When you try to teach things on the internet, one response tends to show up more often than others.
“But what if I can’t do that…?”
Doesn’t matter what the thing is.
Somebody is going to be unable to do that thing.
Sometimes, these questions are clearly just people looking for attention.
“You said to eat broccoli but I’m allergic to broccoli so clearly you’re a moron…”
“You said overhead presses are good for you but I have a frozen shoulder and can’t actually reach overhead so you’re a moron…”
These comments are dumb and not remotely worth the time it took to write them.
And if you ever see one of them on a video of mine, I expect my response will be one of two things.
Either I’ll ignore it…
Or if I feel like being a little more helpful and feeding the algorithm, it’ll be more along the lines of “You’re right. Clearly this video doesn’t apply to you – not everything on the internet will. Depending on your current range of motion, you might try a high incline press instead as it will still allow you to get some shoulder stimulus without requiring full overhead extension.”
But sometimes these comments are more than just a bid for attention.
Sometimes it’s a person genuinely wondering what the hell to do when they can’t do the thing you just discussed for 30 minutes.
And when it comes to those questions, I usually have only one question in return.
“Why?”
Which I know might sound a little accusatory, so let’s look at an example.
Last Friday, I put out a new episode of the podcast talking about lactate threshold and data.
It was just a deeper exploration of the email I sent out last week.
To be clear, nobody actually asked me anything about this.
That’s why I’m using it as an example – so nobody might feel like I’m somehow calling them out.
Anyway, in the podcast – and the email – I talked about a 30-minute lactate threshold heart rate test.
As a reminder, the test involves warming up for 10-15 minutes, then running a 30-minute time trial, trying to finish feeling completely spent.
Well after I published the podcast, it occurred to me that I never addressed a potentially important question.
“What if I can’t run a 30-minute time trial?”
Great question.
To which my answer would be, “Why can’t you?”
And there could be a lot of really good replies to that.
“I can’t run that fast on flat ground because it hurts my Achilles.”
“I’m new to running and the furthest I’ve run is 1 mile and I don’t think I could run for 30 minutes straight without a walk break.”
“My foot goes numb after a couple of miles and I’m worried about continuing to run on it.”
Know what I’d say in all of those instances?
“Well, we should probably fix that first.”
If your Achilles hurts, then that should be a much higher priority than establishing proper heart rate zones.
You should either see a PT or determine an appropriate progression of calf raises that allows you to improve that problem…
Then you can worry about zones.
If you haven’t run any more than a mile, then zones just aren’t even in the top ten things that should matter to you right now.
Just focus on running well and building to some reasonable amount of weekly volume.
Once you’re there, then we can start to think about zones.
If your foot goes numb after a couple of miles, then you likely need to improve your running form, buy different shoes, and/or see a neurologist.
Regardless, heart rate zones aren’t really at the top of the list for you until you fix the numbness.
I experienced all three of those things when I first started running.
Hell, I still occasionally struggle with Achilles and foot issues, which is why I did that test last Sunday – everything actually felt really good for a change.
But early in my running experience, my right foot would consistently go numb after about 20 minutes.
And there I was… worried about “training in the right zone” when I should have been worried about breaking a fucking ankle as I ran around town on a numb foot.
Not everything on the internet applies to you.
And even less of it applies right at this moment.
If you hear something and wonder “How the hell am I supposed to do that?”
The likely answer is to fix the underlying problem first…
THEN move on with whatever advice you were trying to implement.
If you don’t meet the prerequisites, then it doesn’t make a lot of sense to move forward.
Hope that makes sense.
If you have a question, don’t hesitate to reach out.
I’m more than happy to help you figure out whatever’s acting as a sticking point for you right now.