The park where I ran today has many ramps, which can better exercise muscle strength, propulsion, cardiopulmonary function, etc. However, going up and down will increase the load on the knees and even cause injuries, especially downhill.
So how to run on slopes correctly to avoid injury?
Uphill:
1- Keep your body in a balanced posture while running, don’t bend over.
Many people feel tired because of the slope, so they unconsciously have a hunchback. At this time, they need to raise their knees as much as possible, push their feet back, and use the strength of their thighs to move forward.
2- Keep short strides and high stride frequency
When going uphill, it doesn’t mean that your speed can be slowed down, but don’t forcefully accelerate, it’s best to keep your pace stable and maintain your speed.
3- Consciously mobilize large muscle movements
For more intense uphill running, it is not enough to rely on calf muscles alone. At this time, it is necessary to give full play to the muscles of the buttocks and thighs, so as to run more powerfully. The main point of mobilizing these two muscles is to raise the knee fully upward when running. The knees are fully raised and the pedaling is more powerful with each step, which can fully exercise the muscles of the buttocks and inner and outer thighs, so that you can run stably and powerfully.
Downhill:
1- Just like running in place, keep the body upright and place the center of gravity above the body support point. Don’t lean forward, as this can suddenly change your stride or make you go too fast.
2- Every step should touch the ground lightly and let the slope of the hill dictate your stride frequency, don’t take big steps. Reduce the height of your feet off the ground. Pay attention to your breathing, if the breathing rate starts to become faster, this means that you are either running too fast, or you are striding too much or raising your legs too high.
3- Pay attention to clamping the ribs and running, you will unconsciously speed up when going downhill, and it is easy to be too fully involved. At this time, the upper body may become tense and stiff, and the arms may be opened wider to run. Such a running posture will cause the upper body to shake and the center of gravity will be unstable at the same time. Clamping the ribs, like any other exercise, is an important aspect of hill training.