And there we have it, the classical posture of a runner when facing a very steep uphill. The necessity to make rapid upwards progress but the inability of the muscles to express sufficient power to overcome the effect of gravity on the weight of the runner. So we adopt a bent over position, hand on knees, and push downwards on our legs to aid and assist in producing the necessary force. And it works!
The problem is that this bent over position, which allows us to use our arms as an ally in producing power, also puts our body and above all the back in a difficult and muscularly tense situation. If the position is held for a short period of time it is not really a problem, but when the position is held for a prolonged amount of time, as may be the case during a Vertical race, then the muscles which hold the spine in place will begin to fatigue, and will eventually begin to fail and became painful. This can not only lead to suffering during the race but can eventually lead to injury due to movements or positions of the spine which are not correct. The importance of this has been perfectly summarised by Stuart M. McGill, director of the Spine Biomechanics Laboratory, University of Waterloo, Ontario and author of the book “Back Mechanic” – “……. important factor is muscle endurance, or the ability of the muscles to contract for long periods without getting tired. If your back muscles get tired easily, it will cause you to "break form" when you're exercising, or move in a way that increases your risk of injury…..” .
Therefore it is clear that strengthening these all important muscles can assist the athlete in maintaining good form, avoiding pain and possibly injury. At the same time we have to consider that the muscular and skeletal structure, though made up a many parts, works as a single unit, each separate part connected to the others through its immediate neighbouring parts. This is often referred to as the kinetic chain and more specifically to the posterior kinetic chain and anterior kinetic chain. If we strengthen only the posterior chain and neglect the anterior chain, or vice versa, we will create other problems as the stronger part dominates and pulls on the other. It is necessary to strengthen the entirety of the chain both posterior and anterior.
The back can be divided into three major regions - cervical (neck), thoracic (upper-mid back) and the lumbar (lower back). In this case we will only consider the mid to lower portion of the back which is more important within the present context, defined as the thoraco-lumbar spine. The area is supported by both the posterior and anterior kinetic chains, and this is accomplished by the following muscle groups:
Hip flexors (psoas - flex the trunk and hip).
Lower abdominals (transversus abdominus, multifidus & pelvic floor muscles) act as major stabilizers of the lower back).
Obliques (internal & external obliques) stabilize trunk during rotation and movement.
Upper abdominals (rectus abdominus) increase intra-abdominal pressure and assist in force expiration.
Lower back muscles (quadratus lumborum & erector spinae) extend the trunk.
Mid back muscles (latissimus dorsi) extends the lumbar and assists in breathing.
All of these muscles need to work together in order to stabilise the spine and it is not only about strength; it’s also about coordination and control of those muscles. As Stuart McGill observes “…..people who perform exercises in isolation actually tend to get hurt sooner than those who perform exercises to strengthen all of their back and core muscles.”
So which kind of strengthening programme should the vertical runner adopt? In general it is fair to say that any exercises that tend to put diverse muscle groups under stress, and in a functional way, are to be preferred. It is not the aim of the present article to prescribe a strengthening programme but to indicate possible strategies and methodologies. The typology of exercises may be divided into bodyweight exercises where no or minimal equipment (a mattress) is necessary, and exercises in which some form of equipment is required. These latter exercises can be further divided into 3 sections according to the type of equipment utilised – barbell, dumbbell and kettlebell, or TRX. Naturally it is possible to combine the various types of exercises and in many cases using different equipment for the same types of movements.
Here we shall suggest various exercises for each typology of equipment or simple bodyweight, but would suggest for those athletes who wish to undertake a serious strengthening protocol that, unless they already have some kind of training in this kind of exercise, the best way to go is to ask advice from a local strength and conditioning coach.
Bodyweight exercises.
Front Plank
Side Plank
Bird Dog Plank
Bridge
Lumbar extension
Barbell, dumbbell and kettlebell
Romanian Deadlift
Good Morning
Bent Over Rows
Kettlebell Swings
TRX
Abdominal Roll-Outs
Push up Pikes
Horizontal Pull Ups
Mountain Climbers
Many of these exercises and particularly those of bodyweight exercises or TRX may be further refined by the use of an unstable surface such as that provided by a Bosu ball. This will promote further stability and coordination of the neuromuscular response.
Get rid of back pain, reduce risk of injury, get up the mountain faster!