Uphill Athlete Podcast

In this episode Steve House is joined by Hillary Allen. Hillary endured a tragic accident while competing in Sky Running (an ultra distance technical ridge running race). She and Steve recap her experiences of this accident, the grief and unexpected loss of sense of self that  arose, and Hillary's path to recovery. Hillary documents this process in her book: Out and Back: A Runner's Story of...

Scott Johnston is once again joined by Phil Maffetone as they discuss  over training — particularly the common misconceptions, and social factors that perpetuate this unfortunate phenomenon.

In this episode, Steve House is joined by his longtime friend and climbing parter Barry Blanchard. As they exchange stories about coping with the aftermath of tragedies amongst the peaks they reflect on the ways specific events have shaped their experiences moving forward, and how they, and others they know, have worked through these events as individuals.  For more information on Mountain Mu...

Steve House and Sky Yardeni, therapeutic director of the Climbing Grief Fund, explore the process of living with grief,  integrating the new reality of life that comes after the loss of a friend, partner, or loved one.  In conclusions they summarize their discussions around loss, trauma, and grief within the mountain community.  Thank you for being a part of this important conversat...

Steve House and Sky Yardeni, the therapeutic director of the Climbing Grief Fund continue their discussion about integrating stress, and most often how that relates to risk-taking and grief. Specifically how grief is not necessarily linked to loss and death, but may come from other forms of loss. This conversation traces an arc which moves towards creating and manifesting an attitude of wholeness,...

Mental health challenges, particularly the areas around trauma, loss, grief, and depression are a part of life for many mountain athletes.   Steve House begins this much-needed discussion with Sky Yardeni, the therapeutic director of the Climbing Grief Fund. The two share their personal experiences and Sky shares insights from his extensive professional background in working as a psycho-thera...

Scott Johnston is joined by Doctor Jesse Charles, M.D. Jesse is a rural medical doctor and longtime adherent to the Uphill Athlete training methods. As a general practitioner in a rural setting, Jesse sees a wide variety of patients, from those at peak health, to the infirm. In this episode, Scott and Jesse discuss changes that take place as the result of regular exercise; exercise as a ‘phase cha...

In this episode coach Sam Naney talks with his athlete, professional free skier and ski mountaineer, Cody Townsend. Cody has had a long and illustrious career in free skiing and has been featured in many ski films. Cody’s most recent project is “Chasing The Fifty Classics” — the classic ski descents of North America. The two discuss this project, and in particular, Cody’s training as he chases the...

Backcountry skiing is experiencing a huge surge in popularity. Scott Johnston discusses the implications, and the issues, with Larry Goldie, an AMGA-IFMGA-Certified Mountain Guide based in the North Cascade Mountains.

Director of Sports Performance at UC Davis,  Judd Van Sickle,  talks about metabolic testing, fat adaptation, and aerobic deficiency with Scott Johnston.

Phil Maffetone could well be called the "prophet of Zone 2".  He's been writing, speaking and coaching the importance of aerobic base since the early 1980s.  During  a chance meeting with Phil in 1984 Uphill Athlete co-founder Scott Johnston was first exposed to the importance of low intensity training.  In this episode, Scott talks with Phil, originator of the concept of aerob...

In this episode coaches Alison and Sam Naney discuss the proper application of supplemental strength training and how athletes may go about determining the types of strength training that will benefit them most as individuals.

Join Uphill Athlete co-founder Steve House and Chamonix-based physical therapist Neil MacLean-Martin as they discuss Uphill Athlete's new Chamonix Mountain Fit program. This multi-part program of strength, mobility, functional exercises is a fantastic resource now available to the UA community. Listen to Steve and Neil as they discuss the background, and creation of this program, and get a taste o...

Join Uphill Athlete coaches Carolyn Parker, Alison Naney, and Maya Seckinger in conversation about helping women in gain the knowledge to support themselves in training, and build confidence in a mountain environment. 

In this episode, Scott Johnston is joined by Olga Dobranowski. Olga is a medical doctor, based out of Colorado, who has tackled some impressive mountain goals. Here some of the topics discussed: growing up and starting climbing in Poland; Polish climbing history; Olga’s early climbing days in Poland and throughout Europe; moving to the U.S.A., and settling in Colorado; the evolution of Olga’s trai...

A question we are often asked is how to utilize our training plans through time as many people re-cycle the plans year after year. Scott Johnston and Sam Naney discuss: Knowing how to get the best possible results for each individual; the difference between a training plan and coaching; objectively evaluating training plans and progress as a self-coached athlete; and much more. 

Coach Sam Naney is joined by Nikki LaRochelle and Mike Foote: Two successful mountain athletes both highly accomplished in the ski mountaineering, ultra running, and much more. They discuss the growth and development of the skimo racing in the US and Canada and how people can get involved with the skimo racing and ski mountaineering community in North America.

Coaches Scott Johnston and Sam Naney discuss overtraining syndrome (OTS).   “Treading on the knife’s edge, there is no real road map.”  Key points covered are: Over-reaching verses over-training. Learning the distinction between the sympathetic and para-sympathetic overreaching; how to modulate training to encourage over-reaching and discourage over-training; recognizing red flags for ov...

In this episode Scott Johnston is joined by Art Muir. Art is a seventy-four year old mountain enthusiast who has worked with Uphill Athlete for several years. As an urban dweller in Chicago, Art discusses how he trains for his mountain goals and ambitions in the flat lands, as well as how he has approached his training and goals through time.

Cody Ice Climbing: No Drafting on Pick Holes! Join Uphill athlete co-founder Steve House for a discussion with UA coach John Frieh and South Fork local and guidebook writer for the area, Aaron Mulkey. In this episode they discuss the ice climbing opportunities around Cody, Wyoming. They cover: the logistics of approaching various routes; how a typical day of ice climbing unfolds; things to conside...

In this episode, Scott Johnston talks with Uphill Athlete's military and tactical coach, Drew Hammond. In this episode Scott and Drew discuss: Drew’s background; using hybrid strength and endurance methods; approaches for building an aerobic base for tactical athletes; training soldiers like athletes; training philosophy; scheduling training around deployment and at while at home; creating longter...

Coach Sam Naney is joined by athlete Luke Nelson and coach, and 2019 Canadian Masters National SkiMo Champion, Scott Semple for a chat about all things ski mountaineering. Sam, Luke, and Scott have a great collective history in skimo racing. Join them as they talk about skimo racing in the US and in Europe; ways to train for and get involved in skimo; dive into some particulars about the gear need...

In this episode of the Uphill Athlete Podcast, Scott Johnston talks with professional runner, Mike Foote. They discuss Mike's training and athletic history, the process of his athletic development, injury rehab and prevention, and Mike's passion for moving quickly in the mountains. 

Join Uphill Athlete co-founder Scott Johnston in his conversation with elite ultra runner Luke Nelson as they discuss their history and Luke’s connection to outdoor sports and activities. In this episode Luke and Scott do a deep dive into UA's Muscular Endurance progression. Luke has used it multiple times with great success for races and and FKTs. They discuss its role in providing increased fati...

Scott Johnston talks with high performance dietitian Rebecca Dent on a variety nutrition-related topics for aging athletes. In this episode they cover: why not all calories are created equal; Non Exercise Active Thermogenesis “NEAT”; understanding calorie impact; the boundaries and conditions involved in fasted training; appropriate nutrient timing; the role of diet and nutrition in injury prevent...