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Other/Mixed Mountain Strong

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
Thanks for all the great thoughts. Not sure why I still don't own TFTUA, I've been thinking about buying it for years. Seems like everyone finds a maintenance program built of strength movements that cover whatever basis is needed (individual specific) then go for the hills for the rest. Sounds like a good plan to me. I'll finish the first 8 week block of KB strong since I'm almost there, then move back to some A+A, Q&D, or S&S, when I'm not able to be outside.

@TrailNRG did you write that article? I remember reading it a while ago and really liking it. It basically hits exactly what my goals are (couch readiness) although my goals would be a lot less: do a long MTB ride with 5,000ft climbing, run a 1/2 marathon, ski uphill on a yurt trip. Also me being from SW Montana make it special too. Those Enforcers are the best ski ever, so fun to turn.
i send a blast to the athletes I coach in Jan titled "100" - it was a simple challenge to get 100 total, quality and SIMPLE strength sessions in 2022.

all the big moves with simple implements following the ground breaking training schema of - 2 x 50. 2x per week, 50 weeks out of the year.

i think it will work well for all of them.
 
No, I did not write that article. The author was referenced in both the Easy Strength and Quick and Dead books and presents a pragmatic view of outdoor fitness in my opinion. I think of it as a long term approach using a minimum effective dose of strength, endurance and conditioning.

The "Victor" pieces are interesting, and mostly not in a good way. The vision of being good at approximately those things with minimal equipment, mostly pretty easy sessions, and a fairly modest weekly time commitment appeals enough to me that I take time to actually read the articles and think about them rather than blowing them off as marketing hype. At the same time, there are a lot of big red flags:
  • Anonymity and unverifiability. Don't give me this "protect his identity" stuff, every third swinging d1ck in the SEALs has written a book (or had a book ghostwritten) under his real name with a face pic on the cover. A lot of "finished" and "can finish" but no times or placings, let alone any actual documentation or video. (Compare to "Paul Wade" or "Ken Black".).
  • Weird inconsistencies between and within articles. From a giant paragraph of Hammer Gel product placement to "mostly fasted" as a "training truth", "I never use barbells" but "I can squat the day after a long run at 65%" (well, yeah, I can too if I'm goblet squatting a 24kg kettlebell), "I rarely train for more than 30 minutes a day" but somehow has time to run, climb, ride bikes, swim, play with clubs and kettlebells and grippers all at (arguendo) a respectable level of proficiency. Zack Galifanakis looking at numbers dot gif.
  • A lot of talk about "what I do" and "where I'm at" but not much about "how I got there." The implication, of course, is that you ought to do these things to get to where "he's" at. Brb getting to a pullup at BW+160 with nothing but two clubs and a 24kg kettlebell, brb multiple ultras (granted, we don't know how fast he was) off 30mpw. If the point is just that it's a lot easier to maintain than to gain and to finish than to place, fair enough, but if you're not already there (or if the real answer is "start at age fifteen") it's a bit of a bait and switch.
I dunno, man, I want to believe but even if "Victor" isn't outright fictional I don't think there are a lot of useful lessons from these articles that we can't get better elsewhere.
 
Hello,

I have no fitness "guru" of some sort. There are excellent principles here in StrongFirst, but in plenty of other places as well. From a general standpoint, I think we can just pick up what works for us (assuming our goals and constraints).

Easy training is something that pays off on the [very] long term. There is a thin line between easy enough to be doable on a consistent basis and progressing on the long term (or at least maintain), and too easy so we'll get a very slow regression. If we consider running, or endurance training in general, most people burn out (injury, give up mentally) because they do too much, too hard, too soon. This is true for running, but it may be true for plenty of physical abilities.

I am far from an example, but as far as flexibility and mobility are concerned, I've created my own routine, based on few moves and stretches I gathered here and there. It lasts 10 minutes, daily. This is the exact same routine I've been doing for 13+ years now (I am 32yo). I practice French boxing and I am more mobile than younger folks, and even more than the teacher. So even if this is not "science based", it works for me. I am always asked how I do to be that flexible, even without warming-up. The answer is always the same: daily commitment, but not hard stuff which I can not sustain. Same for running and regular endurance training which applies to boxing

If we consider the "Blue Zones", we can notice that they sustain very easy physical activity, everyday, all year long.

Obviously, it does not mean that it works for everybody, but it still works.

