ABOUT BUILD

To apply for this program please email me at coaching@couchtothesummit.com if you are interested in joining the Couch to the Summit Performance Coaching stable of athletes, or if you have any questions or comments.

I am located in Vancouver, Canada and I'm available to chat on +1 778-229-8230. I work with athletes anywhere in the world.

• OBJECTIVE: A best practice and science driven multi-year program designed with the long-term objective in mind: to upgrade the endurance performance and athleticism of an athlete to the highest possible level in the shortest period of time looking several years down the track.

  This program is for experienced beginners, intermediate, or elite endurance athletes looking to excel over the longer term by building their aerobic base to the highest level of their potential, while also preparing their body for the demands of future events to optimise performance-based outcomes. This approach can take many years of dedicated and consistent training, so this program works hard to address consistency and build a high level of multi-dimensional athleticism while lowering the risk of injury or overtraining.

• INNOVATION: Developed using insights from world class athletes and coaches who prioritize training intelligence. Those insights are brought together into a coaching program – that also leverages my FAST-PROTOCOLS training methods – to build an innovated approach to developing resilient and high-performing multi-dimensional athletes who are consistent with training and constantly making upward progress in both metabolic fitness and peak performance (strength, speed, power, stamina, endurance and biomechanical resilience).

  Over ten years of research - and five years of practical refinement coaching athletes - has gone into the construction of this program. I am excited to offer this unique service to people who want to reach their athletic potential by focusing on a long duration period of training that is based on world-class training methods.

THE PROBLEMS SOLVED BY BUILD

• Correct Poor and Inefficient Training Habits Many athletes do not have the short-term patience to put in place the right foundation and delay gratification with their goals and accomplishments if they are not aligned with the long-term vision, but this model/process is how the best athletes in the world train.

• Thinking Multi-Year instead of Seasonal Many athletes think seasonal or year to year, chasing yearly performance outcomes without focusing on how their training today impacts their performance in the following years. Most athletes will say they want to achieve a certain performance level in future years, but the athlete’s training actions don’t support their stated longer-term aspirations.

• Avoiding Training Plateaus The expectation is that with consistent training and racing, performance should automatically improve each year. However, many athletes stagnate or even regress leading to frustration and a further escalation of impatient training and subsequent training errors.

• Acknowledging Weaknesses and Addressing Them Early Failure to thrive often occurs because athletes focus too much on immediate performance and not enough on foundational fitness and addressing their weak points. Typically, an athlete may continue to race while carrying weaknesses that could interrupt future training consistency. You want to be an athlete who is also intelligent, not just motivated and dedicated. Very few athletes actually train intelligently and with patience. Those who do are the cream that rise to the top.

THE BUILD DIFFERENCE

• Metabolic Focus: BUILD aims to set a robust foundational base in metabolic fitness culminating in significant improvements typically beginning after two years and then compounds rapidly in subsequent years. This is the ONLY way to achieve an advanced or high level of performance. Consistency in training and knowing when to push hard and back off is the training art. Athletes are better served working toward a training program that provides tangible performance improvements each year through the training process alone.

• Intelligence Over Intensity: Prioritize smart training strategies over merely working hard. This helps to stop athletes wasting time and facing frustrating setbacks. Your best possible race performance outcomes and the chance to attain your endurance potential as an athlete is going to come from putting the right foundation in place first. This is how you can successfully step up a level (from beginner to intermediate or from intermediate to elite).

• Multi-Dimensional Athleticism: Before diving into intensive training and racing, BUILD is focused on fixing problems before they occur and only performing when an athlete is ready for what is to come. We keep working hard until we reach that level. BUILD ensures a science and process driven approach to develop resilient and high performing athletes by continually testing and training an athlete’s strengths and weaknesses using my innovative FAST-PROTOCOLS training methods and coaching platform. Many endurance coaches focus solely on aerobic training, but with BUILD, you will focus a lot of training time on attributes like: Strength, Mobility, Flexibility, Balance, Agility, Power development and more… Developing this wide range of attributes early in your training journey, helps to take you to a higher level of performance and minimise the risk of training setbacks. You can learn more about the FAST-PROTOCOLS here.

