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<font size=1 face=verdana> Chris Cook on the rivet as the treadmill incline keeps increasing one degree a minute during the Vo2 Max testing.</font></center><br />
With the national men’s sprinters headed to New Zealand and the Continental Cuppers converging in Sun Valley next week, the U.S. Ski Team finished a three day physiology testing camp in Park City Friday.</p>
<p>“Every coach has their own goals for this time of year,†said Randy Hill, U.S. Ski Team Physiologist. “Some athletes, it’s been about really nailing down their base, putting the emphasis on volume. This training increases blood volume, heart size, mitochondria, the kinds of things that influence threshold and economy. Others have been working more on building capacity with more intense efforts. </p>
<p>“The testing is only as good as the planning that goes into it. To test just to test is senseless. To see what the training has done for an athlete’s physiology, an athlete needs to test, go through a training period (i.e. a volume block) then follow this with testing. Afterwards you see what training has done for an athlete’s physiology. Without an objective, testing is a waste of time.†</p>
<p>The battery of tests the national team underwent included Lactate and Vo2Max treadmill tests, lower body force and power tests using force plate technology, along with two double pole tests — one a 30 second effort, the other a 4 minute test. The team also underwent physicals and a fasted blood draw.</p>
<p>“For me, the double pole efforts tell me more than the Vo2 test,†said Mr. Hill. Vo2 max is an absolute necessity to get into the club of international skiing. These guys got that card. They’re in the club. Vo2, once you’re at the top level, though, is not that great a predictor of performance. Other indicators like threshold values, or the muscular efficiency to sustain a higher percentage of max heart rate in a race.</p>
<p>“At the end of the day though, cross-country skiing is a full body sport. While the upper body makes up about 30% of the power expenditure of skiing, it translates into 70% of a skier’s propulsion. In other words, upper body power is critical.â€</p>
<p>Chris Cook during the four minute double pole test – measuring average watts and meters traveled:</p>
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