[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on April 7, 2020 at 3:08 pm · in reply to: Long Runs: Mininum Effective Dose #40301

This is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks again!

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on April 6, 2020 at 10:43 pm · in reply to: Long Runs: Mininum Effective Dose #40252

Thanks Reed! I’m still curious how many of those big weekends are adequate for say a cat1/2 runner.

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on April 5, 2020 at 7:56 am · in reply to: General Strength vs Mountaineering Max Strength #40172

One idea you can use for your treadmill is use something to elevate the front of it, like 4×4 blocks then use a clinometer app on your phone to see your incline.

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on March 29, 2020 at 11:11 am · in reply to: Creaky knees #39956

Take this as anecdotal as well. I’m 37 and have had noticeable creaky knees for at least 10 years. I have a lot of wear and tear from playing football from a young age and having a physical job with lots of kneeling and squatting. Through experimentation and from studies I’ve found, What I’ve found works for me is to avoid processed carbs and to eat a mostly low carbohydrate diet, focusing on carbs I do eat are the most nutritionally dense. Also eating plenty of healthy fats have helped. Even though the creaky knees are still there, I also notice the pain is more noticeable depending on my own emotional state. When I’m more stressed or anxious I have more pain. When I’ve cultivated good personal relationships and managed the stress in my life the pain is practically nonexistent.

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on February 24, 2020 at 11:00 am · in reply to: Simulating a mountain run at home. #38697

I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks again, Scott!

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on February 18, 2020 at 1:19 pm · in reply to: Simulating a mountain run at home. #38390

Thanks for the response Scott! That’s good to know! My thought with the integrating the jumping exercises would mimic downhill eccentric loading and maybe take them to the point where it’s not a full blown ME workout but just enough to simulate a decent downhill so I could be recovered enough to repeat it 72 hours later.

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on August 13, 2019 at 2:39 pm · in reply to: Shoe Recommendations #26734

Check out the La Sportiva Akasha. It’s similar to the mountain masochist in a lot of ways.

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on December 22, 2018 at 4:04 pm · in reply to: Planning race season after completing 20 week Big Vert Plan #15477

Scott, I had another thought. Would it make more sense to make the 100 miler the event that the program peaks at and just use the races as “training races” and add extra rest weeks into the program?

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on December 2, 2018 at 1:56 pm · in reply to: Planning race season after completing 20 week Big Vert Plan #15069

Got it, Thank you again, Scott!

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on November 25, 2018 at 10:34 am · in reply to: Planning race season after completing 20 week Big Vert Plan #14636

Wow, thank you for the detailed reply, Scott! Well since I’m returning to ultra races after a few years of unstructured training I’ll probably be taking a more conservative taper/rest approach. Would you recommend returning to the shorter hill sprints and some gym based ME sessions if I’m focusing on base volume between races?

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on November 20, 2018 at 2:21 pm · in reply to: Yearly periodisation model #14542

Scott, in regards to the gym based ME training like the workout in the last vertical beast mode article, would you still recommend doing these for mtn runners with access to steep terrain, or would one be better served doing more maximum strength training? Thanks

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on October 11, 2018 at 11:25 am · in reply to: Functional Movement Screen #13919

And I forgot to mention that I fixed my knee pain by ceasing running and going through 6 weeks of maximum strength training as well as working on managing life stress and now I’m back to trail running pain free

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on October 11, 2018 at 11:21 am · in reply to: Functional Movement Screen #13917

Well I guess I should’ve been more clear, I think I might actually be more in agreement with you Scott. I more disagree with the notion behind FMS that someone scoring poorly in the testing needs to increase their “mobility” before taking on certain activities like doing squats or deadlifts for example. Take an older person that cannot do a full squat. FMS would suggest that individual would need to go through a stretching and corrective exercise protocol before it was safe for that person to to Loaded Squats. Whereas more likely that person needs to increase their strength then they would be able to do a full depth squat. Doing mobility exercise would probably be a waste of time if Strength was the limiting factor.

This is where things like this should take a much more nuanced approach for each individual and where I think FMS falls short.

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on October 7, 2018 at 1:38 pm · in reply to: Functional Movement Screen #13811

I personally feel it’s a waste of time. Last winter my friend who’s certified for FMS did a test on me since I was experiencing some chronic knee pain and he couldn’t figure out why I was passing everything in the screen. I consider myself pretty athletic and strong from my background and that’s why I could pass the test well. My knee pain I feel was more from poor stress management instead of lack of mobility. I guess my point is that FMS is flawed in that it may only be applicable for a a few take the test.

[Josh Gray]

Josh Gray on September 15, 2018 at 8:53 am · in reply to: ME Questions #13439

Hey Seth,

Pretty cool to see a mention of Round Mountain on this site! I’m based out of Northern Colorado and have used Round for training for mountain running. Apparently per a friend of mine there is a way to follow some rock ribs all the way to the summit which would certainly make it steep. I’ll ask him for more information on it. Also Alexander Mountain would be a good candidate for a ME workout and is even closer than Round. Though you want to avoid it May-October https://www.summitpost.org/alexander-mountain/680186