And just in case they’re useful, two on downhill running:
Jane Mackay
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KeymasterKeymaster
It sounds like you’ve got a good handle on it and working with a coach and/or physio would give you the fine-tuning. I understand about the expense. One option to keep in mind is a one-off consultation with a UA coach to get a plan to work with in the interim.
Another resource:
This two-part series by Run the Wild on strengthening ankles: https://www.runthewild.co.uk/how-to-strengthen-ankles/KeymasterHi Morgan,
My L ankle has always gone over easily too and I’ve always been very cautious on trails with lots of exposed roots and rocky scrabbly downhills. My best recommendation from personal experience is single-leg strengtheners, esp. those that improve balance. Targeted strength training is the first line of defence against injury. I can make a personal plug for Chamonix Mountain Fit as a fantastic first step in this regard. At the gym, single-leg straight leg deadlifts on a balance disc have been amazing for me — they strengthen all the little intrinsic muscles in the foot and ankle. My other strong recommendation if you’re not already experienced with strength training: start slowly and light and proceed cautiously. Two to three months of CMF (2x per week) would be a great intro/transition phase before moving to more intense exercises, esp. using dumbbells or kettlebells.Have you consulted with a physio or coach? A structured, tailored plan would allow you to progress more quickly and with less possibility of overdoing it or injuring yourself. Since there’s a structural difference between your two feet, I would urge you to see a physio in any regard. I am now at 52 dealing with a host of issues related to postural and structural imbalances that were not addressed when I was younger. Prevention is the best cure!
JaneKeymasterJane Mackay on July 3, 2023 at 11:11 am · in reply to: Aerobic Threshold Run Workouts, Warm Up #79442Hi Justin, the warmup is counted as part of the workout time. So in the case of your example, it would be 15 mins warmup and 30 mins run.
KeymasterJane Mackay on July 3, 2023 at 2:47 am · in reply to: Beginner: aerobic pace slows down after 20 mins #79429One other note, regular, structured training will enable you to progress more quickly. I recommmend at least 3 (better 4 or more) aerobic sessions per week. This can include hiking, cycling, swimming, rowing, etc. since your primary goal is general fitness. And they don’t have to all be long. You could do a couple of 30 min runs and one or two longer sessions, and note whether the runs start to feel easier as time goes on.
The process does work … patience leads to aerobic fitness!
KeymasterJane Mackay on July 3, 2023 at 2:45 am · in reply to: Beginner: aerobic pace slows down after 20 mins #79428Vsquid – welcome!
I second juskojj’s suggestion to do longer sessions. Slow down when you need to, to stay under AeT, but go long. Over time you will be able to run for longer periods of time below AeT. You can also try walk-run combinations that progress, e.g. warm up walking (10 mins), then 1 min run / 1 min walk for 15-30 mins, then cooldown 10 mmins walking. When it feels right, progress to 2 min run / 1 min walk with the same warmup and cooldown, and so on. Strength training will also raise your AeT by reducing the amount of energy you expend with each step.
Hope this helps – keep us posted on how it goes.
JaneKeymasterJane Mackay on June 21, 2023 at 3:37 am · in reply to: interpreting strange heart rate drift test results #78965That’s much better! I agree that you can take 140 as your AeT.
KeymasterJane Mackay on June 19, 2023 at 8:32 am · in reply to: interpreting strange heart rate drift test results #78938In that case, let’s do it the other way around. Warm up until you feel like your body’s “in gear”, then settle into the slowest pace that feels natural and sustainable and maintain that pace for an hour. You’ll have to be really attentive not to speed up. Don’t worry about your HR; you’ll look at that when you see the results. In this version, you are maintaining a steady pace.
KeymasterJane Mackay on June 19, 2023 at 3:15 am · in reply to: interpreting strange heart rate drift test results #78935Yes, that didn’t make any difference.
I sent the screenshots to Coach Pedro Carvalho. Here’s what he advises:
1. Do the test again.
2. Don’t listen to music 🙂
3. Warm up and start the recording once your HR stablises.
4. Be assiduous in maintaining a steady HR. When I do this test I tend to look at my watch every few seconds. It’s tedious, but it’s worth it. And at least it gives your mind something to concentrate on.He also noted the great variation in your pace. You can see that it frequently drops and spikes as much as 2-3km/hr. Attached is a screenshot of a test done on a track by one of Pedro’s coaching clients, so you can see how even the HR and pace lines are in the graph.
