Hiking trainer

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mgl45
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Hiking trainer

Post by mgl45 »

Does anyone know of a personal trainer for mountain hiking who is local to Colorado, and who offers online sessions?

I found someone in Seattle, but I live in Wisconsin, and the last few years I've spent the summer hiking in Colorado, so I'd be doing it online no matter where the trainer is located but would prefer to work with someone who is familiar with Colorado mountains. Probably not critical, just a preference.


The reason I'm looking........

I had a knee injury last May diagnosed as patellofemoral syndrome. In July I summited my first 14'er (Sherman) wearing a knee brace. I want to get off the knee brace (it slows me down a lot), and I've been working with a physical therapist on that, and am making good progress, but he is not a hiker and I'd like to get a trainer into the mix to help me sort through a plan to prepare for Mount Elbert this summer, which focuses on reducing injury (or re-injury) risk.


Thanks much for any information anyone may have!
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by nyker »

Patellofemoral syndrome is a fairly common condition that a good PT can help you with, which is usually linked to a muscle imbalance and/or gait/alignment issue they can advise you on and give you some things to do. Unless there is a major structural/biomechanical issue they should be able to get you back hiking without a brace and doesn't need to be a hiker to help with. They also have a higher likelihood of being covered by insurance than a normal trainer. If you want a trainer for more cardiovascular / weight training to specifically get you in shape for climbing/fitness than that's something different but to help "heal" and recover from PFS, I'd stick with the PT.
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by mgl45 »

nyker wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 1:33 pm Patellofemoral syndrome is a fairly common condition that a good PT can help you with, which is usually linked to a muscle imbalance and/or gait/alignment issue they can advise you on and give you some things to do. Unless there is a major structural/biomechanical issue they should be able to get you back hiking without a brace and doesn't need to be a hiker to help with. They also have a higher likelihood of being covered by insurance than a normal trainer. If you want a trainer for more cardiovascular / weight training to specifically get you in shape for climbing/fitness than that's something different but to help "heal" and recover from PFS, I'd stick with the PT.
Thanks for the reply!

I think I'm on the same page with you about the distinction, least for the most part. I'd be looking for guidance from the trainer on cardio / weight training in consideration of my goal and I'd want to share with the trainer my situation with PFS in case it affects their recommendations, and also discussion their recommendations with my PT to arrive at a final plan.
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by Dave B »

Both Training Peaks and Uphill Athlete do individualized coaching, the later will be heavily oriented towards mountaineering. Both will likely be more $$$ than a generic online coach, but you get what you pay for.
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by mgl45 »

Dave B wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 3:42 pm Both Training Peaks and Uphill Athlete do individualized coaching, the later will be heavily oriented towards mountaineering. Both will likely be more $$$ than a generic online coach, but you get what you pay for.
Thanks for the information!
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by Buckie06 »

check into the Alpine Training Center in Boulder.
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by justiner »

First get the knee healthy. Then just do a normal cardiovascular program. It doesn't even have to be all that regimented. You like to walk: walk. Ride a bike/trainer: do that. Once a day is great: start w/15min/day. Up the time no more than 10% per week - feel it out. Take one day off per week. Mix it up. If you can jog/run, try to at least once a week.

Mt. Elbert is around 2x the distance and 2x the gain of Mt. Sherman, so you were halfway there already. You could follow a couch to marathon program (you have 8+ months to get ready) and every time it says, "speed work" you do speed work, but on a hill. Don't have a hill, use a stairwell.

Don't need to touch a weight, unless it's for PT. Don't ruck, and you don't need to join a crossfit gym.

No need to overthink it.
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by benlen »

Patellofemoral problems are so prevalent amongst mountain athletes that one of my orthopedic surgeon buddies in Summit County calls it "Summit County Syndrome."

It's very frustrating, and can be extremely demoralizing to tackle, because it isn't something as easily diagnosable as "torn ACL>surgery>PT for x amount of months>recovery."

Basically, once you have it, in my experience, you can get rid of it with discipline and work, but that work likely is something you'll always have to do to keep your knee healthy and pain free.

I had such severe patellofemoral syndrome a few years ago that I reached a point I couldn't hike or ski even a groomer without excruciating pain, and a bad PT told me "You'll never ski again" and suggested a brace.

So I said f**k that guy, and found a second opinion.

I skied again, about 9 months after, and a specific athletic trainer in the mountains here in Colorado, who has worked with countless patients with the same issue, got me back on track. As others have mentioned, reactivating muscles that aren't firing properly, and myofascial release (foam rolling IT band, glutes, and quads in particular) is essential to making that pain go away.

All to say...find the RIGHT physical therapist or athletic trainer who understands how to fix that issue, and you will be able to climb mountains with reckless abandon, sans brace.

The trainer in question who saved my life (that may sound dramatic, but I consider mountain sports my life) is pretty old school, but if you're ever in the Vail area, I can get you his info.

Good luck. You've got this.
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by mgl45 »

justiner wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 8:08 pm First get the knee healthy. Then just do a normal cardiovascular program. It doesn't even have to be all that regimented. You like to walk: walk. Ride a bike/trainer: do that. Once a day is great: start w/15min/day. Up the time no more than 10% per week - feel it out. Take one day off per week. Mix it up. If you can jog/run, try to at least once a week.

