First and foremost, thanks for all your hard work on the blog. I have been back on the trails for about a year now and have not really progressed at all. After a bunch of research and reading of others experiences, it has become obvious to me that I have never really rebuilt my aerobic base.
I have two questions if you don't mind. First, Maffetone recommends not doing anything anaerobic during this phase - including strength training. Would you agree with this? Second, what kind of HRM would you recommend. I am on a limited school teachers budget.
Chris- I read this earlier and thought about it quite a bit on my bike workout tonight. I feel very strongly (no pun intended) about weight training for any runner particularly any runner over the age of 30. As we near ~35 our testosterone levels drop and we no longer build or even maintain muscle mass very easily at all. For me personally I loathe the idea of being a weak, skinny 50 something that is too delicate to keep up with his two sons. In this regard then screw running and the detriment of weights. There is a bigger picture and I feel that running is just a spot on the horizon of that picture. These numbers are just made up guesses... but, I really feel that if you skip weight training and simply run at MAF then you maybe will be (lets say) 5 seconds per mile faster. BUT- if you lift weights and focus on MAF then the benefits of weights far outweigh the negative effects of anaerobic exercise, in the end making it a huge positive. You have to look at weights beyond the simplistic aspect of metabolism and consider the benefits that you will gain. Stronger tendons. More support for joints. Increased running economy. Increased oxygen transport. Increased range of motion. Far fewer injuries (which results ultimately in more consistent training). You'll have stronger bones, leaner body mass and you'll look and feel better. I would guess that weights hurt your aerobic metabolism by maybe 1% but you gain about 10% more in other aspects.
And as far as HR monitors go I would tell you to start on Amazon.com and find something that fits your price range and then read the reviews. Maybe find a few HRMs and pick the best reviews. Then go to e-bay. I personally would recommend a Garmin. T
First and foremost, thanks for your feedback. I was very happy to hear your opinion on the continuation of strength training, especially considering that I am well over 40 years old. I do mostly body weight stuff, but I really do enjoy it and have felt a general difference in everyday life, not just in running. I will begin attempting to build my aerobic base and track my progress throughout the summer.
I agree with Tim here. The benefit one gets from other such work is clear. In fact, the evidence is in what you see a lot of "elite" runners doing these days: core work, drills (check out the Jay Johnson stuff) and generally finding ways to effectively address (strengthen) a weakness.
Folks like us ain't going to the Olympics, and so our focus needs to be for what we are living for - and that is living.
But, opening a bit of a can of worms here anyway ... I have always had a bit of an issue with Dr. Phil's thought that the development of one system inhibits the development of another. I certainly agree that base building needs to be that - the base and that to accomplish that, that needs to be the focus in training. I (admittedly unscientifically) am not sure that I agree that once one trips a HR of some value, then the whole training event is screwed. Lucho and I can gleeful debate this some run some time - but the bigger message is this: I don't think weight lifting is going to mess up your base building if done properly.
GZ, I could be wrong, but I believe once you pass a certain HR threshhold for a long enough time, it does indeed turn off fat burning...whereas if the workout had been done lower, the fat burning engine would stay on for several more hours during the day. I could be wrong.
I certainly do agree with you in your disagreement with Dr. Phil in that I also believe all these things tie together and they are not mutually exclusive. (That the development of one system DOES NOT necessarily inhibit the development of another.)
I am pretty sure though if I feel that way then it negates my first comment?
I find this topic similar to a few of the simultaneous key rules of JogHard: * Measuring HR is critical * Measuring HR is not important
Awesome picture. I miss Boulder and Kerrie. :-( As for the 146 HR at 6:34 pace.. That is NUTS. I can barely keep my HR under 150 during an ez base (EL run and I'm probably pushing an 11 minute mile and I'll add that I'm EMBARRASSED to actually admit that. Ha!
Lucho: Here's a question that is unrelated to your post. I've signed up for Jemez (yeah, I read your report...) and am doing the Leadville 100 in August. I'm starting to worry that maybe 50 miles on the Jemez course is going to wreck my legs as I'm getting ready for Leadville. My goal all along was quality time on my feet. Do you think I should drop down to 50K at Jemez or do you think it's possible to get some quality, productive time on the feet at Jemez doing the 50 miles? When you're talking about being on your feet and going forward for 10-11+ hours, recovery becomes an issue. I was going to e-mail you but don't have your address and can't find it on your blog, so sorry to make this public!
TGP- I haven't tried the TRX but I do think it's awesome. If the price was better it would be even awesomer.
Wyatt- Without knowing your injury background or your training volumes all I can give you is a generic response that is safe. Ultras tend to be quite easy on the body due to the low intensity so you should be OK with the 50, but there's no way I can tell with out doubt that you'll be OK after. Maybe we can talk it over on a run soon? jogdaddy at g mail dot com.
10 comments:
First and foremost, thanks for all your hard work on the blog. I have been back on the trails for about a year now and have not really progressed at all. After a bunch of research and reading of others experiences, it has become obvious to me that I have never really rebuilt my aerobic base.
