 Good morning everyone. I'm not sure if you could hear me inside. I was whispering because well everyone is still asleep at the house All right, we are going to seek out some uphill Running that's right. And up is gonna be the key word Basically this mountain I'm going to it's called Mount Bierstadt. It's another 14er here in Colorado and it's a doozy It's it's a good one. And it's a perfect opportunity to Talk to all of you about why I love running uphill so much, but also some technique ideas if you're interested in Improving your uphill work and we've talked about this in the past here on the vlog But I'm excited to dive in again now that it is summertime at least here in Colorado So all right, we're in an upward as we like to say literally today again. Let's get some up Let's go get some up here. All right, we made it up Gwanella pass to Mount Bierstadt You can see it there off in the distance and it's looking very nice I haven't been here all summer, but just keep in mind You'll never be if you're looking for a little solitude up in the mountains. This is not the place to come It's very busy. A lot of people come here actually tip of the day across the valley from Mount Bierstadt is Some are some 13ers so mountains that are not quite 14,000 feet and they are not nearly as busy for some uphill Running or uphill speed hiking if you will so anyway, you might want to check out across the valley as well But the reason you can I like coming to Bierstadt is that you can get a really good aerobic stimulus at altitude without putting a ton of miles into your legs because you start the running Basically right at tree lines. So anyway, that is why I like coming to Bierstadt. All right, let's lace up We're gonna start in the terra chagra fives. That's right. This is the last test before I've done the wild horse fives the the peg 36 trails and now the terra chagra fives for the last Mountain test before giving you my full opinion and comparing them And how they're performing here in the rocky mountains. So oh, yeah so these are considered the fastest fastest option out there and I will be publishing this comparison All right, we're we're about to hit the steep sections on Mount Bierstadt and let's before we hit them I want to even remind myself. What is one of my favorite techniques and tips for uphill running? It's not in my legs. It's in my shoulders. That's right. So putting your shoulders in their pockets Okay, so instead of letting your shoulders shrug forward you put them back Just put them in their pockets that helps so much with posture with with torque with your pectoral muscles So your it's just I boom boom and when your legs are getting tired, which of course They're gonna get tired running up a big mountain I I lean into my arms so so much to help me to help propel me up the mountain as fast as possible So again, it's just put instead of shrugging forward which also inhibits your breathing put the shoulder blades in their pockets So just kind of put them back just put it not too much But just put them back and then it creates a little bit of tension here with your pectoral muscle that allows you to Just power just power up that mountain So that's one thing that I focus on all the time in uphill running. All right, let's keep getting it elevation game Come on All right, and another uphill running technique and tip is keep your eyes Keep your eyes up. You don't want to look down too much. Okay? I realize if it's really rocky ground you need to look down a little bit But try and keep your eyes up because as soon as you start looking down Your shoulders start to collapse in it can inhibit your breathing quite a bit So keep those eyes up and that'll help with it'll help with I I'm telling you with everything with knee drive We know it's crazy, but it just it helps with all of your posture and keeping yourself Nice and straight up and down as you go up the mountain So that's what I and it's easier said than done. It's easy to forget this technique. So eyes up Oh And another tip for uphill running Okay, your hip flexors and your upper quads and your quads in general are gonna be working over time Therefore to help counterbalance and you know when you pull a rubber band taut in order to help Counterbalance how much your hip flexors and quads are gonna be working? I like to really focus in on my upper glutes and my lower back Which basically? Prevents me from leaning too far forward because you're naturally gonna want to lean forward going uphill It's just what happens, but you don't want to lean too far forward and So it just allows you to keep your posture, and I'm gonna talk more about that in a minute It's gonna keep your posture good And so anyway, it's that taut feeling between your the front of your leg and the back of your leg All right, let's keep rolling And another tip for uphill running all right you're gonna be to you want to take shorter quicker steps, so this is where the fast-feet exercises really comes in handy and Like you don't want to overstride is what I'm getting at because that's gonna wreck your quads you're gonna you're gonna get way too tired way too quick and What determine what helps influence this how many how short and quick your steps are is the pitch of the mountain So obviously if you're racing a hilly cross-country course in high school This might not be quite as applicable, but for big mountain runs big ultra races with a lot of vertical gain It's that quick feet short steps and and I'm not talking about What I'm not talking about speed hiking. That's a whole nother ball game. We'll we'll touch on that another day So short quick steps and that'll help save your quads a ton And this is where the suppleness and of your Achilles tendon and your ankles comes in so handy We're getting into the gym and this is where like the ballet dancers that I've talked about in the past It just helps to have really good torque through that ankle and Achilles tendon Your flame jump into my blue blood And I thought of you Beer stat in the books, okay, it's always I struggle to communicate clearly Running technique and running form. It's it's always better in person But I hope those little tips and technique ideas Will give you at least something to chew on when you're out there running your next set of hills Whether it's in a race or a workout and again, of course ask any questions down below in the comments And if you really really want to ask a question make sure I answer you can look look me up on Instagram and I'm pretty good at getting back to people it usually takes two or three days But I will get back to you eventually and one more idea for running uphill with respect to technique And also the mental side of running which is so critical for uphill efforts. Okay. Here we go I call it cresting the hill. So whether it's a hill a pitch a big mountain Maybe it's a 30 meter hill on a cross-country course Whatever it might be if you can maintain your form on the hill once you get to the crest So right before the top that is when I try to Basically put the hammer down and make it hurt for every if it's a race for everyone around me And how do I do that? So your legs are going to be burning as you're going up the hill burn burn burn burn But don't don't forget everyone else around you is going to be burning as well So once you're at the top right at that crest I maintain focus on keeping my head up Pumping my arms making sure my knee drive is good But also I do a little I remember put the shoulders back and I just do a little shake I just do a little shake and it just like relieves all the tension If you have some tension built up from that hard effort uphill There's a little a little shake of the hands and then go a little shake of the hand and boom And it's like it might throw your arm swing off like for a split second But it just helps me so so much basically hit the reset button after the burn All right so that's my last idea for you for running uphill and technique and question of the day whether it's heartbreak hill in the Boston Marathon or Mount Washington an uphill road race or your local cross-country course What is something in an uphill effort or maybe it's a workout? What is something in an uphill effort that you struggle with whether it's mental? So it could be physical or mental or a combination of both But is there something that you're noticing in your uphill running that doesn't seem right? Like you're breaking down your form is like anyway So just think you might have to you might have to go run some hills and just figure it out for yourself In the next couple days and feel free to come back and ask your questions down in the comments I love you guys. Okay. We're packing up the van. We're hitting the road. We're going to Illinois for a wedding It's gonna be crazy and I just come along for the journey So I think that's it. I think that's it. All right. Oh, yeah, and yes the next video It won't be today. I don't think you never know you never know But yes, I will be comparing the Nike trail shoe lineup as soon as possible. All right. See beauty work hard