Coaching

Learn More about Couch to the Summit Performance Coaching

Couch to the Summit Performance Coaching has been offering coaching services since 2019 for vertical focused endurance elite athletes through to beginners. Learn more about what I do and how I might benefit you in your fitness journey!

By James Stewart

Affordable Vertical and Functional Focused Endurance Coaching with Coach James Stewart

Making a commitment to working with an expert can really deliver rapid and life-changing results and
Investing in your health and fitness will always be the most important investment you ever make

Thank you for your interest in Couch to the Summit Performance Coaching.

I am currently accepting new athletes for coaching. Sign up here.

I am located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Most of my athletes are based locally, but I also work with athletes located anywhere in the world. My experience on the trails all across Vancouver does help me to refine my coaching for athletes in the region, but I have also raced and experienced the trails and mountains all across the world from Australia, USA, Asia and Europe.

Moving forward with coaching is a big decision and I’m sure you have a lot of questions and doubts about moving forward. I have written several articles about my coaching service to aid you in making the right decision. Please read about my coaching philosophy, what to look for in a coach, all about myself and my journey in the sport, and more.

As you read through my articles below, I hope this gives you enough sense of who I am, and what I am about to consider working with me as your coach. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you!

Working with a coach can be a really transformative step for an athlete who has never worked with one before, because you tend to perform as well as your weakest links. A coach can help with uncovering any deficiencies in your body and training approach that can help you progress to the next level without necessarily having to make radical changes to how you currently train. A coach can hold you accountable and give you a push to start working on those areas you’ve typically neglected or put off as an athlete. You also learn how to train effectively; knowledge you will never lose.

My coaching is based on foundational scientific principles used by elite endurance athletes brought together with my diverse 15-year experience as a vertical focused endurance athlete (Stair Climbing/Vertical KM racing through to Ultra-Endurance). Combined with years spent adventuring in the mountains without a racing focus (adventure photography /adventure films), this gives me a unique perspective on how different styles of training impact and benefit the body.

Most athletes don’t know how much their biomechanics and myofascial quality are slowing them down and holding back their endurance potential. I focus on developing highly functional athletes using my FAST-Protocols (Functional Athlete Standards Training). Let’s face it, the impact loading on trail athletes is high - but it doesn't mean you can't have longevity in the sport. Athletes should be focused weekly on improving their functional athleticism for longevity in the sport, to stay injury free and unlock maximum power and performance.

I’ve established 10 distinct attributes of functional athleticism to develop simultaneously as an athlete: Strength, Mobility, Flexibility, Myofascial Quality, Muscular Symmetry, Balance, Coordination/Technique, Agility, Endurance, Speed/Power. While you may be tempted to place more priority on some of these components in your regular training regimen, the truth is that none are more important than another. They are all equally important. If you are at a low standard in any capacity then you are hampering your potential to varying degrees. The additional training tasks involved take a small amount of extra time each day, but daily consistency yields significant results over the long-term.

My FAST-Protocol training platform tests and establishes your baseline against beginner, intermediate, elite & world class levels, and helps you progress through the levels over time.

What I Offer

• Vertical & Functional Focused Endurance Coaching – I take care of all the logistics so you can focus on the training and I believe I offer better value for money than other coaches on the market for the scope of everything I provide
• Specialist at improving uphill performance on the trails and functional athleticism for longevity and performance
• I am happy to work with elite, intermediate, beginner and completely sedentary athletes worldwide
• Long-Term Focused Coach – Multi-year planning to reach your endurance potential with health/longevity placed first
• Information Heavy Focused Coach – I educate athletes on how to train effectively and buy-in to the process. This produces less uncertainty, less training errors, better results, and improved athlete adherence
• Athletes receive a 125-page training manual that explains training processes and your responsibilities as an athlete. There are also manuals for each of the ten FAST-Protocols and an online platform to manage this side of training
• I offer Free In-Person biomechanical running gait, mobility, strength, muscle imbalance testing (for local athletes) to develop more personalized and targeted FAST-Protocol biomechanic plans to help complement your run training