Page 148 - Pat O'Keeffe Combat Kick Boxing

Combat Kick Boxing

Hill Work and Step Routines
Running up and down hills and running up steps is a guaranteed way of building
up your legs. The World Champion kick boxer Jean Yves Theriault had some of
the strongest kicks in the sport and attained real man-stopping ability.
How he achieved this is interesting in that he turned a vice into a virtue. He
found that the deep winter snow in his native Canada prevented his normal
running routine, so he started running up and down the stepped tiers of the
Ottawa Civic Sports Centre.
This involved running up a thousand steps at a time with the result that he put
over two inches on his thighs and developed brutal, punishing kicks.
Hill work acts in the same way. The increased resistance of incline running
will put your thighs under intense strain with the result that the muscles will gain
power and size.
Find a stretch of hillside roughly a quarter of a mile long or a steep flight of
stairs with at least a hundred steps. City tower blocks are ideal for this.
Perform a half mile warm-up run and then run a series of hill or stair relays
with jog recoveries of say, one minute, between each climb. Logically, in the case
of stairs, you walk down as fast as you can for your recovery period. Now perform
a half mile warm-down jog.
These routines are killers to begin with, but the leg strength and size gain is
considerable. It is important not to overdo the hill work and instead build it into
a regular running schedule along with the fartlek and the long run.

Warning: There is always the temptation for beginners to overdo it. I can assure
you that sustaining injuries is only a matter of time if you short-change the
suggested schedules. Also, listen to you body. If you feel overly tired the day after
exercising then reduce your schedule until you can cope.

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