[Andrew Bollard]

@zclimber:

The reason heavily weight hikes are not recommended outside of an ME phase is because it risks turns a Z1-2 session into a Z3 session. 20+kg is an enormous pack weight to be hiking with for a Z1-2 session and, unless you’re enormously strong, is probably going to fatigue the legs and back in a way more reminiscent of a Z3/ME session.

Remember that, in a base period, the goal is to concurrently build as much aerobic capacity and maximal strength as possible independently of each other and then convert that general aerobic and strength capacity into a sport specific capacity using ME training. We always start our training in a given cycle very generally to build as much capacity as possible in the systems we will rely on for our event, and then sharpen that into more sport-specific fitness so that we can utilise our capacities to succeed in our event/race/goal. These qualities need to be developed independently of each other to maximise them, as they require different biological adaptations that cannot be optimally trained in the same session. They can be trained concurrently in a given training cycle, but not in the very same training session.

Aerobic hikes with a 20+kg pack will almost certainly violate the principles of general vs specific training and capacity vs utilisation training as you would be blending the stimuli for adaptations to aerobic capacity and strength capacity, which have competing demands. It might seem intuitive to try and train both these capacities at the same time, but in trying to kill two birds with one stone, you would end up missing both. It’s much better to focus on building up a high volume of running and/or lightly weighted hiking while simultaneously but separately building max strength in semi-sport specific movements such as the box step-up and single leg deadlift, Dedicating specific sessions to each capacity will lead to better gains in both, which will eventually leave you in a better position to convert them into something more specific to mountaineering like hiking with a 20+kg pack. You don’t need to spend 6 months hiking with such heavy pack weights to be optimally prepared to carry them; a targeted ME period of 8-12 weeks after a long and productive base period is in fact a better way to prepare.