[RobHanco]

Hey everyone,

I could really use some advice regarding a challenge I’m facing with my training plan.

A bit about my background: I’ve been doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for 7 years, but unfortunately, 12 months ago, I suffered a ruptured ACL and torn meniscus on both sides. After going through surgery and a recovery period, I found myself in a bit of a slump where I neglected my physical and mental well-being. However, since February, I’ve been determined to turn things around, and I’ve been actively engaged in indoor bouldering and scrambling in both Snowdonia, Wales, and the Peak District, England. Next month, I’m planning to attempt the Welsh 3000s to see how well my knee has recovered one year after the injury. Additionally, I’m fortunate to have a family friend who used to be part of the Scottish Mountain Rescue team, and they’re willing to teach me lead climbing. My goal is to take on more challenging peaks, with Gran Paradiso as a target for next year.

While I’ve noticed a significant improvement in my strength and speed in the mountains, the real challenge lies within the base period of my training plan. Due to holidays and work trips, it has been tough to maintain consistent training zones. I’ve been doing my best to fit in sessions whenever possible while also being mindful of giving my body the rest it needs. My primary methods of aerobic training include using the cross-trainer, Stairmaster, and enjoying outdoor scrambling and hiking in the hills and mountains.

I’ve attached a snapshot of my Base Period training, and as you can see, it’s been quite erratic. I’m feeling a bit lost and uncertain about how to proceed. One idea I’m considering is starting again from Week 5-6, following the recommendations in TftNA, while keeping the volume consistent at the level of Week 3. To do this, I would use one of my previous weeks’ training as a reference for Week 3. However, with the Welsh 3000s challenge coming up in 5-6 weeks, I’m not sure if I should taper off a bit to prepare adequately.

I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions on how to handle this.

Thanks in advance.

Rob

[Scott Johnston]

Rob:

Thanks for writing in and sorry to be slow replying.  I’m not familiar with the Welsh 3000 route but see that it is about 40km and 3000m vertical gain and loss that can take most people 2-3 days.  Your screen shot is a bit hard to read.  Correct me if I am wrong but I think I can see that most of your weeks of training are under 10 hours.   We have a general rule of thumb that you should be comfortable doing at least your event’s total distance and vertical in a normal training week.  This is not to say that you won’t be able to complete your event but it may a struggle and will significantly drain you  if you do not have the base to handle that amount of work in 7 days.

Since I can’t read what the volume of week 3 was I can’t really comment your thought on how to progress.  I can say these things:  You need to consider how you have been recovering.  Was week 3 tough?  You will want to taper.  The length of taper is going to be dependent on how tired you are getting from the current training load.   I’m afraid that without know quite a lot more about you and your training it is impossible to give any kind of detailed training advice.

Scott

 

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