Try again and let us know how it goes!
Jane
Attachments:
You must be logged in to view attached files.KeymasterJane Mackay on June 18, 2023 at 6:26 am · in reply to: interpreting strange heart rate drift test results #78921Hi Oliver, that seems really odd. One thing that jumps out at me is that the duration of the first half (in the screenshot) is 23 min, while the second half is 32 min. Could you try selecting again so they’re more equal? It might not make any difference, but it we might as well start with equal halves.
KeymasterJane Mackay on June 13, 2023 at 7:12 am · in reply to: Building aerobic base for rock climbing #78840Hi Oliver,
Welcome!
I can’t speak to climbing specifically, but I can provide guidance on base training in general.
As you have already guessed, at the early stages of aerobic base training, the activity itself is not as important as the duration and the HR. The first step, if you haven’t already, will be to determine your AeT. You will want a HR chest strap and monitor to get accurate results. Unfortunately, even the best sports watches are not going to give you an accurate enough HR measurement. Most straps can be paired to an app if you don’t want to also buy a watch (if you don’t have one). These articles provide information on how to do the aerobic threshold self-assessment, as well as a how-to video:
The next step is to programme enough regular aerobic base training (in zones 1 and 2 — i.e. BELOW AeT) to move the needle. If you can manage it, five days a week would be ideal, total time in motion 3+ hours, and progressing at a rate of no more than 10% per week, with a regularly scheduled recovery week at 50% of the prior week’s volume (3 weeks build, 1 week recovery is typical).
Since your overall goals involve bipedal motion (approach hikes, alpinism), you could start with sport specificity right at the beginning, using walking, hiking, running for your base training. One thing to be aware of is that, depending on your AeT, you might need to start with walking and hiking and progress to running. Or maybe you can run on completely flat ground (like a track), but have to walk if there’s a gradient. That’s what I had to do in the beginning. Rowing and swimming would also be good. Swimming is particularly good as a recovery workout. Rowing would give you some upper body strength work for climbing, but you’d have to carefully monitor your HR.
I hope this helps. Let us know if you have further questions.
JaneKeymasterJane Mackay on May 26, 2023 at 3:23 am · in reply to: Start of new training plan: how to calibrate the 1st week volume? #78482Greg, glad to hear you’ve had such success in implementing the UA philosophy!
As Hafjell points out, 5%-10% increases add up quickly, so you could err on the side of caution and start at 75% of the peak week of your last training block. You’ll soon be back where you were and moving beyond it, and you’ll be doing so on a stronger foundation of recovery.
One other note: the older you are, the more weight you want to give to recovery.
KeymasterBill,
The fudge factors changing the CTL is the point. The fudge factors are important if you use the CTL and the other TP-generated metrics as guidance on your readiness for a particular activity.
If, as you describe, you rely primarily on subjective factors, then no, the fudge factors probably aren’t so important for you. The only thing to be aware of is that the CTL is *not* going to be a good guide if you don’t numerically/metrically record the extra tax on your physiology generated by carrying load, moving uphill, etc.
JaneKeymasterHi Jens,
I summarised your question for coach Pedro Carvalho. His answer is below.
This is how I summarised it:
Jens wants to know what fudge factors to use for the ME workouts.
Does the fudge factor change depending on how well trained you are?
Does your CTL affect the fudge factor you use?And this is his answer:
I would say yes , for the same effort ( external load ) , it would create a different internal load in each person, and so , it would be higher in an untrained person .
It would be logical to raise slightly the tss for the more untrained .
CTL is chronic training load , the amount of load a person could hold on the last 40 days … when you put a higher fudge factor , you are putting a higher TSS per training and that amount of tss would raise the CTL value.You’ve probably also found it, but just in case, this article lists the main fudge factors: https://uphillathlete.com/aerobic-training/trainingpeaks-metrics-ctl-tss/
Does that help?
JaneKeymaster