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Getting Started / New to Uphill Athlete
Yes. Many of the athletes we work with begin with little or no structured training background, and the first thing good structure does is take away the guesswork about what to do and when. If you are just starting out, the easiest entry points are our free education library and an individual training plan built for your sport and level, both of which teach you the reasons behind the work as you go. If you would rather have guidance and a community around you from day one, a Training Group adds live coach Q&As and a shared dashboard, and 1:1 coaching gives you a single coach who builds everything around your life. A good place to begin is the training plans page or the education library. The next question walks through how to choose.
Almost certainly yes. Uphill Athlete focuses on mountain and endurance athletes, and our plans, groups, and coaching cover alpinism, mountaineering, rock and ice climbing, skiing and ski mountaineering, trail running, and trekking. We also work with occupational athletes whose job is physical, such as mountain guides, search and rescue, military, ski patrol, fire, and EMS, through our tactical coaching. If your goal involves moving efficiently uphill under load, or covering long distances in the mountains, our methodology applies. You can see plans by sport on the training plans page, or read how we approach your discipline in the education library.
The difference an athlete feels most is that our training is built to reduce uncertainty, not just fill a calendar. Every plan is written by coaches who have trained thousands of mountain athletes, and it teaches you why you are doing each session so you can make good decisions when life interrupts the schedule. Our approach looks beyond workouts alone to sleep, stress, nutrition, and the demands of real life, and it builds sport-specific fitness on top of a deep aerobic base rather than chasing short-term intensity. Whether you follow a plan on your own or work with a coach, the same methodology carries an athlete from a first finish line to an Everest summit. You can see it in any article in the education library, or start with a training plan.
No. Plenty of athletes come to us wanting to build durable mountain fitness before they commit to a particular objective, and general aerobic and strength work is exactly the right place to begin when a goal is still undecided. An individual plan or the Training Library gives you structured base-building you can point at a goal later, and a Training Group or a coach can help you choose an objective that fits your life and your current fitness. When you are ready to get specific, moving up to more support is easy. Browse starting points on the training plans page, or compare your options in the next section.
Which way to train is right for me?
There are five main ways, arranged from most independent to most personal. Individual training plans are structured, day-by-day plans you follow on your own and keep for good. The Training Library is a subscription that unlocks every plan for less than the price of one. Training Groups add live coach Q&As, a private community, and a training dashboard on top of the plans. 1:1 Coaching gives you a dedicated coach who builds and adjusts everything around your life. And Specialist Sessions are one-off calls with a coach, dietitian, or physical therapist for a specific question. We also offer at-home strength and recovery programs that complement any of these. The next question helps you choose between them.
Yes, and many athletes do exactly that. You might buy a single training plan to get going, join the Training Library or a Training Group as your goal takes shape, and move into 1:1 coaching when you want a plan built entirely around your life. There is no penalty for starting small, and because the methodology is consistent at every level, nothing you learn is wasted when you step up. When you are ready to change tiers, our customer support team can help you make the switch.
Training Plans, the Library & At-Home Programs
Each plan is a complete, day-by-day schedule built for a specific sport, goal, and level, delivered through TrainingPeaks so your workouts land on your calendar and work with the app you already use. The principle we hold to is simple: buy it once, own it forever, with unlimited updates, so when we improve a plan you get the new version at no extra cost. Plans generally run from about $49 to $99 depending on length and complexity, and each one is designed to teach you why you are doing each session, not just what to do. Browse them by sport and level on the training plans page.
We currently offer more than thirty individual plans across seven mountain sports: alpinism, mountaineering, ice climbing, rock climbing, skiing, trail running, and trekking. Within each sport there are plans for different distances, objectives, and experience levels, from a first ultramarathon or a beginner mountain-fitness block to advanced alpinism and multi-week expeditions. You can filter by sport and level on the training plans page. If you would rather have every plan at once than choose a single one, the Training Library unlocks them all.
Start from your objective and your timeline, then match the plan’s sport, length, and level to where you are now. Each plan page describes who it is for, how many weeks it runs, and the weekly time it asks, so you can be honest with yourself about what fits your life. If you are between levels or unsure, it is usually better to build a solid aerobic base first than to start too hard. When you want a second opinion before you buy, a short Specialist Session with a coach can help you pick the right plan and interpret any test results. Browse and compare on the training plans page.
