[Andrew Bollard]

@Josh Gray:

Nice work! You’ve given a perfect real life example of how ME training can and should work.

@zclimber:

I’ve been reflecting on your question more. One of the principles in TftNA is that, if you’re recovering well from the current training load, you should be reasonably enthusiastic about training and feel energised after each session. Aerobic capacity work, specifically Z1 training that has a low neuromuscular impact, has a recovery effect and should be a sufficiently low-intensity activity that it can be done day in, day out. Max strength training done right should have a similar energising effect if recovered from properly and should not leave you feeling sore. Training these two qualities independently therefore should have complimentary recovery effects on each other, in theory enabling a higher overall volume of training. This should allow for more capacity to be utilised in the ME period, leading to bigger overall gains.

If you train on a steady diet of aerobic hikes with heavy weight, the neuromuscular stimulus from the weight is probably going to be too high to effectively recover from between sessions and continue doing quality aerobic work. On the flip side, this stimulus will be too low to elicit a max strength response, hence the analogy of trying to kill two birds with one stone and missing both in the process.

As for how people can better train for Aconcagua, it’s impossible to say why people fall apart with heavy pack carries without knowing their training history. As you say, a million factors come into play here. It could well be that people who appear to arrive in good shape are in fact lacking the specific qualities necessary for success in high-altitude mountaineering, despite appearances. The best advice you could give them is probably to read Scott’s article on mountaineering training 9 months in advance and train accordingly, to be honest!