The simple but time-consuming Rusko orthostatic test was developed by the famed Finnish exercise scientist Heikki Rusko as a way to monitor for overtraining among high-level cross-country skiers at training camps. It requires only a basic heart rate monitor with real-time display. Here is how it works:At the same time each day, usually upon waking in the morning and after a trip to the bathroom, the athlete lies supine for 5 minutes and notes the average heart rate level during the last 2 minutes.The athlete then stands up. Immediately after standing, and while remaining still, the athlete notes their heart…

Attention Uphill Athletes: Some of the nutrition information in this article is now outdated. While certain highly trained endurance athletes like Cory and Adrian may benefit from fasted training and other nutrition strategies, our coaches and dietitians no longer recommend these strategies for most athletes, especially female athletes. You can read more in our most recent nutrition and fat adaptation articles, written by Uphill Athlete’s registered dietician Rebecca Dent and reviewed by the Uphill Athlete team, that reflect the most up-to-date scientific findings on fat adaptation and fasted training.If you need further advice, we encourage you to reach out for…

How about this for a week’s worth of mountain fun?Days 1–2: Approach several hours on foot from Chamonix, France, to the north face of the Grand Jorasses. Climb the Colton-MacIntyre route (ED, VI, 1,200m) and then descend a long, difficult route into Italy for a total time of 27 hours while consuming only two gels and a half liter of water.Day 3: Pace a friend in a 50K trail race.Day 4: Win the Chamonix Vertical K race.Days 5–6: Travel to Alaska.Day 7: Win the Mountain Marathon in Seward, Alaska, setting a new course record.Sounds unlikely if not downright impossible, right?…

Okay, you’ve taken your Metabolic Efficiency Test (MET) or Gas Exchange Test (GET) and gotten your grade. But what does it mean? And where do we go from here?One advantage to paying professionals to test your blood lactate or metabolic efficiency is that they should explain what the results mean in terms of your training. But for the DIYers out there, or for anyone who felt a little fuzzy on their lab technicians’ explanation of the results, here is a basic look at what your results in these tests might mean. Hopefully by covering some of the basics, along with…

At a coaching conference a while back, I listened to some very experienced triathlon coaches speak about Ironman training. According to these coaches, the TSS (Training Stress Score) numbers that TrainingPeaks can calculate are solid enough for them to say with some conviction that to complete the world championship race in Kona in under 9 hours, a triathlete needs a CTL (Chronic Training Load) of 150. They also had enough data to produce similar benchmarks for other races and marathon times. This got me thinking: Would it be possible to establish a CTL yardstick in TrainingPeaks for the mountain athletes we coach?What follows is a deep dive into how we came up with…

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Steve and I continue to beat the drum of low-intensity training for building endurance. Why are we so focused on it? Early in our careers, we connected some previously unconnected dots and had the proverbial aha moment that shaped our training philosophy. Over the past 15 years of ascents and achievements, both personally and with our clients, that philosophy has proven itself to work very well.Yet we still run into alpine climbers and trainers on a daily basis who continue to use training methods more suited to sport climbers and 5,000-meter runners…

Is the hardest part of training finding time for your workouts? Do you need to prioritize family and work ahead of training? Is life too busy to think about increasing your strength and fitness? If you have read Training for the New Alpinism or any of the writing here on the Uphill Athlete website, you know that we are not big on compromise approaches to training. We have a great deal of experience working with elite endurance athletes and we know what works and why it works. We know that it takes a large volume of training, applied systematically for…

BUY NOW FOR $89 This is the plan that we recommend for those who have already had a season or two of structured endurance training and are looking to boost their performance in SkiMo races. This 16 week plan starts at a higher level than the beginner/intermediate plan. It will be demanding in terms of time and energy. It will require considerable effort to complete. It is not for a novice as it starts off with over 7 hours of required training the first week and peaks at over 11 hours per week. It includes substantially more high intensity training…

BUY NOW FOR $49 The Uphill Athlete 8 Week Hut-to-Hut Ski Tour Training Plan is designed for skiers bound for a multi-day hut trip and or ski traverse like the Wapta, Ortler, Hochtirol or Haute Route. This plan assumes that you have no strength training background but are fit enough already for long day tours. This plan is ideal for ski tourers who have never engaged in an organized training program or who have not done so for a long time.This plan is based on scientifically sound training principles and a combined thirty years of professional endurance coaching experience and…

BUY NOW FOR $89 This is the minimal plan that we recommend for those who are at the early stages of SkiMo racing and have a goal of competing in short-duration (sub 4 hour) SkiMo races. This 16 week pre season plan progresses gradually but will require considerable effort to complete. It is primarily a dry land based program so that you can hit the snow in good shape and for those who do not live close to snow. The endurance workouts can be done on snow if you have access.. It is not for a novice as it starts…