The Training Library is a subscription that gives you unlimited access to every Uphill Athlete training plan for one monthly price, starting at $26 a month, which is less than the cost of a single plan. A single plan is the right choice when you have one clear goal; the Library is better when you want to move between plans, train across seasons, or explore different sports without buying each one. There is no start or end date and no commitment beyond your subscription. You can subscribe on the Training Library page, and step up to a Training Group whenever you want coach guidance and community.
These are follow-along, at-home programs that complement any training, and each starts at $19 a month. Chamonix Mountain Fit is a strength series designed by coach Neil Maclean-Martin that builds the durable strength mountain sport asks of you, with no gym required. Yoga for Recovery, led by Bree Dillon, supports recovery, mobility, and injury prevention, and it suits athletes of all levels, including those new to yoga. Both are included at no extra cost with a Training Group membership, or you can subscribe to either on its own.
Training Groups
A Training Group is a complete training system for athletes who want guidance, accountability, and community without the cost or intensity of private coaching. Your membership includes access to all of our training plans and at-home programs, regular live coach Q&A sessions and guest lectures from experts in fueling, altitude, physiology, and injury prevention, a private community of fellow mountain athletes, and a custom training dashboard built for mountain sport. It costs $59 a month, or $53 a month on a longer commitment. A Training Group is the natural step up when a plan on its own is not quite enough support. You can join on the Training Groups page.
Both give you expert guidance; the difference is how personal it is. In a Training Group you follow proven plans and get coach input through regular live Q&A sessions and lectures, alongside a community of athletes training with you. It is coaching principles delivered to a group, which is why it costs a fraction of private coaching. In 1:1 coaching, one coach builds your plan around your schedule and adjusts it day to day based on how you respond. Choose a Training Group if you value structure, accountability, and community and are comfortable driving your own training between Q&As. Choose coaching if you want a plan tailored to you and a coach who knows your situation in detail.
The dashboard is a training view built specifically for mountain athletes, included with a Training Group membership. Rather than burying you in numbers, it surfaces the few signals that matter: how your aerobic fitness is trending, whether your strength and consistency are holding, and when it is time to progress. It reads your normal training, so you get useful feedback without stopping to run special tests. The point is clarity about whether your training is working and what to do next. You can see how it fits into a membership on the Training Groups page.
The Training Library is a subscription that gives you unlimited access to every Uphill Athlete training plan for one monthly price, starting at $26 a month, which is less than the cost of a single plan. A single plan is the right choice when you have one clear goal; the Library is better when you want to move between plans, train across seasons, or explore different sports without buying each one. There is no start or end date and no commitment beyond your subscription. You can subscribe on the Training Library page, and step up to a Training Group whenever you want coach guidance and community.
These are follow-along, at-home programs that complement any training, and each starts at $19 a month. Chamonix Mountain Fit is a strength series designed by coach Neil Maclean-Martin that builds the durable strength mountain sport asks of you, with no gym required. Yoga for Recovery, led by Bree Dillon, supports recovery, mobility, and injury prevention, and it suits athletes of all levels, including those new to yoga. Both are included at no extra cost with a Training Group membership, or you can subscribe to either on its own.
1:1 Coaching
A coach changes the experience of training from following instructions to being guided by someone invested in you. Our coaches are all experienced mountain athletes, and they work as a team, meeting weekly to share what they are learning so your coach brings the whole group’s expertise to your training. A coach helps you understand the principles behind your plan, adjusts the work when your schedule or your body changes, and supports the mental side of preparing for a hard objective. A plan or a group can take you a long way; a coach is the right choice when you want your training built around your life and adapted day to day. Learn more on the coaching page.
Personal coaching is $359 per month with a six-month commitment (billed monthly), or $349 per month (billed in advance). For terms less than six months, personal coaching is $399 per month. Your coaching subscription includes a dedicated coach, your onboarding assessment, a personalized plan built around your goals, needs, and schedule, ongoing training adjustments, and a TrainingPeaks Premium account. We stand behind it with a money-back guarantee: if you commit fully and follow the program designed for you, we guarantee you’ll see meaningful improvement or we’ll refund your coaching fee after 12 weeks. You can see the details and get started on the personal coaching page.
Once you sign up for personal coaching, we match you with a coach suited to your sport and goals, usually within about five to seven days, and your coach starts with an assessment of your history, your objective, and the time you have to train. From there they build your first block and set up your training so the right work lands on your calendar. You are not choosing a coach blind or setting up a plan alone; the process is designed to get you training with confidence quickly. You can begin on the personal coaching page, or ask questions first through a coaching inquiry.
