[emilieskadi]

emilieskadi on March 1, 2023 at 5:09 pm · in reply to: Max Box Step Up/Down workout #76043

I’m trying to get an understanding of how to trigger max strength in my legs… Back squat is currently something I can’t do, due to shoulder mobility… So I tried a hack squat I it’s called. When I start to push the weight I feel a lot of pain in my low back and nothing we do seems to remedy the issue, except to go down in weight. But I don’t feel any sort of max strength failure or work in my legs when I lower the weight, and I can do tons of reps…

So we went to leg press machine since it doesn’t hurt my back. I’m currently doing 5 reps at 410, and only able to get 2 at 420, so I feel like I’m finally able to do max strength, but I’m not doing functional movement and that is annoying… I know ideally I would get my core as strong as my legs but I hesitate to think my core could ever handle stabilizing 420 lbs!

Any thoughts? Ideas functional movements that can get really heavy but not stress my back like squat does? I was wondering if box step ups/down might be a good solution… But I might struggle to hold dumbells that heavy grip strength wise…. Hmmmm.open to ideas!!

[emilieskadi]

emilieskadi on June 8, 2022 at 10:11 am · in reply to: Clarification on Fasted Training (60-120 mins) v. longer sessions #68116

How interesting!! I hadn’t heard that it didn’t have positive effects for women!! I seem to do well with a fasted workout (as long as I keep it on the low end); but I don’t know if it’s really serving me in anyway? Mentally, sure since now I have confidence to go without food… but if it’s not really helping (or maybe it’s hindering) my metabolism I would be super curious to hear about that! I wonder if we can get the UA dietician to weigh in on benefits of fasted training for women.

Hopefully some of this discussion has helped Melissa and I didn’t highjack her thread in any way!

[emilieskadi]

emilieskadi on June 2, 2022 at 3:19 pm · in reply to: Clarification on Fasted Training (60-120 mins) v. longer sessions #67938

Melissa,

I don’t know that there are any hard answers to your questions here…

generally speaking you are most definitely correct that you should be fueling before strength work-outs, I’m not sure the macros that should be but I believe from all I have read a fairly even macro base would be good, maybe slightly heavy on the carbs. Protein is usually considered more important afterwards (but also carbs after as well). I believe before and after you want a fairly well rounded diet with very little junk food from what I have always heard (if you’re gonna do junk food try not to do it in that re-fueling window after a hard workout.) I believe if you saw reference to intake of carbs or even calories before a session it was likely a harder training session, z3/4 or a weight training session. I could be wrong but that’s my take on it!

Regarding fasted training. I feel like a key piece of what’s missing is the zone that you are in. It really has nothing to do with time out there or even how much your pack weighs. If you have worked up to it you can do substantial time on feet in a fully fasted state. As long as I stay in z1/2 (I like to lean more on the z1 side for the really long ones) I do many 20+ mile days in the mtns after cutting off at an early dinner the night before. The key to fasted training is to work up to it and to NOT push too hard in the beginning. Sometimes for ski-mo adventures with a heavy pack I will only take calories for when the mtn gets really steep and I don’t want to go mind bogglingly slow and keep it in z1. I believe I am in a pretty good place now personally and maybe I could walk this line a little tighter (but since I’m not looking for huge gains with my training I’m just happy knowing I can go for 24+ hours at a decent pace without actually needing ANY calories. I will admit though, I have PLENTY of fat stores to pull from! 🙂

I’m not sure if that helps at all? I’m no coach by any means, just have been playing with the long fasts and long runs since it means less weight I have to carry in the mtns. And if I have to stay in z1 for training I might as well be doing it fasted (it gives me an excuse to stay in z1, cause mentally that’s really tough for me to go this slow and easy!)

[emilieskadi]

emilieskadi on May 24, 2022 at 10:54 am · in reply to: Please make menopause a topic in the forum index #67569

SO excited to dig into some of this stuff. I think I’m still a little ways out here (44 but my aunt did go through really early menopause herself, haven’t heard back from my mom yet and I honestly don’t even know if it’s hereditary?). Anyway, I have been noticing that my cycle seems to be getting a little erratic and that it is effecting my training a little differently (seems to be more lately). So I wonder if I’m inching towards a change… I am excited to paw through the stuff in here, thanks everyone for the thoughtful contributions and resources I see linked above!

[emilieskadi]

emilieskadi on May 24, 2022 at 10:46 am · in reply to: Menstrual cycle and training- varied responses from my body #67567

This is good stuff Jane and Avni! I think it’s important to remember that we are all SOOOO individual. I’ve had women scoff at me when I say my cycle effects my performance since it does nothing to them. Trying to gauge how YOU and your body will perform based on how other’s perform is tough. However, it’s GREAT to have open conversation about it to normalize the fact that it CAN effect us and in a lot of different ways!

