Disadvantages of Uphill Running?

The ideal place to discuss running or ways to start. Anything from clothing, equipment, technique and race meets goes.

Moderators: cassiegose, Boss Man

Post Reply
User avatar
TechnicGeek
SOCIAL CLIMBER
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2015 1:45 am

Disadvantages of Uphill Running?

Post by TechnicGeek »

I am running in urban surroundings and throughout running distance majority is upwards running. I tend to keep running uphill because of belief that I get most out of morning run doing that. This seems to be true due to high fiber muscles activated according to this article: http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitnes ... heart.aspx

I am concerned however about wearing out heart doing so. Article mentions this and gives advice on how to keep your running in the zone. It does not however discuss uphill running and how intense it is for heart so I decided to ask this question here. Article also mentions optimal pace to keep to stay in the zone and I wonder if this is applicable to uphill running.

What has been your experience with uphill running? Thanks.
User avatar
Boss Man
SITE ADMIN
Posts: 15457
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:27 pm

Re: Disadvantages of Uphill Running?

Post by Boss Man »

Firstly I would heed caution at that article, as it has a book offer at the end, so it could be said that the review of the science given by Mercola and the subsequent comments, may be skewed to promote greater want for his publication. This is a good strategy to adopt with any site explaining things to you, like how supplement ingredients work, or how "smart" technology works for example, then shows you offer codes, or discount offers etc, as monetising the page you are looking at, could turn the whole page into a what you are not being told exercise, rather than a what you are being told exercise.

This does not mean that in this case Mercola is out to hoodwink the reader and subtly coerce more people into wanting his listed publication, but that does not mean he isn't either, as the reference to the publication is blatant, not subtle, like, for example, being found only on a drop-down menu, or a specific link that says books or media.

As for running uphill, there will be greater taxation on the cardiovascular system, compared to the flat or downhill, if, for example, a pace of let's say 4mph was replicated uphill in relation to running that pace on the flat or downhill.

There might be a greater taxation on the knees, hips and ankles, but that could be reduced by correct technique, I:E: how the person plants the feet and also the right footwear relative to the persons foot movement, I:E: supinated, ankle rolls outwards, pronated, ankle rolls inwards or neutral and also using knee and ankle wraps might be beneficial, to negate some of the impact of uphill running, as well as making sure there is adequate stretching performed before and after runs.

As for the notion of years worth of regular, lengthy endurance cardio, causing heart abnormalities and an increased risk of heart related concerns, there is some merit to that notion, but claiming to have proved something on rats, to me, is not necessarily "solid evidence" as the write-up on the linked site says, as it is difficult for the lay person to ascertain what constitutes the equivalent of regular, lengthy endurance effects, when replicated on rats, as people who do cardio come in differing shapes, sizes, weight and ages, whereas most standard lab rats should be of similar size and weight and have a much shorter lifespan compared to humans, so does that mean the studies on rats represented an equivalent amount of regular, lengthy endurance in, for example, a person of normal BMI under 50, with no history of heart condition, or could it represent an excessive amount of regular, lengthy endurance in, for example, the same array of people mentioned earlier in this sentence; especially as there didn't appear to be any link to the rat study, unless I wasn't looking hard enough and that assumes the study has been published online anyway.

One of those assertions could point to a valid study, the other a flawed one.
User avatar
TechnicGeek
SOCIAL CLIMBER
Posts: 51
Joined: Mon Apr 27, 2015 1:45 am

Re: Disadvantages of Uphill Running?

Post by TechnicGeek »

Boss Man wrote:There might be a greater taxation on the knees, hips and ankles, but that could be reduced by correct technique, I:E: how the person plants the feet and also the right footwear relative to the persons foot movement, I:E: supinated, ankle rolls outwards, pronated, ankle rolls inwards or neutral and also using knee and ankle wraps might be beneficial, to negate some of the impact of uphill running, as well as making sure there is adequate stretching performed before and after runs.
Thanks for info. I have flat feet and I think I pronate. I never thought about using knee and ankle wraps. How do they absorb shock actually if they do not provide cushioning like soles do?
User avatar
Boss Man
SITE ADMIN
Posts: 15457
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:27 pm

Re: Disadvantages of Uphill Running?

Post by Boss Man »

I'm not really sure as I have never used them.
RjMaan
STARTING OUT
Posts: 18
Joined: Sat May 05, 2018 8:46 pm

Re: Disadvantages of Uphill Running?

Post by RjMaan »

I think running uphill has no negative impact all you have to do is to use good shoes so that your feet may stay safe.
User avatar
Boss Man
SITE ADMIN
Posts: 15457
Joined: Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:27 pm

Re: Disadvantages of Uphill Running?

Post by Boss Man »

Over a long period of time it is possible that it could cause degradation of the knees.
andywest
STARTING OUT
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Feb 27, 2019 7:53 am
Location: Bristol, sometimes.

Re: Disadvantages of Uphill Running?

Post by andywest »

I do a lot of uphill running and steep hiking. One thing I've noticed is that I need to be mindful of stretching more than others. I am no longer as good at heel striking as others simply because I spend so much time on forefoot.

It just means more time with a foam roller, really.
Post Reply