I have two questions if you don't mind. First, Maffetone recommends not doing anything anaerobic during this phase - including strength training. Would you agree with this? Second, what kind of HRM would you recommend. I am on a limited school teachers budget.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
Chris
Chris- I read this earlier and thought about it quite a bit on my bike workout tonight. I feel very strongly (no pun intended) about weight training for any runner particularly any runner over the age of 30. As we near ~35 our testosterone levels drop and we no longer build or even maintain muscle mass very easily at all. For me personally I loathe the idea of being a weak, skinny 50 something that is too delicate to keep up with his two sons. In this regard then screw running and the detriment of weights. There is a bigger picture and I feel that running is just a spot on the horizon of that picture.
These numbers are just made up guesses... but, I really feel that if you skip weight training and simply run at MAF then you maybe will be (lets say) 5 seconds per mile faster.
BUT- if you lift weights and focus on MAF then the benefits of weights far outweigh the negative effects of anaerobic exercise, in the end making it a huge positive. You have to look at weights beyond the simplistic aspect of metabolism and consider the benefits that you will gain. Stronger tendons. More support for joints. Increased running economy. Increased oxygen transport. Increased range of motion. Far fewer injuries (which results ultimately in more consistent training). You'll have stronger bones, leaner body mass and you'll look and feel better.
I would guess that weights hurt your aerobic metabolism by maybe 1% but you gain about 10% more in other aspects.
And as far as HR monitors go I would tell you to start on Amazon.com and find something that fits your price range and then read the reviews. Maybe find a few HRMs and pick the best reviews. Then go to e-bay.
I personally would recommend a Garmin.
T
First and foremost, thanks for your feedback. I was very happy to hear your opinion on the continuation of strength training, especially considering that I am well over 40 years old. I do mostly body weight stuff, but I really do enjoy it and have felt a general difference in everyday life, not just in running. I will begin attempting to build my aerobic base and track my progress throughout the summer.
Thanks again!
Chris
http://waddlingtuxedo.blogspot.com
I agree with Tim here. The benefit one gets from other such work is clear. In fact, the evidence is in what you see a lot of "elite" runners doing these days: core work, drills (check out the Jay Johnson stuff) and generally finding ways to effectively address (strengthen) a weakness.
Folks like us ain't going to the Olympics, and so our focus needs to be for what we are living for - and that is living.
But, opening a bit of a can of worms here anyway ... I have always had a bit of an issue with Dr. Phil's thought that the development of one system inhibits the development of another. I certainly agree that base building needs to be that - the base and that to accomplish that, that needs to be the focus in training. I (admittedly unscientifically) am not sure that I agree that once one trips a HR of some value, then the whole training event is screwed. Lucho and I can gleeful debate this some run some time - but the bigger message is this: I don't think weight lifting is going to mess up your base building if done properly.
GZ, I could be wrong, but I believe once you pass a certain HR threshhold for a long enough time, it does indeed turn off fat burning...whereas if the workout had been done lower, the fat burning engine would stay on for several more hours during the day. I could be wrong.
I certainly do agree with you in your disagreement with Dr. Phil in that I also believe all these things tie together and they are not mutually exclusive. (That the development of one system DOES NOT necessarily inhibit the development of another.)
I am pretty sure though if I feel that way then it negates my first comment?
I find this topic similar to a few of the simultaneous key rules of JogHard:
* Measuring HR is critical
* Measuring HR is not important
Brett, not a PhD.
Awesome picture. I miss Boulder and Kerrie. :-( As for the 146 HR at 6:34 pace.. That is NUTS. I can barely keep my HR under 150 during an ez base (EL run and I'm probably pushing an 11 minute mile and I'll add that I'm EMBARRASSED to actually admit that. Ha!
I forgot to ask concerning the weight training. What are your thoughts on TRX Suspension Training?
Lucho: Here's a question that is unrelated to your post. I've signed up for Jemez (yeah, I read your report...) and am doing the Leadville 100 in August. I'm starting to worry that maybe 50 miles on the Jemez course is going to wreck my legs as I'm getting ready for Leadville. My goal all along was quality time on my feet. Do you think I should drop down to 50K at Jemez or do you think it's possible to get some quality, productive time on the feet at Jemez doing the 50 miles? When you're talking about being on your feet and going forward for 10-11+ hours, recovery becomes an issue. I was going to e-mail you but don't have your address and can't find it on your blog, so sorry to make this public!
Thanks,
Wyatt
Would also love to hear the thoughts of anyone else on here (Fast Ed?) regarding my Jemez questions.
Thanks!
Wyatt
TGP- I haven't tried the TRX but I do think it's awesome. If the price was better it would be even awesomer.
Wyatt- Without knowing your injury background or your training volumes all I can give you is a generic response that is safe. Ultras tend to be quite easy on the body due to the low intensity so you should be OK with the 50, but there's no way I can tell with out doubt that you'll be OK after. Maybe we can talk it over on a run soon? jogdaddy at g mail dot com.
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