Ok, honestly? I bought Training for the Uphill Athlete because of the pictures. I'm not kidding. I was in Munising this past Feb (seems like 20 years ago, a different time) for the Michigan Ice Climbing Festival and while at a coffee/book shop it caught my eye. Outdoor sports are really good at getting you in the mood to spend money on things you don't necessarily need.
Except it turns out I really did need this book. Which is strange to say because I'm not a mountain runner or skier. I'm an amateur mountain biker and rock climber, I don't race and or compete so there isn't much reason to train for doing so, and I probably never will.
But that doesn't matter because what makes Training for the Uphill Athlete so great is how well it translates things that happen to an active body into easily understandable concepts.
For example, I used to "bonk" like crazy. This would effectively ruin my entire day; I'd have massive headaches and exhaustion after an activity and I ultimately couldn't keep up with my friends if the activity was a little longer. This made long bike rides or hikes to the crag frustrating rather than fun (another reason you want to train; being better at activities and more prepared physically does actually make them more fun).
Turns out, there is a way to train off what is called "Aerobic Deficiency Syndrom" (ADS). My metabolism needed training to burn more fats than sugars, which you can do by engaging in long, low intensity, slow workouts. It was a total game-changer, plus I ended up losing a healthy amount of weight. Did you know you can train your metabolism with exercise? I sure as shit did not.
The "Training" in Training for the Uphill Athlete actually means training your body for your fitness needs, not necessarily for any particular race or event. It throws any sort of fad fitness theories out the window in favor of a comically simple technique; identifying what your body needs (like metabolic training, muscular endurance, recovery, intensity) and training for it. You can do this regardless of being a competitive athlete, but the results amazed me.
 |
| The results from my favorite local MTB trail. You can see how even at previous season peaks I was nowhere near my current midseason level. I started really reading this book in May! |
The book is also peppered with stories from world-class athletes; their trials, their frustrations, their success etc. It breaks up the textbook feel and really gets you in the right mood. Whomst among us isn't inspired by mountain athletes.
I highly recommend Training for the Uphill Athlete to anyone engaged in or even interested in an active lifestyle. It's accessible, fun, and incredibly useful.
Oh, and the pictures are cool, come on:
