Hi,

I play Gaelic footabll which is essentially a stop start game with sprints never lasting longer than 6 sec's. Our club want to build an incline run which can be used by the players for both conditioning during the pre-season. I have been getting the opinions of coaches around the country and everybody has a different opinion on what the incline should be used for i.e. uphill or downhill running. It is my understanding that an decline should be at a much lower angle than that of the incline used for uphill running.

The different reports i am getting from coaches is

1) Not to build an uphill run but focus on downhill running as the players will develop better running mechanics.

2) Uphill running if performed incorrectly will wreck the groins of players and can lead to poor running mechanics

3) Uphill running is safe and will fire more muscle fibers than running on the flat

4) Downhill running is dangerous and can lead to overstriding and results in hamstring tears which is very prevalent in our sport.

As you can see there is alot of mixed opinon, myself I think an uphill run will be more of a benefit as it will improve strength in the posterior chain and I think reduce the chance of injury over if you are training on the flat or decline.

What are peoples opinion on this? What do people think is a suitable distance and angle for working for 1) uphill running and 2) downhill running.

I would appreciate your comments and ideas.

Joe