Poked, pushed, measured and evaluated. That's been the name of the game for the USST's World Cup and Continental Cup members for the last week in Utah. The USST coaching staff has put a greater importance on sport science to better understand the capacities and liabilities of America's top skiers. The tests measured endurance, power, strength, speed and coordination. Seeing how these factors change during the preparation period (with testing three more times through summer and fall) look to give athletes and coaches tangible data to see where and why USST team members improve their cross country ski skill sets.
Monday:
Fatigue Profile: A fasted Blood Draw that measured white blood cell counts, hemoglobin, hematocrit, ferritin, glucose and Testosterone and Cortisol levels (T: CT ratio). By monitoring these values, one can see notice and act on a trend like declining ferritin before anemia sets in.
Velocity Testing. Using timing lights, sport science can see how fast an athlete accelerates, when they hit peak velocity, and how well they maintain their velocity. Timing lights recorded times to the hundredth. Skiers raced around the outside of the Kearns Olympic Ice Oval on a mondo track surface where wind, surface condition and temperature are all stable variables.
www.icicleinn.com )BioSports NorthWest Physical Therapy ( www.biosports.net )
