Mountain Fitness Tips: Practice, Practice, Practice
You may not be a pro skier or climber, but at least you can train like one. Mountain sports coach Rob Shaul and his students share how they prepare for the peaks.
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Larry Bird made thousands of jump shots in empty gyms. Tiger Woods sank thousands of putts on empty greens. Mountain athletes need to practice too. Is your ski turn to the left in the steep stuff a little shaky? Practice it. Is your crack climbing suspect? Practice it. Practice your strengths, and practice your weaknesses even more. —Coach Shaul
ATHLETE: Brenton Reagen, professional climber and mountain guide
MA TRAINING: 4 years
SUCCESS STORY: Exum mountain guide; mountaineering ascents and ski descents in Tetons and Wind River range, Canadian Rockies, Mexico, Patagonia, and Nepal.
I started climbing when I was 14 years old. This took me away from team sports, and I never experienced being coached or training in the gym. When I came to MA, I really lacked strength and power in my climbing. Coach Shaul created a program for me that combined repetitive training with Olympic lifting.
The side effect of training hard at MA is that my life and career just keep getting better. I strongly believe that this kind of curriculum should be a mandatory part of training for professional mountain guides.