Training for the Uphill Athlete is a follow-up to the bible of mountaineering fitness Training for the New Alpinism, generalizing the fitness advice to include mountain running, skimo and ski mountaineering. This time around they’ve enlisted the help of Killian Jornet, a crazy person who jogs across mountain ridges for a living (that’s him on the cover). Despite being loaded with pretty pictures and semi-interesting athlete stories the book contains a numeric overflow’s worth of scientific and tournament-tested endurance fitness information.

It starts out with the biological basis of fitness, covering mitochondria, pyruvate production, ATP, lactate thresholds, and so on. From there it moves into more familiar zone workout territory and covers how different intensities of training bring about different adaptations in your body. After briefly covering strength training if finishes up with guidance on putting together both general and sport-specific workout plans.

If I had to summarize the book’s advice in one sentence it would be this one:

Run a lot, but slowly.

And if I had to summarize the key learnings in a bullet-point list it would be this one:

  • The Aerobic Threshold (AeT) heart rate is the primary indicator of endurance. AeT is boosted by exercise with heart rates in the zones below the AeT (1 and 2).
  • 80-85% of training should be in zones 1 and 2.
  • VO2 max really isn’t that important.
  • Three minutes of rest is enough to completely replenish ATP stores in your muscles. If you’re looking for the ideal amount of time to rest between sets, this is it.
  • It takes between 8 and 72 hours to replenish muscular fat depending on your fitness level – I believe this is the amount of time you should wait between workouts.
  • Eat 200 calories in either a 3:1 or 4:1 carb-to-protein ratio within 30 minutes of finishing a workout. Missing this window can delay recovery by days.
  • The self-massage techniques discussed in The Roll Model book (which I picked up along with the accompanying massage ball set) can significantly reduce recovery times.
  • Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) – that feeling us non-athletes get when we work out – peaks at 48 hours after a workout. It can be partially mitigated by taking ibuprofen 12 hours after a workout along with a combination of stretching, light aerobics, and massage.
  • The conservative target for first-year annual training for someone with no history of structured training in my age bracket is three hundred and fifty hours.
  • The average professional uphill athlete trains 650 hours a year with over 500,000 feet of vertical gain and loss and just shy of 3,000 miles of distance. Killian does 1,300 hours a year and over 1,500,000 vertical feet.
  • Beginners can increase their training hours by up to 25% per year but professionals should consider a 10% annual increase to be the maximum.
  • Keeping a detailed training log is essential. TrainingPeaks and Strava are good tools to accomplish this.
  • The Lactate.com analyzer can accurately measure lactate levels for serious athletes.

I bought this book because as I approach middle age I want to start taking fitness more seriously so that I can continue to enjoy outdoor pursuits for the remainder of my life. I had mixed expectations going in but was completely blown away. I think this book might completely transform my outdoor experience.

So, now what?

Well, as mentioned I’ve already picked up a massage book and set of balls. Since heart rate monitoring is critical I ordered a Fitbit Inspire HR, their least-fancy offering which still includes serious heart rate features. I also ordered a three-height plyometric box (16, 18, and 20 inches) as well as a set of resistance bands to help with knee stability. And I signed up for an annual account with TrainingPeaks. After a ramp up period of a couple weeks I plan on running six days a week and working out two days a week.

Time to get swole!