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Our Training Philosophy Put to the Test Aerobic Work Capacity! Why are we so focused on it? Early in my athletic and coaching career, I connected some previously unconnected dots and had the proverbial aha moment that has shaped my training philosophy ever since. Over the past 30 years of achievements, personally and with our clients,Continue reading “Our Training Philosophy Put to a Test by Elite Alpinists”
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Our Training Philosophy Put to a Test by Elite Alpinists
The Epigenetics of Acclimatization and Adaptations to High Altitude
There used to be a debate in the human behavioral sciences termed “nature vs. nurture.” It went something like this: Is your destiny predetermined by your genetic coding inherited from your parents? Or does your environment determine your behavior, health, talents, intelligence, etc? In light of the discoveries in genetics over the past few decades,Continue reading “The Epigenetics of Acclimatization and Adaptations to High Altitude”
Kilian Jornet On Individualization Of Training
In this episode, Scott Johnston talks with Kilian Jornet. Kilian needs no introduction in the mountain endurance world. But for those who are new to this, he is one of the most accomplished mountain endurance athletes in the world. Join them as they discuss the fundamental importance of long term training adaptations, and how KilianContinue reading “Kilian Jornet On Individualization Of Training”
Vault Classic: Talking Health, Performance, and Longevity, with Jesse Charles, M.D.
In this Vault Classic, Scott Johnston is joined by Doctor Jesse Charles, M.D. Jesse is a rural medical doctor and longtime adherent to the Evoke’s 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 andContinue reading “Vault Classic: Talking Health, Performance, and Longevity, with Jesse Charles, M.D.”
Setting Your Heart Rate Zones
Monitoring and controlling the intensity of your endurance training is important, especially if you are new to this type of exercise. By conducting these tests, you can quite accurately determine your body’s metabolic response to exercise at different intensities.
Vault Classic: All Things Over Training With Phil Maffetone
Join us for another Vault Classic. In this episode Scott Johnston is joined by Phil Maffetone to discuss the nuances of Over Training. Over Training is not your garden variety fatigue that a few days of rest will overcome. It is a medical condition that is misunderstood by most athletes, coaches and medical professionals. It’sContinue reading “Vault Classic: All Things Over Training With Phil Maffetone”
Scott Johnston Talks With Coach Jessie Rich
In this episode Scott Johnston talks with Evoke Coach Jessie Rich. Jessie has amassed a very respectable list of Fastest Known Times (FKTs) in the mountains and also runs his own nutritional consulting business. Join Scott and Jessie as they discuss Jessie’s athletic and educational background, his training-work-life balance, and Jessie’s approach to coaching.
Scott Johnston Talks With Rob Smith About Guiding A Fitness Foundation
Fitness is the biggest factor to safety in the mountains. In this episode, Scott Johnston talks with professional guide Rob Smith about what it means to be fit for the mountains, and how a fitness foundation provides a gateway to tackling mountain goals.
Treadmill Season
It’s cold and dark out there! Many of us have to sneak training time in before or after work. Weather or conditions may limit your options severely. Or, maybe you would just like to quantify and add more control to your workouts. Any of these reasons may force you to train indoors on a treadmill or an incline trainer (a treadmill that inclines much steeper than the 15% grade that most treadmills are limited to).
Vault Classic: Scott Johnston and Phil Maffetone on Aerobic Deficiency Syndrome & Population Health
Join us for a classic from the vault: A discussion with Scott Johnston & Phil Maffetone about their joint experience with the benefits of sub-maximal training and the prominence of Aerobic Decency Syndrome in athletes and the population at large. Dr. Phil Maffetone is one of the earliest pioneer clinician-scientists to unravel the connection betweenContinue reading “Vault Classic: Scott Johnston and Phil Maffetone on Aerobic Deficiency Syndrome & Population Health”
Latest Thoughts on the Use of Hypoxico Tents for Pre-Acclimatization
While anecdotal evidence may not always beat controlled studies, in the absence of those studies and when there is an overwhelming body of anecdotal evidence supporting a conclusion, those observations warrant some credence.
Luke Nelson on competing in the Snowman race 2022
Evoke Endurance founder Scott Johnston is joined by coach Luke Nelson. Join them as Luke narrates his experience at the Snowman Race: an invitation-only ultra-running race sponsored by the government of Bhutan. This first of it’s kind race brought athletes from all around the world to Bhutan to fight climate change.