I have noticed certain muscle groups really check out for me. The day I start my period my abs are just checked out. This makes a REALLY long run hard. I have started my period in long races before and that SUCKS! I have pulled from a race thinking that I would hurt myself because I wasn’t able to engage my core and protect my back/hips/body like I should with abs just totally not doing their job!

Over the last few years having a trainer and being super open about where I’m at in my cycle and what it’s doing to me has shed some light for sure. however, it’s STILL a bit all over the place. I’m in my mid 40s now and I just seemed to start noticing that I was checking out in the strength dept a bit during ovulation. That was new to me! (Interesting to hear that you noted that as well Jane). Additionally, I had one day where my trainer kept having to check her notes to review my weights since I was SOOOOOO flat. I’m usually a pretty solid performer in the weight room. Nothing fancy I would say but I’m consistent. Not these last few months! My cycle has been REALLY messing with me in the weight room. So we just back off, schedule more easy runs and just work around what my body is deciding to give me!

Biggest lessons I’ve had:

1. Having a trainer has allowed me to actually pay attention to my body. I was NOT a pay attention to my body person before. Creating the space where we talk about it 2x a week (if not more over text, etc) has REALLY helped both of us key into things we should be paying attention to. You mentioned you have a trainer and they’re really nice but you were looking for a female perspective (that must mean you have a male trainer). I would say, while it’s great to get in here and see what other women are dealing with; don’t discount what a male trainer can provide while tracking your performance and your cycle. Though they may not know what you’re going through precisely; neither does another woman since we’re all so different!! Just having someone you can speak openly and honestly to about how your body is feeling is great and you’re on a great track there! Also, know that if it’s a good trainer (which I’m sure a UA one will be!) they can handle you being fully transparent about ‘female things’ even if they’re a man! And they can’t do their job well unless you are. I hate the stigmas surrounding our cycles and the expectation that we just deal with them in silence. My performance in the mtns is always off and usually for multiple reasons even my mental is off. If I’m going after an objective I will share with the group if I’m in that range of my cycle where I’m just off! Like I would expect them to share with me if their dog just died or their wife left them!

2. We’re all SOOOO different. and just when we think we have ourselves figured out, something changes! HA! Again, this is where a trainer can really help you track and be honest with yourself about all of this. Create work arounds, take advantage of strong times for bigger training gains, etc.

Great topic, I think it’s overlooked or under acknowledged a little too often!

[emilieskadi]

emilieskadi on May 24, 2022 at 10:28 am · in reply to: Troubleshooting performance at elevation and training #67566

SUPER keen on this topic. I too really seem to struggle at elevation and am looking to do ANYTHING I can to up the fitness so that I don’t have to work as hard when I’m up there (and thereby I can *hopefully* hang on a little longer!). I have found from past performance I tend to really start feeling like poop around 11,000 ft. Which sucks. I can only get to about 8,000 ft on the peaks of mtns right around me, so I can’t really ‘spend time’ at much elevation during training runs or climbs.

Additionally, I have found that I seem to really struggle to maintain a fast pace going up hill. I’m not built like your traditional runner; I have a LOT more muscle mass and am not as thin as a really competitive person would be. I know I stand to gain a lot by simply dropping lbs and I have accepted certain performance loss due to lifestyle choices and I am active in motor sports that use a bit more muscle mass than your average runner.

That being said, I would LOVE to figure out the best ways to train to maximize my ability to go uphill fast!

I have been doing the ME workout of box steps, split jumps, lunges, jump squats. We were progressing them in weight as we went through. I was up to 25 lb dumbbells in each hand which had seemed like a lot to Scott when I scheduled a call with him this spring… I struggle understanding why I can do so much weight in the ME work-outs but I still really struggle to go fast up-hill? Is it just that I have to pack so much body weight that cancels out the strength that I have? It RARELY is muscles that seem to fail me when I’m going uphill or down (although when skiing downhill my quads do fail me but that’s because I’m an ATROCIOUS skier and although I suck I refuse to go to the resort to learn and I continue to go back-country and just suffer the slow learning curve!). Anyway, usually it’s my lungs and breathing that seem to be working the hardest but I know everyone says it’s not my lungs, its my ability to get that oxygen into my muscles!

Linking the oxygen into the muscles with the altitude issues I think maybe this is where I am struggling. What can I do to work on this?

Additionally, I just bought a training plan and there was a different style ME work out in it that progressed by upping rounds and lessening time for rests… AND then had me doing the circuit multiple times. We tried this today and it spanked me!! I felt like I was doing fish flops instead of split jumps by the end. I know I want to focus on form and being able to do these work outs cleanly or I’m guessing I’m not getting the training effect I want out of that. So I’m wondering what are some ways to know how to progress the ME workout – with weight or with less time in-between or??

