INCLINES #2 – THE CALFINATOR
Category: Running
The idea of The Calfinator is simply to find as many hills within a 2km or 3km radius of your bootcamp meeting place and, of course, to run up and down them.
Try these variations of ‘hill ascent’ methods:
1. run up backwards
2. ‘push’ a partner up. Place your hands on your buddy’s back while the buddy just leans back and enjoys the ride.
3. travelling lunges up the hill
4. Use a pyramid system. For example run as far as you can up the hill for 10 steps, 20 steps, 30 steps etc. Also for time periods: 10secs, 20secs, 30secs etc.
5. Suicide drill - using lampposts or cones for markers. Starting at the bottom, run to the first marker then return, second marker then back down etc. Go hard on the way up and walk back down.
6. Relay races – carrying a baton or even a weight such as a medicine ball up and down a prescribed number of times. Works well on a short, wide hill in teams of 3 or 4.
7. Stores move – pick a hill close to the park and carry a pile of weights, tennis balls or sandbags one at a time to the top. Once everything is at the top then it will have to be brought back down of course. Great one for a team challenge.
PTI Tip
When running in a group, it is important to keep everyone reasonably close together. To ensure that no one gets too far ahead or behind, instruct the front runners to turn around at landmarks no more than 500m ahead and then to run back (or run to another landmark up to 100m behind the last person.
Landmarks such as street furniture (bus stops, benches) and junctions or intersections work really well since there is no scope for making a wrong turn.
