks. I have an Ultra Marathon next weekend, my first one. The question is always when to start with power walk at the climbs, should I jogg as long as I am not in the "red" or should I power walk in earlier stages in order to save energy for later? Thanks a lot
Hi Miguel. Glad you found it helpful. As this is your first ultra, I’d suggest walking as soon as you’re on a climb, mainly to see how you get on. If you keep a high cadence & walk quite strongly, the time difference won’t be that great. If you’re feeling good later on then you could push further into the climbs but golden rule is once you’ve spent your energy it’s gone, so better to play safe this time & to know that you’ve got it in you to run for longer on the climbs next time, than to run within your ability from the start only to suffer later on. Good luck with it. I hope you enjoy the experience & have a good time. All the best. Roger
Awesome, you must be excited! My two cents on walking... I just finished my second 50k last weekend. I'd like to say I killed it, but it felt the other way around. My online coach had told me to walk MORE than I thought I needed to to start, but I interpreted that to mean walk on hills and when tired... so I walked only the hills for the first 12 miles. HUGE mistake. For the last half, my run pace on the flat was 3 minutes slower than in training because I had no energy left. If I'd thrown in extra walk breaks to start, even when not tired, I probably could have maintained a faster run pace throughout, finished faster, AND felt stronger. Good luck with your ultra!!
🙌🏆🍷🤩THANK YOU AND WELCOME! We’re only motivated to share our knowledge and encourage people to walk faster and challenge themselves with this channel BUT, this is a big milestone for us and we’re very grateful for all the follows.... especially yours! 😁
Thanks; it’s amazing how little things can make a difference. I walk at 8-10,000 feet altitude, and it’s pretty rocky (Rocky Mtns). My knee hurts a lot, but I keep at it. Thanks again!
Hi Edina. Glad you liked it. We will be producing some new videos this summer aimed at those starting out, so keep an eye out. We’re aiming to take people from starting to walk for fitness all the way to being able to take on challenges & as a part of that we’ll be explaining some of the terms used to describe techniques etc. If there’s anything specific you’d like to understand, just message back & I’ll explain. All the best. Roger
Hi Sean. It’s pretty minimal. Not sure of the weight exactly but my Raidlight vest is super light & I only take essentials in it so most of the weight is perishable really, in the shape of fluids & food (mostly bars). Think I need to weigh everything now & get a handle on the actual weight! I’m doing a piece on what to carry for different walks in the first episode of the Sport Walk Show this month, so I’ll include it in that. Cheers. Roger
I just found your channel. Very useful for my ultra trail training. I use my glutes when going uphill but my calves still get very sore and feel like they are going to explode. Any tips to fix this?
Hi! Glad you’re finding the channel useful. Tricky to diagnose exactly but try looking at your foot placement - try to keep your feet flat on the ground & don’t go up on your toes unless it gets super steep. Also, keep your cadence high with short fast steps, so you’re minimising the effort you need to give to each step. Even with good glute activation, if your stride is long & your cadence is low, the stress on your legs is greater than with a high cadence & that can mean other leg muscles can become over worked. Can’t say for sure but I’d definitely check your foot placement & cadence as a starter. Hope it helps. All the best. Roger
