9 Pillars of Fitness
How 100 Year Athlete © trains you for longevity and a lifetime of mountain adventures
Mountain sports are lifelong sports. We mountain athletes don’t waste away in front of a TV, reliving our high school or college “glory years.” We adventure at every age. We live for powder days and hero dirt. We give age the bird and keep going—unless our body falls apart.
Unfortunately, most mountain athletes train in ways that almost guarantee chronic pain, preventable injuries, and a steep physical decline. The training that got us through our 20s, 30s, and 40s (mostly) intact won’t get us to our 80s, 90s, and 100s, no matter how many “biohacks” we throw money at.
The point of 100 Year Athlete is to build a body that doesn’t fall apart. To ski, bike, hike, and climb through age 100, we need to develop athleticism, which is longevity.
Jay Burke ripping on skis.
100-year-olds who still play in the mountains are athletic. They might not look like Olympians, but they train and exhibit the same physical attributes. Those attributes make up the 9 Pillars of Fitness we use at 100 Year Athlete to program your workouts, whether you’re a professional halfpipe skier or a badass grandma.
How do the 9 Pillars of Fitness support longevity and a lifetime of mountain adventures?
1. Mobility
The Ability of joints to move in ways required by daily life and sports.
If your joints fall apart, it’s game over. No matter how “fit” you are, none of it matters if you blow your ACL on day one of ski season due to a lack of knee and hip mobility. Mobility is the foundation of athleticism because it’s hard to become athletic if you’re perpetually injured.
2/3. Speed + Power
The ability to produce or absorb force quickly.
Every mountain sport requires speed and power. They determine whether your body can handle blind bumps skiing in flat light; how quickly you can change directions in a nasty rock garden on your bike; and how well you manage stumbles and falls. Speed + power is essential to performance and longevity.
4. Strength
The ability to produce force.
To do any sport with correct posture and technique, you need strength. Training strength also reduces the risk of soft tissue injuries. If skiing takes 90 units of force, and that is 90% off your knee’s strength threshold, an extra 10% can end your season. If your threshold is 200 units, you have a margin for error.
5. hypertrophy
building lean mass.
By our 40s, we start to lose muscle mass unless we train hypertrophy. As a cyclist or climber, you might be nervous about gaining weight, even if it’s muscle. But would you rather have a slight edge uphill or have more decades to enjoy your sport? Lean mass is critical to maintaining athleticism as you age.
6. muscular endurance
the ability to perform repetitive motions.
Pedaling uphill, hiking scree slopes, and climbing multiple pitches takes muscular endurance. Most mountain athletes don’t need to train endurance in the gym because they train it by doing their sport. Said differently, lifting tiny weights for high reps to train “endurance” is a redundant waste of time.
7. Anaerobic Capacity
The ability to complete high-intensity tasks for 3-4 minutes or less.
When your legs burn and you feel out of breath, you are tapping into your anaerobic capacity. It’s about hitting the gas hard and reaching a pace you can’t sustain for long. When you sprint for the finish or pedal a steep, unrelenting rock garden, that’s anaerobic. You can train it by doing your sport.
8. Aerobic capacity
how much oxygen you uptake for your size (aka, VO2 max).
Activities involving 15-20 minutes of hard work tap into your aerobic capacity. That’s basically every mountain sport. Mountain athletes tend to train their aerobic capacity at the expense of mobility, speed + power, and strength, which is why 100 Year Athlete emphasizes those pillars.
9. Long-Duration Endurance
Activities lasting longer than 20 minutes at a 50-60% effort or less.
Long-duration activities like hiking and walking are available to us at all ages and part of recreating with family, sightseeing, etc. On off days, long-duration activities help with recovery by keeping us in motion. You can do long-duration activities through your 100s, but doing them won’t keep you skiing at age 100.
It’s impossible to work on all 9 Pillars of Fitness at the same time. In 100 Year Athlete, we train mobility year round and we emphasize speed + power and strength because doing your sport generally doesn’t train them. We add in hypertrophy during the off season, when the longer recovery won’t compete with your sport. You’ll see aerobic and anaerobic conditioning during the shoulder seasons when there are fewer ways to train them outdoors.
100-year-olds who still play in the mountains are athletic. They might not look like Olympians, but they train and exhibit the same physical attributes. Those attributes make up the 9 Pillars of Fitness we use at 100 Year Athlete to program your workouts, whether you’re a professional halfpipe skier or a badass grandma.
How do the 9 Pillars of Fitness support longevity and a lifetime of mountain adventures?
1. Mobility
The Ability of joints to move in ways required by daily life and sports.
If your joints fall apart, it’s game over. No matter how “fit” you are, none of it matters if you blow your ACL on day one of ski season due to a lack of knee and hip mobility. Mobility is the foundation of athleticism because it’s hard to become athletic if you’re perpetually injured.
2/3. Speed + Power
The ability to produce or absorb force quickly.
Every mountain sport requires speed and power. They determine whether your body can handle blind bumps skiing in flat light; how quickly you can change directions in a nasty rock garden on your bike; and how well you manage stumbles and falls. Speed + power is essential to performance and longevity.
4. Strength
The ability to produce force.
To do any sport with correct posture and technique, you need strength. Training strength also reduces the risk of soft tissue injuries. If skiing takes 90 units of force, and that is 90% off your knee’s strength threshold, an extra 10% can end your season. If your threshold is 200 units, you have a margin for error.
5. hypertrophy
building lean mass.
By our 40s, we start to lose muscle mass unless we train hypertrophy. As a cyclist or climber, you might be nervous about gaining weight, even if it’s muscle. But would you rather have a slight edge uphill or have more decades to enjoy your sport? Lean mass is critical to maintaining athleticism as you age.
6. muscular endurance
the ability to perform repetitive motions.
Pedaling uphill, hiking scree slopes, and climbing multiple pitches takes muscular endurance. Most mountain athletes don’t need to train endurance in the gym because they train it by doing their sport. Said differently, lifting tiny weights for high reps to train “endurance” is a redundant waste of time.
7. Anaerobic Capacity
The ability to complete high-intensity tasks for 3-4 minutes or less.
When your legs burn and you feel out of breath, you are tapping into your anaerobic capacity. It’s about hitting the gas hard and reaching a pace you can’t sustain for long. When you sprint for the finish or pedal a steep, unrelenting rock garden, that’s anaerobic. You can train it by doing your sport.
8. Aerobic capacity
how much oxygen you uptake for your size (aka, VO2 max).
Activities involving 15-20 minutes of hard work tap into your aerobic capacity. That’s basically every mountain sport. Mountain athletes tend to train their aerobic capacity at the expense of mobility, speed + power, and strength, which is why 100 Year Athlete emphasizes those pillars.
9. Long-Duration Endurance
Activities lasting longer than 20 minutes at a 50-60% effort or less.
Long-duration activities like hiking and walking are available to us at all ages and part of recreating with family, sightseeing, etc. On off days, long-duration activities help with recovery by keeping us in motion. You can do long-duration activities through your 100s, but doing them won’t keep you skiing at age 100.
It’s impossible to work on all 9 Pillars of Fitness at the same time. In 100 Year Athlete, we train mobility year round and we emphasize speed + power and strength because doing your sport generally doesn’t train them. We add in hypertrophy during the off season, when the longer recovery won’t compete with your sport. You’ll see aerobic and anaerobic conditioning during the shoulder seasons when there are fewer ways to train them outdoors.
To reiterate: athleticism and longevity in mountain sports are the same thing. And by the way, athleticism isn’t just for sports. Living well is an athletic endeavor.