• Complex Training without Overwhelm: I have designed the custom built FAST-PROTOCOLS training platform to make this side of training easy to manage without overwhelm. The platform has multiple intelligence and administrative aspects built in to adjust training based on an athlete’s schedule and their application/consistency to training. These other training attributes are seamlessly integrated into the entire training process, so they benefit off of each other in a comprehensive integration.

ABOUT THE COACH

Be mentored in your endurance journey with guidance, and specialized coaching from Performance Coach and Endurance Educator James Stewart, a 15-year endurance veteran with experience adventuring and racing all over the world in some of the harshest mountain environments and events. James has coached athletes from all levels (beginner, intermediate and elite) with a mountain sport focus since 2019 and you can learn more about his background here.

BUILD IS APPROPRIATE FOR

• Athletes of any experience level who have some recent experience with consistent and regular endurance training. You will be required to meet some basic benchmarks to gain acceptance into this program. If you cannot meet the benchmarks you are advised to enter the FOUNDATION program instead.

• Athletes focused on long-term goals, resilience, high performance, and reaching their endurance potential.

• BUILD is specifically designed to help athletes build endurance in any sport, but specifically sports involving vertical terrain like the mountains. While my coaching specializes particularly on trail running, I’ve coached many athletes with diverse sporting interests who were looking to get stronger in the mountains including cyclists, ski-mo athletes and mountainteers. I can help you with a program that blends your endurance sports into an appropriate mix that maximises your abilities as an athlete to excel at multiple endurance sports.

• Note: Novice athletes or those with ongoing biomechanical issues are advised to enter the FOUNDATION program to get a leg up into this program first.

BUILD INVOLVES THE FOLLOWING

INITIAL ONBOARDING PROCESS

• Answer athlete's initial enquiry/questions about the coaching program. Athlete decides to proceed.

• Athlete fills in an initial questionnaire to provide information on their training history and future goals.

• I perform a review based on the results of the questionnaire and athlete is provided educational material to understand results of their review, the plan for moving forward, how the training process works (how to pace your training, pick and plan your training routes etc…) and how to use the training platform. It will take several days for an athlete to digest the required educational material.

• Athlete conducts various tests across attributes of my FAST-PROTOCOLS training process to determine your strengths and weaknesses as an athlete. Tests include areas relating to Balance, Mobility, Flexibility, Strength, Agility, Skill, Power (and others…) to give a wholistic overview of an athlete's athleticism and abilities.

• Upon completion of tests and when all the educational material has been read by the athlete, we will begin the training. Athlete fills in their upcoming schedule and availability for the first week of training. Training is then programmed.

ONGOING WEEKLY TRAINING

• Athlete fills in their upcoming schedule and availability prior to 6pm on a Sunday for the upcoming week.

• On the training platform, each Sunday after your schedule for the upcoming week is uploaded, you will be scheduled your weekly training tasks which will be based off of your previous training outcomes and how your body is responding to recent training.

• On the training platform, you'll have insights into your functional strengths and weaknesses based on your test results. The platform's intelligent design crafts daily workouts tailored to target areas you need the most improvement, aligned with your available time. If you lag in areas like mobility training - for example - the system proactively reminds you, ensuring you stay on track. The platform adjusts your regimen considering the equipment you have, your weekly schedule, and your recent training consistency. For instance, if you're missing sessions or falling short on time, it recommends a more manageable program until you regain your momentum.

• Regular mentorship, monitoring and emails from Coach James Stewart where applicable based on your training outcomes, questions and so on. Unlimited contact between you and the coach is provided over email. Athlete is offered a maximum of one voice/video call per week for 1-hour as required.

OTHER BENEFITS

• Endurance and Biomechanics Training Library Access: Gain access to an extensive library of training information that you can download and keep for life!

• Discounted Products: If you complete 12-months on BUILD, you will receive a 20% discount off all Couch to the Summit Products and Educational Materials for life.

