This was a plan I really enjoyed. It definitely made me a more durable mountain athlete and I do feel more powerful going uphill after 3 months of doing programs with weighted step ups. The specificity of the program was great and it made for a great off season block to get through what has been a very snowy winter so far.
In terms of the strength training, I’m not expecting to break any PRs after running the training block but I do feel like I am better able to repeatedly express the strength I have in a functional way. What I mean by that is my 1RM max overhead press probably did not go up but getting an extra rep or two into each set at 80% was doable towards the end.
The most valuable part for me was the chassis integrity days. I haven’t tested yet but I expect to find that this program nicely set the stage for some improvements in my squat and deadlift. After all those sandbag get ups, power cleans, good mornings, and deadlifts I’ve seen improvements in bracing my core. This was a great program and I look forward to others in the series.
Surviving Ultra 
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