Play 475 | Proven Training Methods for the Mountain Hunter — The Experience Project by Hunt Backcountry Podcast on desktop and mobile. Play over 320 million tracks for free on SoundCloud.
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That was a really excellent listen.
Here were my highlights:
-An effective endurance program only consists of no more than 2% HIIT training.
I think a lot of people come to this conclusion after spending some time in the HIIT world. Looking at you, Crossfitters. He tried to walk the line a bit there with not being critical of Crossfit for endurance training, but he does come right out and say it eventually. Like many people, I went through my Crossfit phase. In retrospect of years of training, I now view it as being a "juvenile" phase of effective training. My GF went so far as being a Xfit coach for awhile and we've both agreed that doing so much HIIT volume just makes you feel like shit. You are't aware you feel like shit and/or refuse to admit, but when you eventually drop out of Crossfit, it becomes painfully obvious. Mark Twight has written some about falling for this same HIIT trap in the early 2000s and quickly changing his tune after hitting the wall.
Scott confirms something I've long suspected, but never made a claim about: High volumes of HIIT training actually negatively impacts your aerobic endurance. End of the day, Crossfitters are going to Crossfit because they like it. Arguing about it is tiresome. He states that you can't increase your endurance by "pulling it up" through intensity, rather you "push it up" by training volume spent in lower intensity levels.
-Using cycling for crosstaining other sports is largely ineffective due to how efficient cycling is: You're sitting and there is little stress on the body as a whole. Same applies to swimming. I came to this conclusion back in 2020. I had years where I had mtn biked extensively, even doing multi day bikepacking trips, and found myself a little frustrated with my performance in the mountains under the load of a backpack. I started losing interest in mtn biking, eventually deciding I just flat out hate the user group. Next to SxSs, bike are the worst user group on the trail systems. So, I dropped it entirely. Guess what? my performance under the load of a pack in the mountains improved noticeably.
-Scott Johnston and the likes of Mark Rippetoe both agree that RPE is bullshit for all but the most advanced trainees.
-He does make a case for training single leg movements in the gym, however, for me, at least, I don't find this applicable. His case is single leg stability for difficult terrain. For me personally, I easily spend 1/3rd of time in the mountains off trail, in avy chutes, on scree slopes and on game trails that are effectively the same as being off trail. Of thae last 3 weekends, I don't think I've been on a formal trail a single time. I'm out in that stuff every weekend. I think of it as more of a tolerance for difficult terrain rather than the physical nature of it, but also understand if you don't live in the mountains, you don't have that kind of access. For me, training in the gym, I find the systematic stress of barbell squatting to be more than sufficient for developing and maintaining strength.
-his presentation on training military SF and stating that he has 100% success rate so far with the people he trains for various selections was interesting. His success in effectively training SEALS prompted the military to reach out to him directly. Much like the Crossfit criticism, he does have to push back quite a bit against people who have been almost exclusively conditioned by the HIIT mentality.