Speed Efforts in Backcountry Skiing
Editor’s Note: This article is summary of a few of Evoke Endurance coach, Jack Kuenzle’s ski FKTs (Fastest Known Time) done in 2022. You can listen to more of Jack’s story on the EvokeCast. The aim of this article is to describe the preparation, training, and experiences I had while preparing for and racing backcountryContinue reading “Speed Efforts in Backcountry Skiing”
Scott Johnston Talks With Leif Whittaker On Climbing And Authorship
In the episode Scott Johnston is joined by Evoke Endurance coach Leif Whittaker. They discuss Leif’s book My Old Man And The Mountain — a humorous memoir about Leif’s experience climbing Mt. Everest following in the footsteps of his father, Jim Whittaker, who was the first American to summit Everest back in 1963.
Flow State. Bone Chill. Reanimation. Revelation.
A Race Report from the 2022 Tahoe 200 The 200-miler is the most exciting discipline in mountain running. The distance is alluring because it requires the endurance and strength demanded by an ultra-marathon and the problem-solving required on a multi-day fast-packing expedition. The discipline is a puzzle. Each race presents a challenge that, once overcome,Continue reading “Flow State. Bone Chill. Reanimation. Revelation.”
Scott Johnston Talks To Jack Kuenzle About FKTs
In this episode, Scott Johnston talks with Evoke coach Jack Kuenzle about his impressive list of FKTs, ‘Fastest Known Times’, that he has amassed in this past calendar year throughout the USA and UK. They discuss Jack’s background in the Navy SEALs, and his path from military training to successfully beating these running records, alongContinue reading “Scott Johnston Talks To Jack Kuenzle About FKTs”
Scott Johnston Interviews Tom Evans, Podium Finisher at the 2022 UTMB
In this episode, Scott Johnston interviews professional ultra runner Tom Evans. Recently, Tom placed third at the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (UTMB), one of the most brutal and highly regarded ultra races on the planet. Scott and Tom discuss Tom’s athletic background, how Tom’s training has changed since he started being coached by Scott, along withContinue reading “Scott Johnston Interviews Tom Evans, Podium Finisher at the 2022 UTMB”
Evoke Endurance Athlete Female Physiology Basics
While mountains and mountain pursuits have long been the domain of men there is a long and storied history of women climbers going back to the infancy of the sport of climbing mountains in the middle of the 19th century. These ladies had to overcome huge hurdles and not just the scorn of the men; imagine climbing in a floor length dress! One hundred years later the hurdles still remained. The first summit of Everest was done by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953 while the first female summit wouldn’t come until over 20 years later by Junko Tabei in 1975. While women have engaged in mountain pursuits for centuries, it has taken them time to gain a seat at the proverbial table and we are still striving to make headway in 2022.
Coldfear Podcast #4: Featuring Scott Johnston
Scott Johnston was recently featured on the Coldfear podcast, hosted by Aaron Mulkey. Aaron is a professional ice climber and explorer. He has spent decades roaming mountain ranges around the world. Mulkey and his co-hosts discuss experiences of Adventure, Exploration, Ice climbing, Training, and anything else that intrigues them. Episode summary: Scott Johnston has beenContinue reading “Coldfear Podcast #4: Featuring Scott Johnston”
Introducing Evokecast
In this first episode, founder Scott Johnston talks with coach Maya Seckinger about our history, why we are here, and what we do: The evolution of the strong coaching collective that is EvokeEndurance.
Updated Thinking on Aerobic Assessment for Mountain Athletes
Until recently, there were limited options for an endurance athlete to get a handle on his or her metabolic response to exercise at varying intensities. There are several good options, but we’ll start with the one we usually default to. Be aware that it requires serious technology, such as an expensive heart rate monitor/GPS watch. For the no-tech test, skip ahead to the Nose Breathing section.
Aerobic Deficiency Syndrome (ADS)
Rather than rewrite a whole section on the physiology of endurance, if you are unfamiliar with this topic, please review the Physiology here. Or this subject is handled in depth in the Physiology chapter 2 of Training for the Uphill Athlete.
Muscular Endurance: All You Need to Know
Over the past 20 years I’ve written and spoken many thousands of words about Muscular Endurance training. Both Training for the New Alpinism and Training for the Uphill Athlete have entire sections of the book devoted to the topic. Articles like Vertical Beast Mode that remain on UphillAthlete.com.
How Training Works
Training makes you weaker. Recovery makes you fitter.
You read that correctly. It is one of the most misunderstood sports training principles.
Exposing your body to a stressor that disturbs the homeostasis of one or several of your body’s systems causes a multitude of adaptive responses that help prepare your body for similar stress imposed in the future. That works if these imposed stresses (we call workouts) are not too demanding or too frequent and have a sufficient recovery to allow enough time for the adaptive processes to occur. The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) was first proposed by Hungarian endocrinologist Hans Selye around 1950. While his research focused on illness, the principles also apply to training.