[nickbb10]

nickbb10 on May 26, 2019 at 9:41 pm · in reply to: Singlespeed Mountain Biking Base and Cross Training Value? #22562

Scott, it can be seriously intense! as with any technical discipline, it takes a lot of practice to get to “unconscious competence” and the lower HR that comes with it. Just like when you first started climbing and 5.9 had the heart racing, but it eventually becomes recovery level as skills and efficiency improve. Had my almost pro road bike only friend(really strong, 100mi+ stage racer type) get into mountain biking 6mo ago, and up until recently his HR would be well above AnT for large percentages of our rides while I was keeping it comfortably below AeT. This is despite the fact that he is more aerobically fit that me, with consistent 25hr(!) weeks on the rd bike(compared to my more ME focused 16-18hr of alpine/mtb training). Over the past few weeks he’s noticed a shift to more z3/tempo and less that 10% above AnT as he’s gotten more skilled and efficient with techincal riding. Still way too high intenisty to me, but road racers are hard as nails…

On the flip side, I have been able to drop from a 50/50 split rd/mt to 75% MTB for my bike training hours, while still keeping it below AeT. Probably more z2 that ideal for my volume of training, but my goals in the mountains are all local and not super high commitment, so I gladly take the enjoyment of Mt biking day to day at the expense of slightly non-optimal training practices. Plus, the mental training side of techy riding is great for scary leading! I’ve got so much better at committing to crux sequences from the do or die nature of MTB descending

[nickbb10]

nickbb10 on May 4, 2019 at 10:19 pm · in reply to: Singlespeed Mountain Biking Base and Cross Training Value? #21463

Michael, I do a large chunk of my training(about 60-70% of 20hrs/week) on a bike to save my shattered and reconstructed ankle from excessive wear and tear from hiking and running. Singlespeeding is definitely going to be too high intensity unless you live somewhere panflat. As Scott said, most XC racers do the majority of their volume on road bikes. With the advancement of drivetrains in recent years its possible to get a low enough gear ratio to keep MTB at AeT if you are smart about how you plan your routes. Also as you get better conditioned for MTB it will become easier to keep the intensity in check, but until then you will be going uphill at a speed where the challenge is not toppling over. Descending also is much higher intensity work than you’d think, if you’re trying to go fast sprinting out of corners can easliy push you in to anaerobic work for long periods. Overall, I find base building on a road bike to be more enjoyable, but over recent months I have been able to shift more of my bike volume to the mountain bike as my fitness and technique improves. If alpine climbing is your main focus its important to do your key workouts on foot, I generally do my long workout(4-5hr) hiking and running, plus a ME waterjug carry as my key workouts. The rest is made up of 2-4 hr rides and technical climbing.
Hope this helps
Nick

[nickbb10]

nickbb10 on October 30, 2018 at 10:55 am · in reply to: Hypertrophy training worthwhile? #14195

Hi Scott, thanks for the reply! I did some experimenting yesterday in the gym to find an exercise to give an apples to apples comparison with the ROM difference. Settled on one legged half squats and leg extension machine. Found no real difference with leg extension, but with the half squat at the heavier weight(2-3 rep max,50% more than last winter on the bad leg!) I was limited by the stability of my ankle. For the next few weeks I’m going to focus on getting the stability up to snuff to get the most out of the max strength training later on. I guess the summer of high volume, no strength training and ignoring my my PT exercises from the past 2 yrs is probably the culprit of the instability!
Thanks!
Nick

[nickbb10]

nickbb10 on June 18, 2018 at 1:20 pm · in reply to: bad knee cartilage exercises #10350

It gets better Sam, 2 years ago in a climbing accident I shattered my right tibia and fibula into a hundred pieces, completely destroying the ankle joint, as well as shattering my right elbow and wrist. I was in a wheelchair for 4mo, and crutches for another 3mo. As soon as I was able, I got on the bike and went about remaking my leg. expect to have to do hours of PT everyday, and find a PT who knows what they are doing. The hardest part is finding the balance between doing enough to get stronger, but not causing so much pain that your body creates barriers against trying hard. It took about a year and a half for my body to remember that not all pain is bad. The mental and neuromuscular trauma is probably going to the hardest thing to overcome. This summer I finally have gotten my confidence back to go to the mountains, and spent the past weekend scrambling ridge lines 20 miles in the backcountry. To my delight, I discovered that my fitness has dramatically improved since before the accident, by virtue of the discipline and drive it has taught me. Your body will never be quite the same, but that does not mean that you won’t be able to do what you want to do. I can run, but it isn’t a very efficient way for me to move yet. I used to look down on cycling, but at the end of the day, hours and vertical will still make you stronger, 7000ft of climbing on a bike feels just as hard and rewarding as trail running. It takes time and practice to feel efficent on a bike, just the same as running.
Keep your head up and eventually you will get there.
Nick

[nickbb10]

nickbb10 on April 5, 2018 at 9:53 pm · in reply to: Aerobic "Maintenance" during rock climbing focused period #9136

thanks for the reply Scott, that should fit in nicely around climbing days.

[nickbb10]

nickbb10 on November 5, 2017 at 3:33 pm · in reply to: Returning to training after breaking leg badly #6578

Been awhile, wanted to give a quick update on my recovery. Its been almost a year since I started walking again, 18mo since the fall. I’ve been mt biking about 8-10hrs a week to get the aerobic capacity back(awesome sport, new to me, fun to learn another subtle style technical trickery!), rock climbing about 10-15 pitches a week up to 5.10+(on TR for now). Walking is fully back to normal, and have started to work on running/jumping, the biggest limiting factor now is the neuromuscular/max power and ROM, but its coming back bit by bit every week. Feels great to be able to push myself without feeling scared and seeing the confidence in my body come back! For PT, I having been seeing a MAT(muscle activation technique) practitioner about once a month, and I highly recommend looking into it! I notice marked improvement after every session and can get most of the pain/weakness I am struggling with to go away by doing the exercises 3x a day! Thanks so much for putting together this site, super inspiring, as well as TFTNA, I reread sections quite often to brush up and get stoked!
Thanks Again,
Nick

[nickbb10]

nickbb10 on January 8, 2017 at 11:57 am · in reply to: Returning to training after breaking leg badly #3856

Hi Scott, sorry to not get back sooner, just wanted to say thanks for responding, means a lot. the recovering is going well, able to get out on the bike for a couple hours a day now and walk up hill with a fairly normal gait, so getting back to the mountains doesn’t feel quite as far away!

thanks again,
Nick