• Free Ongoing Mentorship*: If you complete 12-months on BUILD, you receive lifetime access to emailing me for training advice/help/mentoring (within reason). The goal of my coaching is to teach you how to train yourself in the future. For any past clients, I'm always available to answer any further questions you have and to ensure some level of mentorship once you're out on your own. This serviced is provided over email only and responses will be provided when time permits.

  *Athletes who don't make it to 12 months in this program are not eligible for lifetime mentoring access but are more than welcome back to the coaching service to try again at any time in the future.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Am I ready for this program? Who do you accept?

I perform a review based on the results of your intake questionnaire and I get you to run through various benchmark tests to determine if you are accepted into BUILD. If you are not accepted, you will be accepted into other programs that are more suitable for you like FOUNDATION or PEAK.

Do you have any testimonials from current or past athletes?

Yes I do - please click here to read them

How many hours per week do I need to commit to with this program?

My recommendation is a minimum of 15 hours per week at the low end, but 20+ hours per week is highly recommended for the best results. Most of the training time will be spent on Endurance training, but some of the time will be spent working on other attributes such as strength, mobility, balance training etc… either at home or in a gym. Usually, it works best if you can spend 1 hour in the morning and 1-2 hours in the evening during most weekdays, and one day on the weekend where you can spend multiple hours on both days. If the time commitment is a problem, usually it can be addressed through improved scheduling in your daily life, which is often lacking in athletes who fail to thrive. This is one of the key areas we address initially in the program.

Time crunched athletes who cannot train 15 hours a week or more, are accepted into the program, and I do my best to facilitate the most bang for buck from your available time. This may slow your long-term progression however, but this may be acceptable to you based on your other time demands.

What equipment do I need?

I tailor the program to what you have available but I encourage some affordable purchases that may greatly benefit you. Most of the program can be done without any equipment; however, a gym membership or purchase of some home equipment like exercise mat, bands, step up box or bench, some dumbbells will highly benefit an athlete who is serious about building fitness, resiliency and strength. Regular access to mountains/hills, stairs or treadmill is important, but if not available, I can find many approaches to get the required training stimulus.

What is the difference between your FOUNDATION and BUILD coaching programs?

FOUNDATION prioritizes the FAST-PROTOCOLS, dedicating more training time to these methods than to aerobic development and high-performance aspects involve intensity and racing. Essentially, it serves as the base upon which BUILD is constructed. Not all athletes will be accepted into BUILD but all athletes will be accepted into FOUNDATION. It depends on your training history. Athletes with advanced skills or a demonstrated history of training excellence can choose to skip FOUNDATION and move directly to BUILD. While BUILD also incorporates all the FAST-PROTOCOL attributes refined in FOUNDATION, athletes will spend comparatively less time on them.

Due to the additional time required to manage athletes in the FOUNDATION program with complex issues or training inexperience, it carries a slightly higher cost.

What kind of fitness improvements should I notice in the first year or two?

Emphasis on long-term growth may slow immediate gains. It’s about delaying gratification and ensuring foundational training in the early years while we identify and work to develop your weakest links. This may delay your ability to increase training volume, but as soon as you are more resilient and training consistently, then the metabolic fitness gains will be improving regularly and your fitness gains slowly compounding. Prior to any races we will do peaking builds that improve your top-end power and performance, and off of a solidly built aerobic base, you should expect to be smashing past your previous bests.

Can I still race under this program?

Racing is permitted at anytime in the program, but its important that your race goals are aligned with the long-term plan. Therefore, before signing up to races its important that we plan your race calendar together to ensure you are not getting ahead of yourself with unrealistic choices.

What happens if I get sick, injured, or go on vacation during BUILD and cannot train for a while?

Reduced or temporary pause of training fees may be considered on a case-by-case basis.

What if I eventually want to peak my fitness for races like in your PEAK coaching program?

PEAK is designed for athletes seeking to maximize their performance for a specific race or season within a single year, to learn the ropes on how to build fitness for a race, and are not necessarily looking for long-term coaching at this stage. The goal here is to just do as much as possible in the time available prior to their goal race.

