Strength training to lighten the load

Piper –

Good for you! Sounds like you are improving your overall fitness. But too much of a "good" thing can be bad. Moderation in all things :)

Jennifer said,

"Major point here: You do not built endurance with strength training. You build endurance with endurance training and muscle force with "strength" training. If you lift for increased power production, you will not improve endurance (this is why sprinters are not marathon runners, and huge lineman do not run the ball in for touchdowns). Look at the different builds of cyclists in the Tour de France: the climbers are all lithe and skinny…that is endurance training; the sprinters have huge legs…that is power. The two are not the same and the muscles are not at all trained the same. While improving a muscle's force production will make stepping up a 15 inch boulder with a 15 pound pack easier…it will NOT change how many times you can step up that step. That's where endurance training (like Dave's comment about climbing stairs) comes in…….

but, the fact is specificity of training rules the day. If you want to run fast, run fast. If you want to power up a steep ascent, power up steep ascents. And if you want to hike for 30 miles/day, then you need to hike 30 miles a day. The other stuff can make minor differences, but in the grander scheme of things not all that much."

Spot on. Weight lifting for speed/power. That is how Galen Rupp (10K silver medalist 2012 Olympics) was able to run the final lap in a 13:22 5K, in 52 seconds last year. After he had the endurance, the weight lifting was done for speed when it was needed. Rupp does lift 2 or 3 days a week. We will see him move up to the marathon, and expect him to be very competitive. But most of his work is running, not weight lifting; because he is a distance runner.

Tom,

I now know why I like you. My favorite workout on the track was 440 yard intervals (pre-socialist measurement system). Everyone hated those days, except for me.

These days my goal is to wake up above ground each day, and then go for some sort of a walk. Seems to work too. :)

Hey Jennifer

2-3 times per week, I go to a hilly section of trail near me, put on a 25 lb pack (what I usually carry on a hike), and hike up and down for an hour or so. Once a week I do a longer hike.

Where I park, I have a choice of either immediately beginning the hills up and down, or taking 10 minutes to walk a very gently, almost flat section. Some have told me I should do the flat section both before and after, to warm up and cool down. Is there any real benefit to that, or is my preferred hit-the-hills-now okay?

Thanks for any input advice.

"Spot on. Weight lifting for speed/power. That is how Galen Rupp (10K silver medalist 2012 Olympics) was able to run the final lap in a 13:22 5K, in 52 seconds last year. After he had the endurance, the weight lifting was done for speed when it was needed. Rupp does lift 2 or 3 days a week. We will see him move up to the marathon, and expect him to be very competitive. But most of his work is running, not weight lifting; because he is a distance runner."

Correct. If he didn't train for strength then he would not have been able to run the final lap like that. But you are incorrect that somehow strength suddenly appeared, pushing him to the end (review how ATP, CP, and lactic acid affect strength). Strength training helped him by improving his capacity to endure, thereby providing him the additional endurance when he needed it. He simply wasn't working at his full capacity early on, which permitted him to maintain a high level of endurance right to the end of the run.

4 strength exercises for hikers.

Squats
Deadlifts
Planks – core strength should not be neglected
Calf raises – doesn't feature in most bodybuilding routines, but I think this is a really important one for hikers – strong ankles are less likely to rollover or get sprained, and can help you recover from misplaced footing without falling. If you can work up to single leg barefoot calf raises, this will develop the smaller muscles in your foot, and work on your balance.

And we haven't even addressed the role of the motor unit areas of the cortex and their regulation of motor unit function! I doubt Piper expected this type of discussion.

Clearly specificity of training is where it's at if you are an athlete training for a specific sport…We had very specific workouts for our players, and even more specific ones for our pitchers.

But for me, I don't just hike. At 50, I play a lot of golf and softball also, and due to time constraints I don't want to train specifically for each one. I do a quick "10 minute trainer" 2 to 3 times per week. So you have to think about your lifestyle…If you are Andrew Skurka, train for long distance hiking…If you do lots of different things, take that into account, along with your time constraints.

Also, I have some questions for Jennifer regarding what the stretching studies say regarding range of motion and time. When I get to the golf course, my backswing is very short and tight, so before I tee off I warm up and stretch for about 5 minutes. After this, I feel looser and my backswing is visibly where it needs to be….what is happening here? Is it the increased blood flow from the warmup, perhaps? Once I've gotten loose, I stay loose until I stop playing…then the next time I play, I need to stretch again to get my backswing back to where it needs to be.

And to the poster who mentioned the HIIT stuff, I always thought that it made quick twitch guys lose some burst, despite what the studies showed for a long time…and then, after I stopped coaching I heard that some of the HIIT guys were starting to change their views a little…is this true?

