[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on October 23, 2018 at 1:16 pm · in reply to: Hangboard TSS (Training Peaks) #14071

Cool, thanks Steve. That may simplify my geekery!

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on October 17, 2018 at 4:00 pm · in reply to: Hangboard TSS (Training Peaks) #14012

Cheers Steve, I am also a geek! I’ll probably choose a TSS of 25 on that basis. Are you using that figure per workout, or per hour?

Cheers,

A

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on October 13, 2018 at 5:29 pm · in reply to: Hangboard TSS (Training Peaks) #13959

Haha, I didn’t ask this question on the similar thread I started, as I noticed this thread! Would the time for the TSS of 20-30/h be just for the hang time, or the hang time plus rests?

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on October 13, 2018 at 5:25 pm · in reply to: Climbing and TrainingPeaks #13958

That’s excellent Scott, thanks. I guess the thing to do might be to start with the TSS/hr figures as a basis, and adjust based on recovery time.

Alan

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on October 12, 2018 at 5:31 pm · in reply to: Climbing and TrainingPeaks #13942

Thanks Scott,

Is it right that those TSS are per hour e.g. 1 hour ARC would be a TSS of 50 if its intensity was 50 TSS/h, whereas 6 hard boulder problems at 3 min’s of climbing each would be a TSS of 24 if their TSS intensity were 80 TSS/h, or should they be based on how long it takes to recover, e.g. 24 h recovery from general/ARC/max/bouldering/hangboard strength gives a TSS of 50, 48 hours recovery gives a TSS of 75-80 (https://uphillathlete.com/forums/topic/ctl-stagnation-16-weeks-training-plan-aconcagua/); with higher scores for ME or anaerobic endurance climbing/hangboard of 100 for a 2 day recovery and 150 for a 3 day recovery?

Alan

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on October 9, 2018 at 5:14 pm · in reply to: Aerobic Threshold Test #13864

Hi, I really liked the article linked above and found that it summarised and clarified several points that had been discussed on this forum previously. I have a question though regarding how to allocated TSS for climbing appropriately. I remember this was discussed here: https://uphillathlete.com/forums/topic/ctltrainingpeaks-and-tfna/, however that talked about allocating TSS per climbing time and while this may be ok for longer duration climbs e.g. routes / ARCing, I’m not sure that it works so well for shorter duration climbing, e.g. hard bouldering / 4x4s, as a hard bouldering session may get a really low TSS due to the short climbing time and long rests compared to e.g. an ARC session.

Cheers,

A

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on May 5, 2018 at 4:37 am · in reply to: Initial training volume and aerobic / strength split #9675

Thanks Scott,

Looks like I should chill out a bit regarding training plans until I’m healthy enough to train properly! I think I’ll try to do some mobility, core and upper body strength, and maybe some cycling in the interim though, so long as it doesn’t restrict my physio and is beneficial.

Assuming that I do get healthy enough to handle normal training, I’m guessing from what you say about 2-3 days per week of strength that, for me, that’d be 1-2 sessions per week of climbing training (ARC / bouldering / fingerboard / routes), or other strength training (TFNA general strength conditioning / TFNA max. strength / TFNA hill sprints), but not 2 sessions of both like I have been doing! I’m also thinking that though it may not be too bad for these sessions to concentrate at weekends as long as the intensity is general conditioning / ARC, if I’m doing more intense training like the TFNA max. strength / bouldering / fingerboarding, I’ll need to spread these out more to get the most benefit.

Alan

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on May 4, 2018 at 11:32 am · in reply to: Core workout rep's / duration #9668

Thanks very much Scott, that’s great.

Alan

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on April 29, 2018 at 7:24 am · in reply to: Initial training volume and aerobic / strength split #9592

Thanks Scott,

Clear, simple, and sensible advice as always. I’ll be reducing training in some weeks in line with the modulation guidance of TFNA, but I think I’ve probably not left myself enough room to increase training volume in line with its programs (as I would have liked to do), so I’ll plan follow the TFNA plan such as I can, and reduce if its getting a bit much and I feel that I need it, though I’m guessing this may make it difficult not to plateau – something for me to learn from.

Regarding the initial training hours for someone in the 200-400 hours per year bracket, my understanding of the Transition Period is that its main purpose is to get you ready to train harder, so the priorities would be something like:
1. Address injuries / weaknesses.
2. Build general strength.
3. Do as much aerobic training as you can in line with the principle of gradualness.
So, from that, would I be right in thinking that if someone is starting from having done 200-300 hours of training in the last year, they’d start with almost no aerobic training?