Coaching is built around regular, two-way contact rather than a plan you receive once and never revisit. Your coach reviews your training, gives feedback, and adjusts your plan as you go, and you stay in touch through messaging and scheduled check-ins so questions and schedule changes get handled as they come up. The rhythm is set to keep your training adapting to your life week to week. If you want to understand the working relationship before you commit, send a coaching inquiry and we will walk you through it.
Our coaches are based in mountain communities across North America and Europe, and coaching is done remotely, so you can work with us from anywhere. Training is delivered through TrainingPeaks and your check-ins happen online, which means your location matters far less than the fit between you and your coach. Athletes train with us from flatland cities and high mountain towns alike. If you want to confirm the details for your time zone or situation, send a coaching inquiry.
Fit matters, and if the working relationship is not right, we would rather move you to another coach than have you quietly disengage. If something is not working, reach out to customer support and we will help you find a better match on our team.
Yes. Alongside personal training coaching, we offer four specialized paths. Nutrition Coaching pairs you with a registered dietitian for fueling and recovery. Hypoxic Coaching prepares you for high-altitude objectives and acclimatization from home. Tactical Coaching is for verified occupational athletes such as guides, search and rescue, military, and first responders. And Mental Skills Coaching helps with fear, focus, and decision-making under fatigue. Each can stand alone or complement your training coaching. Explore them from the coaching page.
Yes. When you are already working with a physician, physical therapist, or dietitian, we see our job as complementing their guidance, not overriding it. Your coach can build training that respects the limits and direction your providers set, and our own medical doctor, physical therapist, and dietitians can help translate that guidance into day-to-day training and fueling. This coordination matters most when you are returning from injury or surgery, or managing a health condition. The best place to start is a coaching inquiry, where you can tell us about your situation and who you are working with.
Specialist Sessions
A Specialist Session is a one-off, paid call with one of our experts about a specific question, without the commitment of ongoing coaching. It is the right choice when you do not need a full plan built for you, but you want experienced eyes on something in particular: which plan to choose, how to read your test results or training zones, a nagging injury, or a fueling question. A session is not a substitute for coaching, and no custom plan is built during the call; it is focused help on one topic. If you find you want continuous support afterward, you can move into a plan, a group, or coaching. Book on the Specialist Sessions page.
You can book a session with three kinds of experts. A Session with a Coach covers training questions, plan selection, and interpreting your aerobic threshold results, priced from $75 for 30 minutes to $150 for an hour. A Session with a Registered Dietitian covers fueling and nutrition, starting at $75 for 30 minutes with longer appointments available. And a Screening with a Physical Therapist is an online movement assessment, from $90 for 30 minutes. You can see all the options and book on the Specialist Sessions page.
Fueling is a big part of performance, and we support it at a few levels. For ongoing, personalized guidance, Nutrition Coaching pairs you with a registered dietitian who builds a fueling and recovery approach around your training and goals, at $299 a month. For a specific question rather than continuous support, you can book a one-time Session with a Registered Dietitian.
An initial session is often the best way to start and find out what you may need. If you decide that you need ongoing, personalized guidance, Nutrition Coaching pairs you with a registered dietitian who builds a fueling and recovery approach around your training and goals.
In many cases, yes, with the right coordination. Our team includes a medical doctor, a physical therapist, and experienced coaches who regularly work with athletes managing injuries, and training can often continue in a modified form while you recover. For a specific concern, an online Screening with a Physical Therapist can assess your movement and guide next steps, and a coach can adapt your plan around limitations. We are not a substitute for your own medical care, so for a diagnosed condition we work best alongside your physician or physical therapist. If you are unsure whether we can help with your situation, reach out through a coaching inquiry.
Programs
A personalized conversation on your training, nutrition, and performance goals.-
MONTHLY OR YEARLY COMMITMENT
Training Library
Unlimited access to all of our training plans at subscriptions that cost less than a single plan.-
MONTHLY COMMITMENT
Training plans
Structure, clarity, and direction to get you ready for your next mountain goal.-
One Time Purchase,
unlimited updates
Training Groups
A complete training system designed to scale high-quality coaching principles to more athletes.-
Monthly Commitment
Consulting calls
A personalized conversation on your training, nutrition, and performance goals.-
1 hour commitment
Personal coaching
A dedicated coach who builds and adjusts everything around your life.-
4+ Month Commitment
Still not sure? Need help figuring out the best training plan for you? Want to learn more about how we match you with an Uphill Athlete coach in 1:1 coaching? Let us help you navigate the best options for your training goals and style via the form below. We will follow up with the best recommendations for next steps in your journey.
