[dcgm]

dcgm on January 13, 2021 at 1:55 pm · in reply to: Understanding AeT and Cross Training #49255

It sounds almost like those steep hikes with weight require a lot of muscular endurance and maybe that’s why it feels like it isn’t carrying over.

Partly, yep, I notice the most immediate and direct carryover from ME-type work. Very high rep weighted step-ups are a winner, as are unweighted complexes along the lines of the gym-based ME workout. Tricky to avoid burning out on this stuff while sustaining a high level of conditioning for much more than a few weeks, though.

Partly I think it’s maybe a joint angles and velocities thing, and I’d be better off if I did a significant fraction of my aerobic base work on an incline trainer or a stairmaster. I’m pretty good at tolerating boredom in my training by the standards of most of the people I know but that’s a bridge too far for me, at least for now. Hiking steeps is great but coming back down eats up a lot of time and it’s tough to find a good sustained slope.

Do you by any chance do those steep hikes at a higher altitude too?

Nah, mostly under 8k.

[dcgm]

dcgm on January 12, 2021 at 1:36 pm · in reply to: Understanding AeT and Cross Training #49206

I might well go further and say that I haven’t noticed much carryover from running on roads and trails to hiking up steep grades with a pack, either. I mean, it’s not negligible, but it doesn’t go all that far.

[dcgm]

dcgm on December 12, 2020 at 2:45 pm · in reply to: MaxS: advice on straight vs trap bar #48189

Open back trap bars (Eleiko Oppen, Bells of Steel Open Trap Bar) are nice for single-leg work.

I’d rather have trap bar DL than any one lift with a straight bar as my main lower body lift for “max strength while doing other stuff” programming, but there is definitely a lot more you can do with a straight bar.

[dcgm]

dcgm on November 5, 2020 at 9:38 am · in reply to: No symptoms, good chance of exposure, awaiting test results. Stop training? #46551

Thanks. Contact probably every day 27 October – 3 November. As far as I know, neither the contact nor I have noticed symptoms yet, so we might be OK, but definitely isolating pending test results and/or symptoms for now.

[dcgm]

dcgm on April 15, 2020 at 11:12 am · in reply to: Scott Johnston: Ask Me Anything (pre-questions) #40514

I’ve seen Uphill Athlete materials mention or strongly imply that you guys generally see pretty good carryover from unladen running and hiking to hiking with a pack. a) would you generally agree with this? b) what are some factors that might explain reduced carryover from running? c) in general, what are some programming tools you use for slower/heavier events?

[dcgm]

dcgm on April 1, 2020 at 9:38 pm · in reply to: Leg fatigue #40067

Sorry for the necro bump, but super interesting thread here.

Here’s an idea: drop any low rep (under 15) weight lifting. Replace that with high rep (50-100) ME work if you do basic, non or semi sport specific movements with BW+ in a gym or outside. AND continue with a big vert unweighted or very light BW+ day and report back.

Would you do this even far out from the event/competitive season (during a “base phase”)? I ask because 50-100 rep ME work is pretty damn aerobically challenging, at least for me–I’d likely be in zone 3 for extended periods.

I’ve backed off lifting to 1/1.5h a week in my base period, focusing on hill work like water carries or sprints, and weighted stairmaster sessions. I have noticed zero strength declines and my legs are feeling better than ever on long events.

If you’re still around–so how exactly does this look? Do you still do traditional barbell lifts (just not very much and maybe at a fairly low RPE) in addition to the water carries/sprints/stairmaster? Are you keeping the water carries (etc) in zone 1/2?

Also, for anyone who’s reading and has an opinion, you think this might be a solid strategy for more strength-intensive endurance activities? To be more specific, a lot of what I’m training for is hiking at least 35lb and fairly often 65-75lb loads straight up fall lines, so it’s not exactly a powerlifting meet but I can see that returns to traditional max strength work might diminish a good deal slower for this than for mountain running. On the other hand, it’s not THAT heavy, and maybe greater specificity would help (especially since a lot of my base work has historically been unloaded running on the flats or fairly modest inclines.). Interested to hear if the “tactical” department has any input on this.

• This reply was modified 11 months ago by dcgm.
• This reply was modified 11 months ago by dcgm.

[dcgm]

dcgm on March 6, 2020 at 8:22 pm · in reply to: Starting from scratch #39354

The temptation to do too much too soon is a gratification problem. It feels good to work and rewarding to be tired. So we equate the emotional reward with a physical one. That’s rarely the case.

For sure, but why is (say) 60 min Zone 1/2 3x/week more fatiguing (“doing more”) than 30 min Zone 1/2 6x/week? Hell, is it? I’ve done both, more or less, and I’m not sure I noticed a difference, though it’s tough to adequately control for confounding variables. I was more fatigued after one 60 minute session than after one 30 minute session, obviously, but I also had extra rest days.

someone with a strong base and training for an ultra needs to do longer sessions to condition themselves for their goal event.

Right, this makes sense.

It’s helpful to think of mitochondria as those super insecure friends

OK, fair, I saw the graph in TFUA too. So let’s turn this around–is there a minimum session duration (for physiological rather than logistical reasons)? If 30 min zone 1/2 6x/week offers a more favorable ratio of stimulus to fatigue than 60 min 3x/week (and like I said, I’m not entirely convinced that it does), would 10 min 3x/day work even better yet? If not, why not?

• This reply was modified 11 months, 4 weeks ago by dcgm.

[dcgm]

dcgm on March 6, 2020 at 9:18 am · in reply to: Starting from scratch #39322

Shorter, more frequent sessions will have a better training effect than longer, less frequent sessions.

I’d be very interested to hear more of your thinking on this when you get a chance. Is that a pretty solid general rule or are you specifically thinking of OP’s circumstances? Are we including warmup (which might just be the first 10-15 min of a zone 1-2 session)? What makes splitting the volume better than lumping it, within a week or microcycle or whatever?

[dcgm]

dcgm on February 16, 2020 at 11:45 am · in reply to: Recurring MTSS/stress fracture/"shin splints" #38270

Hey Pete, thanks for getting back to me. I’ve noticed pain on both sides but predominantly on the left, in right around the same spot on the medial tibia. By “heel raise holds” do you just mean something like this: https://www.wikihow.com/Perform-a-Heel-Raise ? I’ve done these as reps on and off, bilaterally and unilaterally at a variety of tempos, loadings, and ranges of motion. Haven’t noticed any lasting effect (and generally notice fatigue in the soleus, very little in the gastrocnemius) but haven’t been consistent with it for more than 6-10 weeks either and still have awfully skinny calves–will give isometrics a try.