MTI Helen Initial Thoughts

I’m in week 3 of the 1^st of the Greek Heroine series of plans from Mountain Tactical Institute and I think this is a great plan for anyone that likes to hike, backpack, or run in the mountains.  While the plan is not without running speed work and plenty of weighted step ups to keep a level of sport specificity in the mix, it also has a nice mixture of strength and work capacity efforts to build endurance and resiliency in other ways.  From my impressions at the half way mark, the plan may not have you setting any running PRs by the end of it, but it does one important thing really well and that is improve your durability.  For me the endurance of the spinal erectors in my lower back has seen a huge benefit which will be great at maintaining good posture when I’m deep into a race.  The “chassis integrity” work in the program goes far beyond the core exercises you see in most fitness programs and will really help keep energy leaks plugged as the miles tick onward. 

The program does contain a high volume of deadlifts and power cleans.  In addition to addressing a potential weakness in the endurance of my spinal erectors they did also point out one other area for improvement in terms of tightness in my hip flexors.  It’s not programmed for in the plan directly, but I needed to ensure the couch stretch was integrated into my daily routine to counteract the tightness which this program intensified.  This is not an issue with the program.  It’s a stretch I should have been doing everyday anyway as the issue has appeared before, and unfortunately let slide.  I’m looking forward to being a more durable mountain athlete by the end of the program and seeing where the other plans in the packet can take me.