I have a question about my training
Yes. Limited time is one of the most common situations we work with, and success comes from doing the right work with the right timing rather than simply training more. There is no shortcut to building aerobic capacity and strength, but a well-designed week that uses short midweek sessions and longer weekend efforts can prepare you for a serious race or trip. This is where personalization helps most: a coach can shape your training around your real availability, and we also offer training plans built specifically for time-crunched athletes. If you already have a plan and just want help fitting it to your week, a Specialist Session with a coach can help.
Absolutely, and many of our athletes have gone from flat terrain to summits from Rainier to Everest. When there is no vertical nearby, we build the strength and aerobic base that mountains demand using what you do have: stairwells in tall buildings, a stair machine, uphill treadmill work, and box step-ups, backed up by single-leg strength, core work, and weighted pack carries. It is not always glamorous, and the durability you build grinding through it pays off on the mountain. Our training plans include ways to complete uphill sessions in flat areas, and a coach can tailor them to the equipment you can reach.
We start from the reality that training has to fit your life, not the other way around. Life is not linear, and the value of guidance shows up on the weeks when work travel, a sick child, or a deadline gets in the way. A coach adjusts your training within the week to protect what matters most while keeping you moving toward your goal, and a Training Group gives you flexible structure plus a community that understands the juggle. The aim is steady progress you can sustain without giving up the parts of life you are training for in the first place.
Preparing for altitude is mostly about arriving very fit and, when possible, giving your body time to acclimatize on the mountain. Simulated-altitude tools such as tents and masks can help in specific cases, but they are one option rather than a requirement, and how much they help depends on your objective and your schedule. Our Hypoxic Coaching is built for exactly this question: it prepares you for high-altitude expeditions and acclimatization from home, and it starts with an intake call to size up your situation. If you have altitude-specific questions before committing, you can send an altitude coaching inquiry.
Yes, on both counts. Older and masters athletes make up a large part of who we train, and the right approach accounts for recovery, strength maintenance, and how training load is best distributed as you age. We also recognize that female physiology matters throughout an athlete’s life, including the peri-menopause and menopause transition, and our coaches and registered dietitians can help you train and fuel through it. You will find related articles in the education library, and a coach or nutrition coaching can tailor the details to you.
Progress in endurance training is less about how a single workout felt and more about whether the right markers are moving in the right direction over weeks. We look at how your aerobic fitness is trending, whether you can hold a given pace or effort at a lower heart rate, and how your strength and consistency are developing. For athletes in a Training Group, the dashboard tracks these signals for you, including Continuous AeT, so you can see the trend without stopping to run frequent tests. With 1:1 coaching, your coach interprets these signals and adjusts your plan accordingly. The aim is to replace guesswork with a clear read on whether you are getting fitter.
Have a specific question?
Sometimes, you just need one good conversation with the right expert. A plan you’re following isn’t landing, an old injury is flaring, a nutrition question keeps nagging.
Specialist Sessions are single, paid calls with a UA coach, physical therapist, or registered dietitian, focused on the specific thing in front of you.
Learn from Uphill Athlete Articles
Most training questions already have a detailed answer in our Uphill Athlete Training Education Library. Click the search icon in the navigation menu or browse our most recent articles below.
BILLING & ACCOUNT
Subscriptions and coaching are recurring, and individual training plans are a one-time purchase. The Training Library, Training Groups, and the at-home programs bill on a schedule you choose at checkout, such as monthly, quarterly, or yearly, with longer commitments priced lower per month. Personal coaching bills monthly, or every six months at a lower monthly rate. An individual training plan is paid once and yours to keep. You can see and manage your billing anytime in My Account.
It depends on what you choose. Individual training plans involve no commitment at all; you buy once and own the plan. Subscriptions like the Training Library and Training Groups continue month to month unless you choose a longer billing term for a lower rate, and you can cancel to stop future renewals. Personal coaching can be taken month to month, or on a six-month commitment at a lower monthly rate. Month-to-month coaching can be cancelled with seven days’ notice before the end of the month, and you finish the period you have committed to. Nothing locks you in beyond the term you select.
Yes. Alongside personal training coaching, we offer four specialized paths. Nutrition Coaching pairs you with a registered dietitian for fueling and recovery. Hypoxic Coaching prepares you for high-altitude objectives and acclimatization from home. Tactical Coaching is for verified occupational athletes such as guides, search and rescue, military, and first responders. And Mental Skills Coaching helps with fear, focus, and decision-making under fatigue. Each can stand alone or complement your training coaching. Explore them from the coaching page.
