One-Hour Workout: Backwards Hill Repeats

Every Tuesday we’ll feature a different coach’s workout you can complete in 60 minutes (or less!).

This week’s run workout comes from Kenley Ferrara Potts, a running coach in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She was previously the run coach for the Brooklyn Triathlon Club in New York and now serves as the track coach for the Special Olympics Orange County. Potts says she loves this workout because it is unusual—running backwards, uphill!—and incredibly challenging, but it helps to reduce the risk of injury to the knees while incorporating speedwork.

RELATED: Hill Repeats You’re Not Sick Of

One-Hour Workout: Backwards Hill Repeats

Warm-up
5 mins of foam rolling
1 mile easy jog
10 mins of dynamic stretching (check out our favorite pre-run warmup here)

Main Set
– Find a challenging hill warm up to the bottom. Face backwards up the hill. Set your watch for 30 minutes, and press the start button.
– For your first repeat, maintain a slower pace to get the feel for running in the opposite direction.
– For recovery, walk backwards to the bottom of the hill in order to continue to keep the pressure off of your knees (walk slowly for safety).
– For the remaining hill repeats, try to maintain a slightly faster pace as you run uphill facing backwards—it’s easy to slow down as you approach the top of the hill but fight that urge and maintain your pace.
– When your watch hits 30 minutes, stop and cool down.

Cool-down
5 mins of stretching

More one-hour workouts.