[dcgm]

dcgm on December 8, 2021 at 9:15 am · in reply to: Programming Gym Based Local Muscular Endurance #60428

“I can dive deeper into some of those if you’re interested. ”

I’m not him, but I’m kinda interested.

I feel like I have a pretty good handle on chins (20ish pretty much whenever, 25-28 when I’m all trained up) and nobody really cares about situps, but getting from 40ish pushups to, say, 70ish has been something of a persistent bugbear. I am pretty sure a lot of the problem is figuring out a way to consistently do enough pushups to get a training effect but not so many that I start getting hurt, and at some level I suppose the solution is to just pick something from Stew Smith or whatever and do it for a while, something like the progression outlined here: https://www.military.com/military-fitness/fitness-test-prep/pt-progression-series-1-the-pyramid
But at the same time, here I am not doing it. Maybe I answered my own question.

[dcgm]

dcgm on November 4, 2021 at 7:18 pm · in reply to: Weak upper body #58831

Semi off topic, how do you guys rate the C2 skierg as a low-impact cross-training modality for running/hiking/scrambling relative to e.g. the rower, C2 bike erg, or Airdyne bikes?

[dcgm]

dcgm on October 27, 2021 at 7:36 am · in reply to: Weekly Increase when elevation varies dramatically #58512

I wonder if mixing some easy sets of step-ups to park benches or whatever into your long runs on the flat would be a worthwhile option. More fun than a stairmaster, more elevation than a full-duration run on the flat, less impact than a full-duration run on the flat. A bit Jane Fonda but, hey, if it works….

[dcgm]

dcgm on October 14, 2021 at 8:49 pm · in reply to: Ultrarunning Strength for "Tactical Athlete" #58109

ISTR some papers suggesting that interference via AMPK/MTOR specifically isn’t all that big a deal, particularly if you separate strength training and endurance training by at least a couple hours. Unfortunately, I heard about this on a podcast (Stronger by Science, well worth a listen), so I can’t give you much in the way of citations.

OP may be interested in some of the stuff Fergus Crawley (5:00 mile/500 squat/I forget his Ironman-distance triathlon results but I know he’s done a few) is putting out lately on Youtube outlining how he trains in decently broad strokes.

[dcgm]

dcgm on June 1, 2021 at 8:36 am · in reply to: Hiking Hill Sprints? #54518

Without offering an opinion on the larger place of high-intensity work in your overall training, I suspect you could get pretty close to max power output at a fairly task-specific range of motion and point on the force-velocity curve by pushing or dragging a heavy sled on a flat surface, with much less impact and potential for injury than you would see with hiking uphill real fast with weight on your back.

[dcgm]

dcgm on April 17, 2021 at 6:25 pm · in reply to: assault bike vs. ski erg for home training #53208

Ski erg would probably have better carryover to foot-borne activities, if you do it standing up. Assault bike offers more options for working around injuries, ime. (Seated ski erg is pretty benign, but local upper body muscular fatigue gets in the way of accumulating aerobic training volume, for me.).

[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.

[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?

[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.