Mt. Elbert is around 2x the distance and 2x the gain of Mt. Sherman, so you were halfway there already. You could follow a couch to marathon program (you have 8+ months to get ready) and every time it says, "speed work" you do speed work, but on a hill. Don't have a hill, use a stairwell.

Don't need to touch a weight, unless it's for PT. Don't ruck, and you don't need to join a crossfit gym.

No need to overthink it.
Thanks for the reply and the perspective!

The big things I'd like to focus on in training are reducing injury risk and improving my uphill speed. At about 0.7mph uphill I'm horribly slow, and I don't care that people pass me, but I want to increase speed to make longer distances more attainable in consideration of afternoon storms etc.

My understanding is that both of these are strengthening issues, not necessarily with weights but some kind of strengthening exercises. I'm already doing goblet squats for PT on my knee, but I suspect there is more I should be doing.
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by mgl45 »

benlen wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 9:35 pm Patellofemoral problems are so prevalent amongst mountain athletes that one of my orthopedic surgeon buddies in Summit County calls it "Summit County Syndrome."

It's very frustrating, and can be extremely demoralizing to tackle, because it isn't something as easily diagnosable as "torn ACL>surgery>PT for x amount of months>recovery."

Basically, once you have it, in my experience, you can get rid of it with discipline and work, but that work likely is something you'll always have to do to keep your knee healthy and pain free.

I had such severe patellofemoral syndrome a few years ago that I reached a point I couldn't hike or ski even a groomer without excruciating pain, and a bad PT told me "You'll never ski again" and suggested a brace.

So I said f**k that guy, and found a second opinion.

I skied again, about 9 months after, and a specific athletic trainer in the mountains here in Colorado, who has worked with countless patients with the same issue, got me back on track. As others have mentioned, reactivating muscles that aren't firing properly, and myofascial release (foam rolling IT band, glutes, and quads in particular) is essential to making that pain go away.

All to say...find the RIGHT physical therapist or athletic trainer who understands how to fix that issue, and you will be able to climb mountains with reckless abandon, sans brace.

The trainer in question who saved my life (that may sound dramatic, but I consider mountain sports my life) is pretty old school, but if you're ever in the Vail area, I can get you his info.

Good luck. You've got this.
Thanks for the reply and sharing your experiences! Glad you were able to find somebody who could help and get you back to doing what you love. Kudos for your perseverance!

Summit Count Syndrome - LOL

I do a lot of my hiking in Summit County so that has some special irony for me :-)

I've worked with this particular PT for many years on several issues, and he's been really great at encouraging me to pursue my goals. Right now his approach with me with PFS is to do goblet squats and gradually transition from flat ground hiking to uphill. Gradually increase distance and elevation gain. So far it's been going well, and if I have a set back, I'm sure he'll have some more tools in the box.

The bigger picture of this for me is that before my PFS "injury" in May, I didn't do any strength training. No training at all except for hiking. On my training hikes I'd gradually increase distance, elevation gain and pack weight and I hoped that would be enough. That approach got me up Uneva Peak last summer and Guadalupe Peak in Texas last February and then in May I had this PFS incident on an easy training hike shortly before I was scheduled to leave for hiking Colorado. The "demoralizing" description you said very much fits my experience at that point. But I took the trip anyway and hauled my ass up Sniktau and Sherman using a knee brace because I didn't want to give up my 1st 14'er dream for that summer.

In hindsight, I feel like I make a big mistake by not doing strength training initially and that may have left me more vulnerable to developing PFS. As a result, my mindset is to work with the PT on the strength training to deal with the PFS, now that I've got it, but also to consider other strength training to reduce the risk of other injuries (i.e. not make the same mistake again). My PT isn't a hiker, and from my conversations with him, I get the sense that while he can help me through specific injuries like PFS after they happen, he's kind of guessing when it come to preventative training. That's why I started thinking getting a hiking trainer in the mix might be beneficial.
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by Dave B »

justiner wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 8:08 pm Don't need to touch a weight, unless it's for PT.
I agree with everything Justin said, except for this. Strength training is exceptionally effective at preventing and eliminating overuse injuries such as PT syndrome. It also makes the body more resilient to stress and faster to recover from hard efforts. The scientific literature is pretty much unequivocal on this.
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Re: Hiking trainer

Post by benlen »

Dave B wrote: Mon Dec 05, 2022 5:35 am
justiner wrote: Sun Dec 04, 2022 8:08 pm Don't need to touch a weight, unless it's for PT.
I agree with everything Justin said, except for this. Strength training is exceptionally effective at preventing and eliminating overuse injuries such as PT syndrome. It also makes the body more resilient to stress and faster to recover from hard efforts. The scientific literature is pretty much unequivocal on this.
I'll echo this. My trainer's regimen for tackling PFS is first to get muscles firing correctly again, THEN strength training. If you dive straight into strength training without addressing gets the muscles firing correctly, you can injure yourself, but afterwards, you can build up badass strength in your glutes and quads in particular, which will keep your knee aligned correctly on long hikes.
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