Why hill bounding?

What good is hill bounding?

The short story is that hill bounding will make you faster. The longer story requires reading my boring diatribe.

First, hill bounding builds up your ankles and quads and helps you focus on form. This, in turn, allows you to "leap" a bit higher/further on each stride. In other words, it helps you lengthen your stride. That means you have the strength to go further with each step...with no increase in effort.

Wanna hear an interesting perspective? If you normally run a 5K at a 7:00/mile pace, you can shave 25 seconds off your time by doing the hill bounding workout for ~6 weeks. Think about it. You can go from a 21:36 5K to a 21:11...just in stride length! How you ask?

Okay...follow me here. Suppose you are able to increase your stride length by 1 inch. At 180 steps per minute (the "rule of thumb" turnover rate), that's 180 inches per minute; which is 15 feet. At a 7:00/mile pace, that's 105 feet per mile. Over the course of ~3 miles, you'll go 315 feet further...about 100 meters. How fast can you run 100 meters? Well, at 7:00/mile pace, it takes you ~25 seconds. At a 6:00 pace, you'll shave ~18 seconds off your 5K.

THAT'S why we do hill bounding! The late Arthur Lydiard knew something about training! Now, of course, your mileage may vary, but a 1 inch increase in stride length is not unrealistic if you've been used to doing the long distance runner shuffle.