Humans performing one-legged hops uphill; running through the woods carrying “sticksâ€, at levels ranging from conversational pace, to all out, red in the face exertion; braving the pavement on two wheeled skis on a country road… what must the reindeer have thought?
Though at first glance it would appear that the some type of bizarre show had come to the area, the reality was this is how avid Nordic skiers spent one weekend in September… all in the name of making improvements in their sport.
This particular weekend saw a group consisting of master and junior skier’s descend on Lapland Lake XC Ski Resort in Central NY. And yes there really are Reindeer here!
The camp is an annual event run by JLS Sports and supported this year by FSx/ Fischer USA and Salomon Athlete Force.
Campers were treated to a pristine venue, fall weather that was perfect and lots of intensive, hands-on coaching. Lapland Lake provided a unique setting with Finnish Tupa’s to stay in, great ski trails for workouts and mountain biking, the aforementioned reindeer, and a beautiful lake, complete with its own Loon, to cool off in after all of the day’s activity.
Dave Stewart of the newly formed FSx Team led the instruction with help from Zach Violett (FSx), Eli Brown ( Fischer USA) and Janice Sibilia (JLS Sports).
Camp agenda included lectures and workouts devoted to speed, both on foot and roller skis, as well as explosive and specific strength. The importance of training at the proper intensities for each phase of the season was brought home with a specifically designed workout, bringing the athletes through each of the training zones and following up with theory.
Dave and Zach showed the kind of power and speed it takes to be among the top skiers as they demonstrated on roller skis and with spenst exercises.
At the end of the weekend participants left for home tired but happy and with heightened enthusiasm for the upcoming season.
