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Brian Bauer
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what is your MAF number? i.e 180-age? when you slowly jog for 1 mile, what is your average HR? how much are you exercising per week? run volume, bike volume, walking, etc? do you consider yourself to be healthy with some fitness? even with all of the data you are sharing, without knowing something about you, its not possible to offer an opinion on your negative drift question.
I think the decision to add Z4 or not depends on how you are doing with Z3 intervals. Getting Z3 sessions dialed in across terrain and varying altitudes can be super tricky . I would not worry about Z4 until you have demonstrated over time that you have mastered Z3…and something to consider is if your primary focus is ultra-distance races, what do you hope to get form Z4 workouts which will either be run extremely fast, or on extremely hard uphills. I work my sessions at the top end of Z3 only( not Z4), and my races like skimo, nordic and trail running( under 30k) definitely include red-line hammer segments…and knowing what they feel like and what recovery between efforts requires is really important.
I am currently in the middle of my competitive ski season for both Nordic and Skimo. in weeks when I am not racing I am doing two L3 interval sessions: one session is on flatfish terrain, the other is on uphill…usually very steep uphill. as you can imagine, I am moving much faster on the flatter terrain than I am going uphill….the uphill sessions require more power. My Evoke coach has me keeping the workouts separated. in the Spring, as I start transitioning to trail running/racing, intervals will remain similar but be done on foot….and in these running sessions, I often do the flat intervals on the road and focus on building speed/economy
the muscular demands of running uphill are different than they are on flat ground. on flat ground, your muscles need to propel you in only one direction, when running uphill, you are moving in two dimensions: Up and Across. To move your body across two dimensions requires that your muscles do more work…more work requires more oxygen, more oxygen results in a higher HR. the good news is that you can train your uphill economy to become more efficient at consuming oxygen and creating velocity. if you are just starting to introduce uphill work to your training plan, and you are not sure how good your aerobic base is, you should be doing the uphill work in Z1…after a period of Z1 volume, you can then think about moving to AeT. If you are not sure if you have ADS, perform a 1hr drift test on the treadmill. Instructions for doing that are here in the forum.
well its been about a month since I first strapped on nordic skis this season. I can now ski classic or skate for 90 mins in Z1. In November I could not propel myself at any speed for any real distance in Z1. Ski Economy is still being developed, but the progress so far is obvious
Hi,
in your uphill sessions, how steep are you going uphill? and are you at the same altitude where you established your HR Zones? I’m also curious about you saying that Uphill AeT sessions increase your HR immediately. AeT is a HR Zone that would be the same whether you are on flat ground or going uphill. Are you meaning that when you try to train uphill you can’t stay in your AeT Zone because your HR goes up quickly?
I believe a SkiErg is self-supporting. it has a large base. I know its possible because I’ve seen it, but I cannot explain exactly how you position the skierg next to a treadmill.
as for alternatives: here is what I did. about $100 worth of variable resistance pulleys and rope. the pulleys flop around quite a bit the way they are positioned. I have however devised a new setup that moves the pulleys too the floor and provides support for them, I just never made the change. so yes this is a low dollar alternative and it works, just don’t expect the smooth operation found with a Skierg.
since these pics were taken, I added proper ski pole straps to the rope
Hey,
so I am not the expert here, but I can tell how my Evoke coach has me using box-steps: Box-steps, 2 legged jumps, single leg jump lunges and single leg lunges fit into the Muscular Endurance.(ME) category, which is different that the Aerobic conditioning category. Aerobic conditioning which is generally classified by the Z1 – Z4 zones as well as AeT, LT, etc is a bit different than working on generating prolonged explosive power( ME). So as a prescription for ADS or base aerobic conditioning, I don’t think that’s where box-steps and jumps fit in. Box Steps can be an important part of training, but probably not part of aerobic training.
Hi Vincent,
Horizon Fitness has recently popped up on my radar because they have a lower price point than NordicTrack, Peleton, etc. It seems that Horizon achieved a lower cost by de-coupling the big video display from the machine and instead relying on users to “bring their own video screen” like an iPad etc. This seems like a better way to bring the cost down than including the screen but sacrificing build quality. I have never used a Horizon machine so I suggest you do some research and read all the reviews so that you can make your own fully informed decision.
https://www.horizonfitness.com
https://www.wired.com/review/horizon-fitness-78-at-treadmill/
there can be a time and place for riding a bike in training. Jim Walmsley and Hillary Allen have both shown how bike riding can contribute to success. I can’t answer the math problem about converting volume to a run-equivalent, but here are 2 articles talking about when/why Jim and Hillary wer3e doing bike workouts:
Jim Walmsley opens up about injury ahead of Western States 100
https://hillaryallen.com/can-an-ultra-runner-do-ultra-riding/
and don’t forget uphill ski touring. Some of the best Sky runners in the world dedicate the entire winter to Skimo racing!
