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Build the Engine. Bulletproof the Chassis. Enjoy the Ride.
- Mar 1
- 4 min read
If you zoom out and look at the world’s best mountain runners, a pattern appears. The coach of multiple UTMB champions, Scott Johnston, boils it down to two pillars:
1. Build a massive aerobic base.
2. Layer muscular endurance and fatigue resistance on top.
At Up N Adam Performance Training & Physiotherapy, that philosophy feels very familiar.
Because that’s exactly what we do.
Pillar One: Build the Aerobic Engine
Endurance performance is fundamentally about energy production — how efficiently you can recycle ATP using oxygen. The bigger and more efficient your aerobic system, the longer you can go without relying heavily on glycolysis (and accumulating fatigue).
Johnston talks extensively about the importance of Aerobic Threshold — the intensity where you’re still primarily aerobic and can sustain effort for hours.
In practical lab language, this is often referred to as LT1 (Lactate Threshold 1) — the first measurable rise in blood lactate above baseline.
This is your aerobic ceiling.
Why This Matters
Many athletes obsess over VO₂ max. But VO₂ max is just the size of the engine at maximum revs. It doesn’t tell you:
How efficient you are at submaximal pace
How long you can sustain a strong effort
How well you clear and utilise lactate
How fatigue-resistant you are over 5, 8, 12+ hours
That’s where LT1 becomes gold.
Lucas McBeath and VO₂ Testing at Up N Adam
When Lucas McBeath runs VO₂ and lactate testing in the lab, the goal isn’t to chase the VO₂ max number.
It’s to find:
Your true aerobic threshold (LT1)
Your training zones
Your metabolic efficiency
Your drift tendencies
This allows us to program:
High-quality Zone 2 volume
Controlled aerobic development
Structured long runs that actually build the system
Not guesswork. Not “kind of easy.”
Precise, repeatable aerobic development.
Because the aerobic engine is trainable.
Mitochondrial density increases.
Capillary networks expand.
Fat oxidation improves.
And when this engine grows, everything becomes easier.
Pillar Two: Build the Muscular System to Resist Fatigue
Here’s where Up N Adam truly mirrors Johnston’s thinking.
In long trail races, athletes rarely stop because their heart gives up.
They slow down because their legs do.
The limiter in mountain ultras is often local muscular fatigue — quads, calves, hips losing force production after hours of climbing and descending.
That’s why Adam’s programming is not “optional strength work.”
It’s performance training.
Athletic Strength, S&C and Group PT
Our:
Athletic strength sessions
Structured S&C blocks
Group PT strength classes
Downhill durability work
Posterior chain development
Single-leg force production
All serve one purpose:
Improve fatigue resistance.
We’re not just building stronger muscles.
We’re increasing:
Tissue resilience
Eccentric control (hello downhills)
Tendon stiffness
Neuromuscular efficiency
Recruitment capacity late in races
This is the chassis that holds the engine.
Without it, even a big aerobic base collapses under load.
The Marriage of Engine + Chassis
Here’s the real magic.
When you combine:
A well-developed LT1 and aerobic base
Structured Zone 2 volume
Lab-guided programming
Strength and muscular endurance with appropriate objective testing
Progressive overload
Intelligent recovery
You create something far more powerful than fitness.
You create robustness.
And robustness leads to:
Fewer niggles
Greater training consistency
Higher confidence on race day
Faster recovery between events
Long-term development instead of burnout
The Ultimate Goal: Fulfilment
Let’s zoom out again.
The purpose of all this isn’t just podiums.
It’s satisfaction.
It’s standing on a ridgeline 60km into a race and thinking: “I feel strong.”
It’s descending technical terrain with control instead of fear.
It’s finishing a 100km event knowing your body handled it.
There is nothing more fulfilling than having a vehicle — your body — that:
Withstands the demands of trail running
Adapts and improves year after year
Grows stronger through stress
Allows your mind to ENJOY the experience
Because when the engine is efficient and the chassis is resilient, your mind is free.
Free to look up.
Free to take in the mountains.
Free to compete.
Free to enjoy.
The Up N Adam Way
At Up N Adam, we don’t separate physiology from strength.
We integrate:
Lucas’ data-driven aerobic profiling
Adam’s fatigue-resistant strength systems
Intelligent programming
Community-based training
The outcome?
A robust, resilient trail runner capable of competing successfully in long events — not once, but repeatedly.
Not just surviving.
Thriving.
Because trail running should challenge you.
But it should also fill your cup.
And when your engine and chassis are aligned, that’s exactly what it does.
__________________________
This is APA Sports Physiotherapist, Darren Glendenning, Aerobic Ceiling & VO2 Tester / Coach, Lucas McBeath & Performance Trainer & Coach Adam Clarke, signing off for now!
You can book an appointment with Darren, Natalia or Newcastle Knights Physiotherapists Katie or Hayd'n at www.upnadamptphysio.com for any run related issues or if you want to become better at what you do.
Bookings also available on our website for the following services at Up N Adam Performance Training & Physiotherapy:
Aerobic Ceiling & VO2 Max testing - to discover more effective ways to train efficiently www.flowitri.com.au
Strength & Conditioning Programs or Coaching - contact us or book via the website or email us at upnadamptphysio@gmail.com
Remedial Massage - to relieve accumulative muscle tension & keep you training well.
CycleFit by Physiotherapist Dean Waterman - At Up N Adam, for all your bike fitting solutions www.cyclefitphysio.com
Dietitian - Sweat testing, weight-loss or to optimise your training nutrition / fuelling www.nutrientnation.com.au
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