Keith Mueller

When it comes to “strength training”, most endurance athletes are lost. Focused almost solely on the development of their aerobic fitness, training often fails to prepare them for the entire demand of their sport. For most, the hours (and hours) of volume spent covering ground make it all too easy to ignore other potentially beneficial training stress via exposure to ranges of motion, contraction types, and levels of neurologic demand that do not at first glance seem sport specific. Yet, there’s a vast landscape of qualities that are relevant, trainable, and in some cases, a critical influence on the health and adaptability of our tissues. More than mere “strength” training, we approach our work as problem-solving. More than simple adherence to a program, this requires trust, communication, reflection, and time. Radical change and resulting performance improvements reflect that successful relationship, not necessarily any training methodology.

ONLINE COACHING

• Custom Programming (Workout Design)

CONTEST PREP

• Peaking programming

PRIVATE SESSIONS

• One-on-one coaching

When it comes to “strength training”, most endurance athletes are lost. Focused almost solely on the development of their aerobic fitness, training often fails to prepare them for the entire demand of their sport. For most, the hours (and hours) of volume spent covering ground make it all too easy to ignore other potentially beneficial training stress via exposure to ranges of motion, contraction types, and levels of neurologic demand that do not at first glance seem sport specific. Yet, there’s a vast landscape of qualities that are relevant, trainable, and in some cases, a critical influence on the health and adaptability of our tissues. More than mere “strength” training, we approach our work as problem-solving. More than simple adherence to a program, this requires trust, communication, reflection, and time. Radical change and resulting performance improvements reflect that successful relationship, not necessarily any training methodology.

ONLINE COACHING

• Custom Programming (Workout Design)

CONTEST PREP

• Peaking programming

PRIVATE SESSIONS

• One-on-one coaching

When it comes to “strength training”, most endurance athletes are lost. Focused almost solely on the development of their aerobic fitness, training often fails to prepare them for the entire demand of their sport. For most, the hours (and hours) of volume spent covering ground make it all too easy to ignore other potentially beneficial training stress via exposure to ranges of motion, contraction types, and levels of neurologic demand that do not at first glance seem sport specific. Yet, there’s a vast landscape of qualities that are relevant, trainable, and in some cases, a critical influence on the health and adaptability of our tissues. More than mere “strength” training, we approach our work as problem-solving. More than simple adherence to a program, this requires trust, communication, reflection, and time. Radical change and resulting performance improvements reflect that successful relationship, not necessarily any training methodology.

ONLINE COACHING

• Custom Programming (Workout Design)

CONTEST PREP

• Peaking programming

PRIVATE SESSIONS

• One-on-one coaching

When it comes to “strength training”, most endurance athletes are lost. Focused almost solely on the development of their aerobic fitness, training often fails to prepare them for the entire demand of their sport. For most, the hours (and hours) of volume spent covering ground make it all too easy to ignore other potentially beneficial training stress via exposure to ranges of motion, contraction types, and levels of neurologic demand that do not at first glance seem sport specific. Yet, there’s a vast landscape of qualities that are relevant, trainable, and in some cases, a critical influence on the health and adaptability of our tissues. More than mere “strength” training, we approach our work as problem-solving. More than simple adherence to a program, this requires trust, communication, reflection, and time. Radical change and resulting performance improvements reflect that successful relationship, not necessarily any training methodology.

ONLINE COACHING

• Custom Programming (Workout Design)

CONTEST PREP

• Peaking programming

PRIVATE SESSIONS

• One-on-one coaching

I’m a Working Class Coach.
An Ohio native, and the son of a teacher.
I have no pedigree or resume as a competitive athlete. Yet, I’ve learned how to be a person through covering ground on foot or two wheels, tinkering in the gym, and being coached by people who paid attention and told me the truth.
After an undergraduate degree, I’ve eschewed classic education and broad-but-shallow certifications in favor of the experience and ideas my internal compass points me towards. As a young coach I served group class moms, assisted a 5x state champion cross country team, built long-term personal training relationships, advised weekend warrior runners, and supported those in pain who were trying to reclaim their physicality. When I discovered someone I could learn from, I’ve hired them, traveled to them, or consumed every piece of published writing I could.
In 2021 my wife and I relocated to Boulder, CO. A point on the map that’s drawn endurance athletes for decades. Higher Ground Athletics is an idea that I can’t escape; That training for endurance sport has yet to fully arrive at a holistic understanding that will result in the shortest, straightest path to an athlete’s potential. My work is the pursuit of that idea.

More than mere “strength” training, we approach our work as problem solving. More than simple adherence to a program, this requires trust, communication, reflection, and time. Radical change and resulting performance improvements are a reflection of that successful relationship, not necessarily any training methodology.

In-person training with Higher Ground Athletics is for process-oriented individuals prepared to make the gym an important part of their training rhythm.