That being said, there is nothing that prevent anybody to just try a routine for a few weeks / months and see how it goes. As the saying goes, "all roads lead to Rome".

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
I dunno, man, I want to believe but even if "Victor" isn't outright fictional I don't think there are a lot of useful lessons from these articles that we can't get better elsewhere.
Good points. My point wasn't to blindly trust an anonymous author on the internet, it was to consider the concepts and the blending of the elements presented. My response was related to using endurance based programs (e.g., TFTUA) supplemented with StrongFirst concepts. At the end of the day we all have to experiment with what works for our current situation, genetics and objectives, which are mountain related in this thread. I presented that article because it's a well-rounded, low risk approach versus something like MTI where higher intensities, weights and focus are required. YMMV as they say.
 
Hello,

When we read this article, we can still - IMHO - notice a few things:
- Most of the training (up to 90%) is done aerobically. This is not that far from TFTUA which calls for roughly 80%. The remaining portion being intervals / repeats. In Victor's case, these 20% may be Q&D / A+A / S&S work.
- 3x a week training is something fairly common, assuming we use a full body approach. Strength or strength-endurance training can perfectly be done with both calisthenics and kettlebells (the "Strength Aerobics" article can be a great example).

As wisely mentioned by @TrailNRG , a training has to match current situation, goals, genetics. Victor seems to be more interested in endurance related events, which is why he focuses on the real deal (running when the event implies running, etc...). Plus, assuming his past in the military, it may also be what he is used to do and he found something which works great for his endeavours. Then I guess he also enjoys being outside running, hiking, etc...

Having a low-risk routine, even unstructured is not necessarily a bad thing. Of course, progression may be slower, but if an injury happens, as we get older, recovery time is longer. I guess there is some sort of "risk to reward" ratio. Some people, even on SF forum end up injured following RoP, which is "Pavel made and Pavel approved", just because there is a lot of volume.

Here is an interesting video:

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
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Well maybe my aerobic fitness wasn’t too bad after all. Went back to my normal backcountry ski spot and clocked the fastest time uphill yet. Probably all the skiing last week starting at 6600 feet improve things a lot. If I think about last week, I recovered quickly (late afternoon to next morning) and never really had sore muscles, which probably speaks to my base aerobic fitness and strength being okay. I think probably next year I should approach a trip like this with a peaking program to be better prepared. I think that’s one of the hardest things to figure out is when to peak. Especially when ski season lasts all winter, then almost immediately into mountain biking and running/hiking.
 
Well i finally got around to walking snowdonia, after a 5.5hr drive i stayed the night, then it was another 1.5hr drive to the mountain!
Was surprisingly easy! 4hrs up and down, overtook people going up and down and wasn't trying to rush so pleased with my fitness.
Infact i was going to go up again via a different route but my old IT band injury came back towards the end, i think the downhill section was too much too fast and untrained for it!

Then a 4.5hr drive home

My calfs are killing me still and it was 2 days ago!
Definitely need to add some calf training ha

So now i have a IT band injury i need to rehab, seems to happen whenever i do something for extended period of time, last time it was during a 3hr bike ride.
I think my muscles get tight and then it flares up.

Anyway really enjoyed it and cant wait to go back again. I better start saving for the petrol money!
 
Hello,

Nice article about 033C:

Kind regards,

Pet'
 
Speaking of Mountain Strong, while doing some Google Searching on Mountain Athletics during my downtime I found this particular site called Mountain Tough, seems like something similar to Mountain Athlete by Rob Shaul or Uphill Athlete from my initial look at the site:

Link is here: MTNTough.com

On a separate note, as a military reservist who mostly works a desk job with hobbies like Brazilian Jiujitsu and Muay Thai I find some aspects of training for mountain athletes (pound for pound strength and endurance) to be of interest to me.
 
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Brief experience share for mountain/uphill training.
Recent training has been:

Strength - A+A using both LCCJ and jumping split squats, plus a few easy sets of pull-ups, occasional TGU, and one set of core at the end of each session. Plus some prehab/bulletproofing for warmups.

Running: each week: 1 run of LISS with strides/easy sprint every 5min. 1 run of LISS with a few rounds of LT HR zone for 3-8min. 1 run of pure Z1-2 LISS.

Observations: since adding the A+A, particularly the jumping split squats, I have noticed real improvements in running up hills.
 
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