In the BUILD program, once the foundational base is established after the first 1-2 years, athletes will benefit from all the methods used in the PEAK program. This ensures that performance peaks are strategically layered into an effective periodized training plan, ensuring there's no undue compromise to the foundational aerobic base development.

A significant advantage for BUILD athletes is that they get the PEAK methodology integrated into their season as a loyalty bonus without the higher cost associated with the standalone PEAK service.

What is the Onboarding Fee for?

Onboarding fee is FREE in BUILD as a loyalty/long-term commitment bonus. In my other coaching programs it covers the fee for access to the library of educational materials provided to you upon signing up (this includes PDF training manuals and video tutorials) along with the additional time required by me to understand your training journey and set up your training customised for you personally. A lot of time and thought is put into planning your training progression and getting you ready for the next steps. This is FREE for applicants to the BUILD program.

What is the Minimum Commitment?

BUILD is about long-term training and therefore we enforce a long-term commitment to ensure you maintain your commitment due to any early resistance or challenges with commitment to the program. The minimum commitment is 12-months.

COST

I accept payment in virtually any currency. Here are the four most common, but please contact me for rates in other currencies if you cannot pay in CAD, USD, EUR or AUD.

CAD $0 FREE onboard fee (initial discovery week(s)) then $40 per week (when training begins) with a 12-month initial commitment.

Upon signing up, an athlete must pay in 12 monthly instalments of $175 (credit card or funds transfer) each month or a one-time payment up front of $2080 (applicable only via funds transfer).

After the first 12-months, you can then pay on a week to week or month to month or lump sum basis and can exit at any time without any further penalty.

*Early exit in the initial 12-months incurs a penalty charge of $350 with a refund of the remaining fees that have been paid if a lump sum was paid upfront. This fee is designed to hold you accountable to the process but may be waived in exceptional circumstances after all avenues of keeping you in the program are exhausted.

USD $0 FREE onboard fee (initial discovery week(s)) then $30 per week (when training begins) with a six-month initial commitment.

Upon signing up, an athlete must pay in 12 monthly instalments of $130 (credit card or funds transfer) each month or a one-time payment up front of $1560 (applicable only via funds transfer).

After the first 12-months, you can then pay on a week to week or month to month or lump sum basis and can exit at any time without any further penalty.

*Early exit in the initial 12-months incurs a penalty charge of $250 with a refund of the remaining fees that have been paid if a lump sum was paid upfront. This fee is designed to hold you accountable to the process but may be waived in exceptional circumstances after all avenues of keeping you in the program are exhausted.

EUR €0 FREE onboard fee (initial discovery week(s)) then €30 per week (when training begins) with a 12-month initial commitment.

Upon signing up, an athlete must pay the 12-month minimum*, which can be charged in 12 monthly instalments of €130 (credit card or funds transfer) each month or a one-time payment up front of €1560 (applicable only via funds transfer).

After the first 12-months, you can then pay on a week to week or month to month or lump sum basis and can exit at any time without any further penalty.

*Early exit in the initial 12-months incurs a penalty charge of €250 with a refund of the remaining fees that have been paid if a lump sum was paid upfront. This fee is designed to hold you accountable to the process but may be waived in exceptional circumstances after all avenues of keeping you in the program are exhausted.

AUD $0 FREE onboard fee (covers initial discovery week(s)) then $45 per week (when training begins) with a six-month initial commitment.

Upon signing up, an athlete must pay the 12-month minimum*, which can be charged in 12 monthly instalments of $195 (credit card or funds transfer) each month or a one-time payment up front of $2340 (applicable only via funds transfer).

After the first 12-months, you can then pay on a week to week or month to month or lump sum basis and can exit at any time without any further penalty.

*Early exit in the initial 12-months incurs a penalty charge of $400 with a refund of the remaining fees that have been paid if a lump sum was paid upfront. This fee is designed to hold you accountable to the process but may be waived in exceptional circumstances after all avenues of keeping you in the program are exhausted.