Remember, at first all the studies showed that a curve ball didn't actually curve….I feel as if stretching will yet be vindicated in a future study! :)

Edit: I think I was thinking of something else when I mentioned the HIIT stuff…I was thinking of the real slow lifting technique.

You're right BJ!! Let's talk motor unit recruitment and neuromuscular junction fatigue!!!

@Dave: c'mon, have some fun!! Who doesn't love a metaphysical discussion about force generating capacity and morphological changes of muscle fibers in the presence of overloading??!!

You obviously have a background in exercise physiology, and that's why a discussion like this is (can be…) fun. The chemical engineers get their geek on arguing about different alcohol compositions and burn times…what's wrong with a little type I vs IIa fiber discussion??

You seem to be awfully negative a lot…..

@Stephen: yes, a warm up and cool down are important. Generally I would recommend doing the flat section first and last because it doesn't take much time, doesn't hurt, and we THINK it's beneficial. But honestly, I'm less a fan of changing something that is working for you than to conform to somewhat controversial pop culture medicine.

And to circle back through all of this…cross training, lifting weights, aerobic training…these are all good things that overall make you a well rounded, physically fit person who can do everything easier. Hiking involves a lot of different activies (flats, ups, downs, uneven surfaces, lifting, carrying, squatting, etc) so a well-rounded exercise program is absolutely the best way to go. Unless you are actually training for something high level and specific (record setting speed thru hike, for example), just create a program that you will actually do. And have fun with it.

Goodness gracious I need to get out and hike!!!!!!!

nm

Jennifer, since you are an expert (or very good at pretending to be one), I was wondering if I could pick your brain as far as my workout routine (posted early in this thread) is concerned? What do you think of it in general, would you and/remove/change anything, any tips, etc.

And Piper, I didn't mean to hijack your thread or anything. Just wanted to share what I do to stay in shape other than backpacking (and also to aid in a better backpacking experience). Maybe you could share your workout routine in detail? Anyhow, thanks for getting this discussion started :)

Yeah the stretching literature has been pretty crazy over the past 5-7 years. We know the length of the muscle doesn't change with static stretching, only the tolerance to stretch. You have a rather complicated system of sensors in your muscles called spindles and they detect stretch and velocity (or both)…when you stretch you are conditioning these spindles to allow more lengthening in the muscle prior to stopping you. This effect has been shown to last only about an hour but does not affect the long term passive properties of the muscle. This is why you feel a bit better (and looser) when you stretch, but that you still feel stiff later.

There has been a great deal of work on how muscle performance is actually harmed by static stretching: your speed, power and endurance are impaired if you stretch those muscles during a pre-exercise routine. This has been so well documented that the American College of Sports Medicine has changed its guidelines to suggest NOT stretching as part of your warm up and only to include cardio work if you needed strength or power. (American College of Sports Medicine. ACSM's Resource Manual for Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. 8th Ed. Philadelphia (PA):Lippencott, Williams & Wilkins; 2010. p. 173.)

Then, to totally mess with all that you learned about stretching, Cochrane has a review updated in 2011 that pretty unequivocally says that stretching before, during, or after any exercise does absolutely nothing to alter muscle soreness any time during the week after the physical activity. "The studies produced very consistent findings. They showed there was little or no effect of stretching in the muscle soreness experienced in the week after the physical activity."
Herbert RD, de Noronha M, Kamper SJ. Stretching to prevent or reduce muscle soreness after exercise. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 7. Art. No.: CD004577. DOI: 10.1002/14651858. CD004577.pub3

Now…eccentric exercise, dynamic stretching, ballistic stretching…lots and lots of arguments here. But I imagine I've already overstayed my welcome to poor Piper's original post just being happy about feeling stronger with weight training :)

@Dave: ahhhh…makes so much more sense now!! I can't last 90 seconds on a rower. Ever.

@Cesar: looks great. I wouldn't change a thing – except maybe your warmup. MAYBE light cardio instead of the stretching (see my previous post)…but honestly, I'm far more of an advocate for sticking with what works for you…more injuries happen when people try to mix things up because someone else told them they should do something differently.

Thanks for your input, and so quick too :)

Yeah, I am happy with it, but I always want critical feedback just in case–especially from an expert. It's a bit tricky to explain the concrete benefits of functional strength training as far as UL backpacking goes perhaps, I feel like it becomes a bit reduced to accepting someone's anecdote, i.e. "No, seriously guys, backpacking is easier and more pleasant in general now!"

But perhaps here are some more concrete examples, particularly if you are a parent. Today while lifting my 3 year old son up, I noted how it feels just as easy to lift him around as it was last year when he was 2–and he has grown quite a bit since then. A few days ago when taking my kids to pre-school, I was holding my 1.5 year old, and he dropped his hat. I squatted down to pick it up and was back up again and was a little surprised at how fluid and easy it was compared to a few years ago with my other child.

