Mountaineering Physical Training Programs

Dr. Bradford Thomas

During your Free – 15-minute consultation, receive initial guidance to help decide which program is best suited for your needs. If you want more in-depth advice and access to Dr. Brad’s knowledge, then you can opt for the hour-long consultation.

Free 15-Minute Consult

Living in Motion Text

Welcome to Living in Motion, where we aim to inspire interaction with the world by creating a broad understanding and application of human movement.

My name is Dr. Bradford Thomas, I am a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Human Biomechanics Specialist (HBS2), and Lead Guide for SWS Mountain Guides.

As a PT, I love working with clients who are inspired to optimize their physical selves to experience the world in all its grandeur. Helping people overcome injuries and pain is inspiring, but it was missing a crucial piece- helping them use their new physical capabilities.

SWS Mountain Guides

I have been climbing for 10+ years in all disciplines, from sport climbing the sandstone cliffs of Kentucky to alpine shenanigans in the Sierra or Mountaineering the Tibetan foothills of western China. In 2022, I joined SWS mountain guides to turn this decade-long passion into a profession where I get to inspire and create experiences for people in this incredible place we call the outdoors.

In working with clients as a professional guide, I realize there is a bit of disparity between modern fitness culture and the rigors of playing in the mountains.

Fundamental Mountaineering Training Program

$150 / 10 Week Program

Welcome to the guide-tested, guide-proven training program for successfully and safely completing your mountaineering goal. This program offers a general guideline to weekly workouts, skills practice, and training objectives to better prepare you for the rigors of mountaineering.

Contact: drbradford@swsmtns.com

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Premium Mountaineering Program

$300 / month
This program expands on the Fundamental Mountaineering Program offering consulting on specific workouts and training schedules to take out the guesswork. This tier also includes 1 monthly video consult to check in with your training and ensure information is being conveyed and utilized appropriately for your individual needs.
Contact: drbradford@swsmtns.com

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Custom Mountaineering Program

$400 / month

Let’s face it. The cookie-cutter approach will get you so far, but grandma’s homemade scratch cookies are always better. Enter the custom mountaineering program. Tailored content specifically for you and your training needs to ensure the best possible outcome from the best possible product. Additionally, this comes with training objectives tailored to your specific area, a 1-hour live video training consultation with Dr. Thomas, and a monthly video consult to ensure you are on track to meet your climbing goals. Let’s go! Contact: drbradford@swsmtns.com

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Mountaineering Training Programs

Dr. Bradford Thomas – (DPT)

What on earth should I do to train?! Is my weekly spin class good training? I bench 200# so I should be fine to climb, right? If I train for a marathon, does that also help me train for climbing? I’m so confused!

I get it. The reality is that training and physical preparedness is highly specific. General physical preparedness, or GPP, while not going to hurt you, isn’t necessarily going to help you carry a heavy backpack up a hill. This falls into what we refer to as the SAID principle; Specific Adaptations to Imposed Demands. Put simply; we adapt to what we do! We all know this; practice makes perfect, right?

When you go to your fitness class and progress from 10 push-ups to 20, you have adapted to those demands, but that doesn’t necessarily help your running. Put another way, you won’t practice guitar to improve at the piano, although the music is still the same. This is why I prefer to look at any “training” as a practice to maximize our body’s response to the SAID principle (for you nerds out there, this is expressed as Wolff’s law physiologically).

That is exactly what we are aiming to dowith our Mountaineering Training Programs. Each tier offers training plans designed, specifically, to prepare your body to meet the rigors of mountain climbing inwhatever capacity your personal goals demand.

What does Living in Motion offer that other programs do not? My career as a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Mountaineering Guide has exposed me to both sides of the coin; I can see the forest AND the trees. I understand what training for mountain sports takes, the injuries, aches, and pains that are likely to occur, and EXACTLY how to mitigate them. I understand physiological barriers, movement challenges, and even clinical pathologies that serve as barriers to these sports and EXACTLY how to manage them to ensure success. I am confident that I have the skills and expertise to offer a training plan and coaching like no other.

Cheers,

Brad