[Brian Bauer]

so I’m about 2 weeks into doing Canova progressions on my treadmill as prescribed by Coach Ben.  I am running at a 20-25% gradient at a slow pace. it’s steep enough that I am only on my toes and forefoot. I am getting calf “burn”. at first I thought it was lactic acid burn, but I don’t think thats correct because my HR is low.  is it just that my calves are being asked to do a new kind of work and they are complaining a bit?  it may also be that I am relying too much on my calves for launch and need to recruit bigger muscles like glutes?  the Canova reps are otherwise comfortably hard, just the calf thing happening. any ideas?

[Scott Johnston]

Hey Brian;

That ‘burn’ associated with a low HR is EXACTLY what you feel when Local Muscular Endurance is the limitation to speed.  It is very common to fill this in your quads when running to hiking steeply uphill outside.  But the unrelenting nature of the treadmill that keeps you on your toes forces the calves into meeting their endurance limit.  If you were doing this same workout on a stair machine you would not feel your calves but your quads as the limiter.  If you shifted to hiking at 25% I suspect the burn will shift more to the quads.

Overall this “burn” is a good and appropriate training effect.  As long as you are recovering well enough between sessions that you are seeing progress you are doing this correctly.

Keep it up.
Scott

[Brian Bauer]

thanks Scott.  I suspect this is why I am being instructed to run not hike( even though it’s a slow pace) and to do the workout on a treadmill where there is no “escape”.   I have observed what you are describing : hiking outside on very steep terrain the burn shifts to my quads and its the LME that limits my pace more so than LT or AeT etc.   I suspect that these treadmill workouts are going to show real gains in trail races

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