[Jeremy]

Hello.

I am currently doing the 12 week beginner base training plan. I believe the heaviest load is the second to last week of 15% body weight for 3 hours on hilliest terrain.

When looking in the book TFNA, as an example, the recommended load/volume for training for Mt Rainier for a novice at 58 yrs is, for example, 1219m at 25% body weight in zone 1.

To get to that level would i simply extend my training plan beyond the 12 weeks while keep increasing weight and duration until i can comfortably achieve the training goals of 1219m of vertical at 25% body weight?

If I do not have a specific goal within a certain time frame(I’m a beginner) would it make sense to do a 24 week training plan instead of a 12 week plan to make better gains/adaptations?

Also I’m sure that the example of Mt Rainier above assumes that the 1219m of vert in zone 1 is covered in a reasonable amount of time.

I have both books so if I missed something don’t hesitate to refer me to the book sections.

Thank in advance

PS: FYI I’m happy to mention that when starting training about a year ago, while keeping under my AeT it was a slow walk up the hilliest terrain(https://www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/bcmc-trail/) in my area. Now I am travelling about twice the speed with 10% body weight while under my AeT – (which has increased as well.) All thanks to UA.

Topic

[MarkPostle]

MarkPostle on July 9, 2022 at 1:12 pm #68998

Jeremy, Glad to hear you’ve responded well to the training over the last year! That’s a great improvement being able to move at 2X with more weight. To answer your question yes I would try and extend the training in the 3-4 weeks on/1 week rest pattern until you can slowly increase your vertical gain and pack weight to approach those appropriate for your (eventual) goals. If the goal climb isn’t until next year then I would prioritize getting in a solid volume of training first then probably vertical gain/loss second then maximizing pack weight last. If you have a very specific goal (like Rainer) then you will also want to start thinking about what the actual pack weight you’ll need to carry is vs 25% BW. If you’re a small framed person you may need to exceed 25% occasionally to be as ready as possible. If you using the beginner level training plan at the moment and doing well then you could progress to the intermediate next session as its written to pickup the progression where the beginner left off.