[Jan]

Hi,

I will do a multi-day back-country ski trip with a rather heavy pack in march, but would also like to maintain my running performance, so I want to do both Z3 and weighted hill climbs for the next 6 weeks months. My plan would look something like this:

Mon: Z3
Tues: short (1 h) Z1
Wed: Weighted hill climbs/ME
Thurs: short Z1
Fri: long Z1
Sat: long Z1
Sun: Off

What I didn’t figure out yet is where to put the weekly strength workout I want to do. This is mostly for maintenance and consists of 2 sets Core Routine and 3 sets of “classic” strength exercises (4 reps, pull-up, bulgarian split squat, push-up, one-legged DL, rows, one-legged calf-raises, shoulder press).
How much time should there be in between the strength, Z3 and ME exercises? Do I need fresh legs for these? Which day would be best for strength training in my plan?

Thanks in advance,

Jan

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on January 19, 2020 at 7:15 am #36522

You’ll get the best response if you’re fresh for the Z3 and ME sessions. I would move the ME to Thursday so you have two days between the Z3 and ME sessions.

If the general strength routine is for maintenance, then drop the volume. You could do one round of core and 1-2 rounds of leg work on Friday morning followed by a moderate length Z1. Then you’ll have two days off before the next Z3 session.

[Jan]

Jan on January 19, 2020 at 9:20 am #36526

Hi Scott,

thanks for the answer!

About dropping the volume of strength training: My strength (especially for pull-ups) already decreased dramatically since I focused more on endurance training, so I’m not so sure about dropping it even further. But I will think about it.

About doing strength on friday: My plan was to do the friday long Z1 on roller skis and do a long run on saturday. So I would have a long aerobic work-out, which are the most specific for my events, for each modality.

If I keep the long Z1 on friday, would you still do ME on thursday? Is it a good idea to do back-to-back long aerobic workouts (both around 3-4 hours) already fatigued?

Strength and Z3 are the least specific for my goals. Maybe I do strength on sunday (and cut it back to 2 sets when I feel fatigued) and keep the monday Z3 intervals short (like 3×6 minutes). What do you think?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on January 19, 2020 at 3:00 pm #36532

The answers to these questions are all, “It depends.” They are all trade-offs that have to be made as you approach your goal event. Choose the two most important sessions as priorities and make the other ones optional.

One week isn’t enough time to have a workout for every area. The priorities change throughout a macrocycle. And the priorities depend on what you’re training for.

[Jan]

Jan on January 20, 2020 at 12:08 am #36545

Good answer!
I probably should drop the Z3 workout until after the march trip, maybe I’ll try a short Z3 workout anyway and see how much it fatigues me.