[philc180]

Hi guys,

24 week mountaineering TP plan:

8 weeks transition period done.

3 weeks of base period done except on the last day I injured myself trail running in melting snow / ice, rocks and mud and suffered a medial meniscus tear grade 1 on my left knee.

I’ve missed 2 weeks finishing next Sunday.

Searched the forums but can’t get a definitive answer.

How will I repeat and how many weeks should I repeat ( 3 weeks of base period already done )?

Thank you for your help.

Philip.

Topic

[Shashi]

Shashi on April 9, 2021 at 11:10 pm #52968

Philip,

Welcome to the Uphill Athlete forum.

Sorry to hear about your injury. Here is the text from the 24-week training plan page –

If you miss a workout do not try to make it up. Just move on. If you miss more than 2 in a week then repeat that week. Do not increase the intensity and hope to gain more benefits. There is no short cut to when it comes to aerobic adaptation.

Assuming you have fully recovered from your injury, I would recommend you start again with your base period and be conservative with your first week of training. If you are training for a specific climb on a set date then you will have to make some adjustments to coming weeks.

You might find this forum discussion helpful –

Recovering from illness

[philc180]

philc180 on April 11, 2021 at 11:33 am #53004

Hi Shashi,

Many thanks for the reply.

OK, from here:

“In the end; if you miss more than 2 days in a week, which is likely when you get sick then it is wise to take a step back and repeat the affected week. Miss 2 weeks and you can expect it is going to set you back substantially and you need to take at least a week of easy aerobic training to build back some of the lost aerobic fitness. That is why we suggest re-doing the lost weeks.”

So to be brutally honest my knee is still annoyingly niggly. Even after a 5km flat walk with the dog, towards the end it gets sore. Other times, after waking up in the morning it is sore, as if I’ve twisted it during sleeping. That being said, today it feels almost perfect.

So I’m just trying to get answers for 2 scenarios. Am I correct in my assumptions to continue my training like this?

Scenario 1: 2 weeks missed due to knee injury.
Start again Monday and do 1 week of the transition period i.e. Basic strength and runs. Reduce weight and intensity if my knee gets sore.
The following week, essentially resume the TP 24 week plan except start the base period again i.e. Week 9 is day 1.

Scenario 2: 2 weeks missed due to knee injury.
“Yet the advice in Training for the New Alpinism suggests doing an easy training for everyday missed”
So this would mean doing 2 weeks of easy aerobic workouts and then start the base period again.

I’m just not sure which is right and which is wrong, or which is preferred and which is not.

Any advice how to continue please?

I don’t think I will have any questions after that as once I know what to do, I’ll just stick with it.

Much appreciated guys, thank you again.

[LindsayTroy]

LindsayTroy on April 12, 2021 at 9:19 am #53037

I’m not a doctor, so I’m giving you this advise as a person who has been injured too many times. Let your knee heal. Wait until it tolerates exercise well even the next day. THEN start over with the base period. It will speed up your recovery time and your return to baseline. If you don’t, its going to nag you for the rest of this training block (at a minimum)

[philc180]

philc180 on April 12, 2021 at 9:46 am #53041

Hi Doctor Lindsay….JOKE 😀

Hi Lindsay,

Thank you for the reply and advice from personal experience(s).

I’ll take yours and Shashi’s advice but honestly due to no personal experience with training plans, I’m still unsure about 1 or 2 weeks easy aerobic + strength before resuming the base from the start.

I guess I will just take it day by day until there are no niggles and restart the base period. Hopefully I’ll only kneed 2 weeks maximum!

Unless I’m severely mistaken, please correct me. Other than that, I should be good to go.

It is so annoying being injured so just trying to keep the bright side out.

Thank you again for your help.

[LindsayTroy]

LindsayTroy on April 12, 2021 at 4:14 pm #53063

Ha I am a doctor (PhD) but not a doctor (MD), so a lot of people do call me Dr. Lindsay!

It is most definitely annoying to be injured! I like your plan and I would make sure to be religious about knee rehab in the mean time! Lots of PT!

[philc180]

philc180 on April 14, 2021 at 8:17 pm #53146

Ha that’s awesome Dr. Lindsay! Electronic engineer here.

Physiotherapy today and was told to rest, avoid pain and build up exercises with weight gradually. It will take time but I’m getting there slowly but surely.

I’m playing the waiting game for now.

Looking forward to the future!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on June 25, 2021 at 10:17 am #55134

As Lindsay said, it’s best to completely let your knee heal before starting back to structured training. Don’t worry about following a training plan until then.

As a general rule of thumb, it’s best to plan for one day of easy training for each day lost to get back up to speed.

[philc180]

philc180 on June 25, 2021 at 10:36 am #55139

Thanks for the reply Scott.

Not sure if my knee will ever be the same. I rested 2 weeks and did zero training. Then did 2 weeks of easy training. Then started the max strength period from scratch. Did the 8 weeks of it and now almost finished week 1 of 8 of the muscular endurance phase.

Knee is effectively “healed” but I get a twinge now and then, hence I think it’ll never be the same after the fall.

Philip.