I challenge anyone to do 100 hindu squats in a row. I did a few times and was hurting for 3 or 4 days after, and then dialed it down to 50. My next goal is to get my two handed kettlebell swings up to 75 reps in a row.

"I have been doing intervals with a rower given the copious amounts of snow outside right now."

I'm told rowing is a great way to get cardio vascularly fit, and it makes a lot of sense if there's a lot of snow on the ground.

"I am wimpy." Nah, just intelligent.

"Are you still distance running?"

I wish. I had to give it up when I was 60 due to a chronic ITB issue. Still miss it. A lot. :(

"Tom,

I now know why I like you. My favorite workout on the track was 440 yard intervals (pre-socialist measurement system). Everyone hated those days, except for me."

Mine, too, Nick. I continued to do them on into my mid 50's, a decade after I had stopped racing, just for the sheer joy of it. The times naturally had increased, but that didn't matter. It was just this old fart with a faint smile on his face out on the oval living his primeval dreams.

"These days my goal is to wake up above ground each day, and then go for some sort of a walk. Seems to work too. :)"

Pretty much the same for me. We'll have to find a way to get together and swap lies one of these days, before one of us doesn't wake up. ;0)

For the great info on stretching…I definitely want to read more on non-static types of stretching. I feel like you could bill us for your expertise!

Also, apologies to Piper if this has gotten us too far off track… I hope not.

"Then, to totally mess with all that you learned about stretching, Cochrane has a review updated in 2011 that pretty unequivocally says that stretching before, during, or after any exercise does absolutely nothing to alter muscle soreness any time during the week after the physical activity."

So far, all the discussion about stretching has addressed its effects on muscles. I am curious as to whether there is any effect on tendons, ligaments, and fascia. On a related note, you were extolling the benefits of foam rolling, with which I heartily concur based on personal experience. Do these benefits come just from smoothing out knots in muscles, or does the foam roll also stretch out tendons? I am thinking specifically of the ITB here. Just wondering.

I read an article a while back, about an old american coach that trains some Kenyan runners in their village. When asked why they were so dominant, he answered "because they have never even seen a kettlebell"

Kenyan runners have also probably not seen Cuben tarps or down sleeping bags either ;)

Also, I would rather be able to lift around my kids, my urban backpack full of library books and my laptop, bags of groceries, etc. with ease than run marathons with ease. I can hike 20-30km through rugged terrain and a pack (albeit a pretty light one) with relative ease, yet I see kettlebells fairly regularly. But yeah, a Kenyan runner would beat me, and beat me big time, at running long distances–but I have no interest or intentions of trying to compete with them, or anyone else for that matter.

"When asked why they were so dominant, he answered "because they have never even seen a kettlebell""

Haha, no doubt true, but this discussion is interesting on many levels.

Despite the comment that "you can be anything you want", there is no real evidence this is true. Top Kenyan runners have many in-born traits that seem to give them an advantage. They have smaller legs=less weight to move. They use oxygen more efficiently. They have a much higher proportion of type I muscle fiber. They have a higher incident of a gene which is associated with less muscle, less fluid retention, and more relaxed blood vessels—which would enhance oxygen uptake—and appears to be more prevalent in endurance runners in general.

As to converting from type I to type II fibers, there really isn't much evidence for this either. The best studies to date show that identical twins have pretty much identical proportions of each fiber type, even if one of them is a couch potato and the other trains hard. But all the science obscures the fact that, whatever fiber composition you are born with, you can definitely improve on either strength or endurance through training. The training leads to increased blood flow to the muscles you use, and increased mitochondria. All this makes the muscles you are born with more efficient. Keep in mind that the range of type I muscle found in the population ranges from 5-90%, but most of us fall somewhere in the middle, with an average of 45-60%. Also keep in mind that a subtype of type II fibers CAN actually work either way. Type IIa can be recruited for aerobic or glycolytic metabolism. So how much of this type you are born with can also influence how versatile an athlete you can be. The last thing to keep in mind is that the study of muscle fibers changing with training is still a very murky field of research. It traditionally relies on small muscle biopsies of a specific muscle (usually thigh), and there is a lot of error in interpreting this data because it doesn't look at whole fibers, just small cross sections in one muscle. There seems to be different distribution of fibers in other muscles within the same individual, so they may have better upper body endurance or strength than reflected in the leg biopsies. I expect to see an explosion of research in this area in the near future, as new MRI imaging methods will allow researchers to look at whole muscle, and many muscles, without the limitations of invasive biopsies.

The take-home message is, you cannot be anything you want to be, but there is a lot of room for improvement in using what you are born with. Sure, you may never beat a Kenyan runner in a marathon, and for sure you won't see many Kenyans excelling in explosive power sports, but you can improve on yourself, in either or both directions.