Questions:
1. ANY ideas on ways to train to get performance at altitude when you can’t get to altitude. I’m not talking MASSIVE altitude. Just 12-14,000 ft range. I liked where the gentleman above was going with trying to figure out some pointers of where his training was failing him by some of his limitations during performance, those kind of comparative metrics I feel like would be helpful to me!

2. How should the ME be progressed? with weight? or with taking out time between reps? And how do you progress that time between? Should you be fully recovered HR before each rep – I definitely wasn’t! Or are you getting the right training effect if you are keeping your HR high through the entire workout and finishing like an absolute idiot giving it everything you have just to actually swap feet in air like you should for a split jump!

[emilieskadi]

emilieskadi on December 15, 2020 at 1:40 pm · in reply to: Diaphramatic breathing #48279

Great input guys! Thanks!

I agree that it doesn’t need to be over-thought… but, I’m an engineer, I like to over-complicate things! ha! All joking aside mostly I was just looking for little things I could say to help get stuff to click in my head and get the pathways forming. I really dislike breathwork for breathwork’s sake and yoga… I know both would be HUGELY beneficial for me but I have been struggling to implement them into my routine for years now; and they just don’t stick.

Anyway, I get the idea that I need to work on breathing separately from my running and then try to implement them. I’ve been working on bringing it into my running for a few months now, just slowly, being conscious about it and how it feels and what it does to my form, etc. Now that I’m working in Z1 for 90% of my work-outs I have a WHOLLLLEEE lot of time where I’m ridiculously bored. I used to be focused in my work-outs because the pace and level of effort demanded it. Now I find I’m bored and struggling to ‘find things to do’ while I plod along in Z1. So, I thought breath work was something I could add into my tasks in Z1. The one pitfall is when I start focusing on my breathing and my form I start flowing cleaner and running faster and start popping into the bottom of z2 and my ‘fun police’ (what I have nicknamed my heart rate monitor) yells at me to slow down! hahahahaha.

Anyway, I picked up a few ideas from the above responses (mostly that with breath types it’s that ‘diaphragmatic breathing’ seems to be a trigger phrase -I joke!) and I’m slowing working on putting them in place while I also work on slowing down and getting my ego and body adjusted to that Z1 work!

Always open to hear other thoughts/ideas on breathing, it seemed like someone else had a question on it so I thought it would be a worthy topic!

[emilieskadi]

emilieskadi on October 1, 2020 at 6:20 pm · in reply to: Expedition recovery and overtraining #45619

I just wanted to pop in here and say hello more than anything but this topic jumped out at me because I recently had a total none dive with a 100 mile effort! I came to Uphill Athlete way of thinking a little late in the process and I am quite sure I over-trained the heck out of myself which was a large part of why I failed at my effort. But there were tons of lessons learned through the whole process so I’m pretty good with it!

I did have a HELLUVA time recovering after tanking quite so hard though and it really surprised me since I have never actually noticed this issue before (likely because I wasn’t tuned into my system, not because it wasn’t happening!)

It took just about 3 weeks for me to be able to actually cover ground again running without having my heart rate do some really strange things. It really helps me to pay attention to all the ‘how do you feel’ types of things but in the end I’m an engineer and I really struggle to not have some facts to go off of! I know I need to pull all of them together to get a full picture but just paying attention to my HR really helped me clue in on the other items too. If I hadn’t been tracking my HR I wouldn’t really have noticed that I was struggling. My effort didn’t feel that bad but my heart rate would continue to rise through my run and even when I was going downhill at what would have been a slow to recovery-slow pace prior!

I believe it was a bit of a perfect storm for me to get so severely drained on this effort. First day of my cycle so my abs were completely off duty and not even remotely doing their job -seriously, I would look down at my belly and I couldn’t even get it to expand when trying to do diaphragm breathing for a sideache! Then it was super hot that day and really dry and dusty, that evening the smoke rolled in. I was 5 hours behind my 50 mile pace that I had done a month before at the tail end of a training block. Like I said, I believe I was over trained and I was very much over-stressed from work! I was drinking the suggested amounts of water but since I had never been out that long (and struggled with my pace so much) I didn’t realize that I’m just one of those people that needs GOBS of water so I got super dehydrated and a UTI was solidly setting in. Needless to say when I really realized this was the case I set a goal of getting to my crew at mile 58 and saving my health to fight another day – ego be damned!

I sure am glad I did because the recovery period set me way back!! Anyway, I just wanted to share the story if anyone has any questions about some of the things I ran into that sidelined me I’d be happy to share! (Oh yeah, also learned I need to pack extra socks for a SUPER dry/dusty trail. From someone who never gets blisters to now having blisters on the soles of my feet I was really bummed I didn’t think to pack extra socks long before mile 50!)

Super stoked about this site and forum. I will try to be more active on here and certainly will be looking for information! I am waiting until I’m fully recovered to set up my thresholds. I didn’t want to do it right before the race (nor right after obviously!) I’m SOOO curious (and nervous) to see how deficient I am!