Alan

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on April 29, 2018 at 6:52 am · in reply to: Core workout rep's / duration #9591

Thanks Scott,

My understanding (based on TFNA and UA) is that the goal with the strength exercises is (in a simple form), to get strong enough, and then maintain it. In the context of a training plan, I’m thinking the goals (again in a very simple form) would be:
– Transition Period – assess strength, address weaknesses, and prepare the body to train harder with general conditioning, so 10-20 rep’s or build up to 1 minute for isometrics x 2+/week;
– Base Period, max strength – Pick the hardest core exercises (probably about 4) and do 4-10 second holds or 2-6 rep’s x 2/week.
– Other times (Base Period ME, Climb specific, Tapering, Peak) – maintain strength with the hardest exercises 1x/2wks.

Does that seem sensible?

Alan

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on April 24, 2018 at 11:56 am · in reply to: Search function on Forums page requires password? #9509

Now seems to be working.

Thanks,

A

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on April 22, 2018 at 5:47 am · in reply to: General strength/core workouts #9480

Hi,

I’m wondering whether Scott’s guidance above on general strength (don’t get bogged down on sets and reps) would also apply to core training as I’ve noticed some variations in the guidance.

I use Scott’s Killer Core a couple of times a week as a warm-up for other strength sessions and do 4 reps (either in total, or per side) / 6 seconds for isometrics based on this: https://uphillathlete.com/diy-skimo-strength/, which recommends 2-4 rep’s / 4-6 seconds.

However I’ve also seen the following:
– 10-12 rep’s / 5-6 per side: https://uphillathlete.com/10-tips-for-training-your-core-for-ski-mountaineering/;
– 5 rep’s / 10 seconds: https://uphillathlete.com/how-to-do-core/;
– 6-8 rep’s / 6-10 seconds: https://uphillathlete.com/uphill-athlete-8-week-mount-blanc-training-plan/;
so I’m wondering if I might be better to increase rep’s / duration.

Alan

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on April 21, 2018 at 7:47 pm · in reply to: Calculating of the weekly training hours #9478

Hi,

I’ve got a similar question that I’m wondering if you can help with. I’m undergoing a physio program following a knee injury last year which involves leg strength exercises and gradual increases in running and in the last month my physio has suggested it would be ok for me to start climbing, so I’ve tried to make a plan for something like the Transition period, but I’m wondering if I am spending too much time on strength / climbing, and I would be better spending more time on aerobic exercise / resting. For info., what I’m considering as my week 1 of the Transitions Period had around 0.75 h of jogging / walking and around 1 hour of leg strengthening for my physio. program, 2 hours of climbing (2 x 2 x 30 min ARCs), around 0.75 h of core + upper body general strength (2 sessions per week) + maybe an hour of other aerobic, so a total of around 5.5 hours. I joined TP in August and my training hours for September to March were 151, which scales to an annual of 259, giving an average of almost 5 hours per week, which would suggest a starting volume of about 2.5 hours per week, which seems quite low, and wouldn’t allow for the inclusion of the core and general strength, or the climbing.

I’m now at week 4 of the Transition Period, and though I feel stronger, a problem I’m facing is trying to fit everything in, particularly as the leg exercises and climbing sessions are gym based, so involve a bit of travel time, and being restricted to their opening hours. Also, I am finding that the general strength sessions and climbing sessions are concentrated over the weekend, due to insufficient time on other days (due to e.g. work and physio training) and that as the duration of these sessions has increased (following the progressions for General Strength in TFNA and the ARC progression on UA), it’s getting even harder to fit it all in, and I’m wondering if I’ve started off too hard, and should cut back, and, if so, what. I’m guessing the climbing / general strength may be best, but not sure which / how much, so any guidance would be gratefully received.

For info., assuming I reach the required fitness levels, my climbing goals are mountaineering and scrambles in the Scottish mountains up to UK Diff level (which I think is about USA 5.3), multi-pitch climbing up to 5.8, sport up to 5.11.

Best regards,

Alan

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on April 21, 2018 at 6:33 pm · in reply to: Training Watch Recomendation #9477

I’ve preferred optical HRM over the last couple of years as I started getting skin irritation from my chest strap. The accuracy of the optical HRM seems pretty good to me, and it’s most significant downside is the power consumption. There was a thread on this a few months ago that I posted on, which might be useful, link here: https://uphillathlete.com/forums/topic/gps-watch/. Like others have said, dcrainmaker is an excellent source of info.

Alan

[Alan Russell]

Alan Russell on April 21, 2018 at 5:51 pm · in reply to: Search function on Forums page requires password? #9476

Thanks for the quick reply Scott. I’ve emailed the address as advised. Hopefully it’s a simple fix.

Cheers,

A