You can cancel a subscription or your coaching anytime so it does not renew from My Account. Cancellation stops future billing, and your access continues through the end of the period you have already paid for; we do not refund part of a period already underway, and your first month is pro-rated when you join.
We stand behind it with a money-back guarantee: if you commit fully and follow the program designed for you, we guarantee you’ll see meaningful improvement or we’ll refund your coaching fee after 12 weeks.
Individual training plans are a one-time purchase that stays yours, so they are not refundable once delivered; if you bought the wrong plan or cannot access it, TrainingPeaks support can help at support@trainingpeaks.com.
For a Specialist Session, you can reschedule or cancel up to 24 hours ahead for a full refund or credit.
Yes. A digital gift card is the simplest way, available in $30, $60, $200, and $400 amounts, and it can be used as store credit for almost everything we offer, including books, apparel, a Training Library or Training Group membership, the at-home programs, Specialist Sessions, and coaching. The one exception is individual training plans, which are sold through TrainingPeaks and cannot be purchased with a gift card. Gift cards do not expire. You can buy one on the gift card page.
For anything to do with the uphillathlete.com website, your account, a login problem, billing, or an order, send a message to our customer support team.
You can manage your subscriptions and details directly in Your Account Page.
SOMETHING ELSE
You will use TrainingPeaks, because that is how we deliver our plans and coaching: your workouts land on your calendar, and your training data flows back so it can be reviewed. A free TrainingPeaks account is enough to follow a plan. Some of our offerings include the paid TrainingPeaks Premium level at no extra cost: it comes with a Training Library subscription and with 1:1 coaching. If you already have a TrainingPeaks account, you can use it. You can read more about why we build on the platform on our Why we use TrainingPeaks page.
For most of our training you will get the most from a heart-rate monitor and, for many sports, a GPS watch, because our training zones can be anchored by heart rate, pace, or power, and tracking them is how you keep your easy days easy and your hard days honest. A chest-strap heart-rate monitor is the single most useful piece of gear for endurance work. For strength, you do not need a full gym: our Chamonix Mountain Fit program is designed to be done at home, and coaches can work with whatever equipment you have. If you are not sure what a specific plan requires, the plan page lists it.
Yes. We work with athletes around the world, and because training is delivered through TrainingPeaks, you can set your preferred units and train in metric or imperial. Our coaches are based in both North America and Europe, and plans, groups, and coaching all work regardless of where you live. If you have a question about your region or time zone, our customer support team can help.
Your aerobic threshold, or AeT, is one of the most useful markers in endurance training, because it anchors the training zones that build your aerobic base. Continuous AeT is our way of reading that threshold from your normal training over time, so you can see how it trends week to week instead of relying on a single lab test. What matters is not only the number, which is becoming easy to estimate anywhere, but interpreting it correctly and using it to address aerobic deficiency, the common situation where your aerobic system lags behind your capacity for harder efforts. Continuous AeT is part of the training dashboard included with a Training Group membership, and you can read more about the thinking behind it in our education library.
The books are for anyone who wants to understand the why behind training for mountain sports, not only coaches or exercise scientists. They break down the principles and the physiology in plain terms, so you do not need a background in exercise physiology to follow them. They are comprehensive, and they are meant to be used as training manuals you return to, rather than read once. You can find them in the bookstore.
Both are by Steve House and Scott Johnston, and both are $35. Training for the New Alpinism (2014) is the foundational text, written with the alpinist and climber in mind, and it lays out the training methodology in depth. Training for the Uphill Athlete (2019), written with Kilian Jornet, extends that methodology to mountain running and ski mountaineering with a stronger focus on endurance. If your sport is climbing or alpinism, start with the first; if you are a mountain runner or skier, start with the second. Either way, the training principles carry across both. You can find them in the bookstore.
A large part of what we know is available at no cost. Our education library holds a deep archive of articles on training, aerobic development, nutrition, strength, recovery, mental training, and the female athlete, written by our coaches and experts. We also publish two podcasts: the Uphill Athlete Podcast, with conversations on training and mountain sport, and Voice of the Mountains, longer-form conversations on what the alpine experience asks of us. All of it is free to read and listen to, and it is a good way to understand our approach before you buy anything.
We love athlete stories, and you can submit yours through our submission guidelines; sharing your experience helps other mountain athletes learn. For everything else, the fastest route is to match your question to the right form: customer support for account and order help, training questions for training, a coaching inquiry for working with a coach, and the altitude inquiry for hypoxic coaching. We read what comes in and route it to the person who can help.