The Map of Athletic Performance
by Rob Miller
“Recently it occurred to me that physical adaptation to athletic training follows a predictable pattern that depends not only on a consistent commitment to continued improvement, but an intelligent approach to that commitment that not all training methods possess. This article is the story of my synthesis of this pattern into a concept I call The Map.”
Article
Funny how shit works out...
Rob, I love the article and am laughing at the irony.
I'm a climber, too (though far, far closer to the map center than you). I, too, was sucked into the CF box years ago but quickly jumped to Rob Shaul's MA approach (and, later, Connie at Alpine Training Center).
As you might imagine, I couldn't climb much better but I sure could crush conditioning workouts and carry way more than my share of backcountry kit. Oh, and I felt like a rickety old man with creaky, half-useless joints. I finally just gave up.
After a year of yoga I decided to learn proper barbell technique and rediscovered SS. I'd had it since the CF days but, well, it's hard to focus on Rippetoe amidst peeling off 47,000 thrusters. Needless to say, I love getting rest days, love not being injured/inflamed all the time and, of course, being stronger in general.
I've found the barbell work enables me to cruise Gunks moderates, even though our one-year-old precludes getting any indoor gym time. I think the Map is an excellent conceptual anchor for helping pedestrian chumps (like me) wrap our heads around the different training trajectories. The North-South distinction really drives home the carry-over of strength into the endurance stuff. I, too, wish I'd have known about this years ago: would have saved me a shit ton of bone spurs on the busted knee!
Thanks for the valuable tool and, also, for reinforcing to at least one climber that barbells and splitter cracks rock equally well.