This article provides an introduction to a series of interviews with professionals in sports nutrition and female physiology. Results from a survey regarding how elite US cross-country skiers and biathletes use insight into their cycles in their own training will also be analyzed and shared. An arguably essential component of developing as an athlete is learning how to listen to the signals one’s body sends. Am I skiing easy enough on my recovery days to...
The video presents several dynamic stretches as you begin to develop your own routine using slower, coordinated movements to move the joint through the desired motion. Striving for flexibility is ingrained from a young age. The sit-and-reach test was a key component of the presidential fitness test which was administered to elementary-aged school children until recently. Middle and high school athletes often go through a routine of static stretches before starting practice. Acro-yoga masters now fill...
What a year. In the spirit of optimism, we want to highlight a few non-profits worthy of your consideration when thinking of buying gifts this holiday season. We know the wonder cross-country skiing provides. Gliding through the woods, no noise, totally connected. Silent sports fuel us. Why not support organizations lifting kids up and sharing the wealth that is skiing. Spirit North: Canada based and supporting Indigenous youth. Founded by Beckie Scott, a former...
Another mask to add to your wardrobe? These masks will not provide protection from Covid-19, however, they may be key to preventing breathing problems into the future for cross-country skiers. Whilst it may not be news to any of the readers here, but cross-country skiing as a winter sport exposes us to some quite extreme conditions both in training and competition. The FIS cut-off of -4°F (-20°C) was primarily established to prevent cold-based injuries...
I’ve struggled with body satisfaction my entire life. I don’t just want to be skinnier, I want to be leaner, more defined, more like an… “athlete”. But last fall, I was hit by a car and I find myself wondering, is the body I have, not the body the insecure part of me craves, responsible for my return to sport? Since I was little, the word “athlete” activated images of beautiful toned-muscled people in my...
You may have noticed that health concerns are on everyone’s mind these days. You may also have noticed that your favorite park/ski trail/hiking trail/bike path is unusually crowded, as a nation of stay-at-home individuals ventures out for fresh air and the undeniable health benefits that physical exercise provides. FasterSkier here compiles some recent popular scholarship on the topics of exercise best practices in the time of coronavirus. FasterSkier explicitly does not give its imprimatur to any...
This book is for female athletes ages 12 to 92. Or for parents of female athletes. Or coaches of female athletes. Or anyone who wishes to otherwise support female athletes. In 2016, Stacy Sims, Ph.D sparked a shift in training philosophy with her simple message to female athletes: “You are not a small man. Stop eating and training like one.” Although the fact that there are physiological differences between men and women are abundantly clear,...
Looking for a fall meal that is both comforting and deeply nourishing? Steamboat Springs, CO based Registered Dietician Nutritionist Cara Marrs shares a mouth-watering anti-inflammatory recipe that we can attest fits the bill. Marrs supports clients through her practice in person and online, and has worked with local Winter Olympians as well as recreational, junior, and collegiate xc skiers on their daily and performance nutrition needs. Outside of nutrition counseling, Marrs is an avid trail...
Do you know what a Growth Mindset is? How would you rate your growth mindset? Do you use it in all the areas in which you’re trying to grow? The more I coach, the more I think that a lot of our problems as athletes and humans begins with how much we believe we can change, and whether or not we believe we have power over those changes. The belief that you can change is...
Here we are in late August, halfway between the start of the training year in early May and the beginning of the competition season in late November. Volume is the name of the game during the summer and at this time of year, it is not uncommon for top athletes to train 20 to 30 hours per week. Typically, the training logs prescribe athletes to head out on long runs, rides, and rollerskis at a...
Whether they are traveling through Europe to compete on the World Cup or racing recreationally in local events, skiers are met with the challenge of surviving a race season that takes place during the cold and flu ridden winter months. Registered sports dietitian Kylee Van Horn of FlyNutrition, LLC shares suggestions on how to stay healthy as race day approaches. The scenario is all too familiar. You’ve managed to stay healthy while logging countless kilometers...
The “First Tracks” series highlights the pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting experiences of noteworthy athletes in cross-country skiing in various stages of their professional careers. The sharing of these experiences can benefit athletes in any stage of their career, whether they are an elite or recreational skier, by demonstrating that it is very possible to return to skiing, competition, and an active lifestyle with a growing family. The series will include the physical challenges of...
![First Tracks as a New Parent: Kikkan Randall [Part 1]](https://fasterskier.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2019/01/Kikkan-Pregnant-Birkie-Start.png)
The “First Tracks” series highlights the pregnancy, postpartum, and parenting experiences of noteworthy athletes in cross-country skiing in various stages of their professional careers. The sharing of these experiences can benefit athletes in any stage of their career, whether they are an elite or recreational skier, by demonstrating that it is very possible to return to skiing, competition, and an active lifestyle with a growing family. The series will include the physical challenges of being...
As FasterSkier staff stroll into an upcoming weekend with no cross-country World Cups, it’s time to scramble and score some holiday gifts for friends and loved ones. Christmas is around the corner. It’s never too late for Hanukkah (Hanukkah ended on December 10). In this third book idea for the gift-giving season, Harald Zimmer, German-based FS contributor, highlights Andre Agassi’s gem. *** 2018 Gift Guide – Open: An Autobiography The autobiography of a star tennis...
As FasterSkier staff stroll into an upcoming weekend with no cross-country World Cups, it’s time to scramble and score some holiday gifts for friends and loved ones. Christmas is around the corner. It’s never too late for Hanukkah (Hanukkah ended on December 10). In this first gift idea for the season, Anchorage, Alaska’s supple leopard Gavin Kentch brings limberness to our lives. *** 2018 gift guide – Supple Leopard What’s one book that Crossfit...
Day by day. That’s how Kikkan Randall is approaching her battle with breast cancer after being diagnosed about three months ago. Now more than 50 days into her treatment — with six rounds of chemotherapy over an 18-week span — Randall, 35, is becoming more familiar with the ugly side effects and adjusting to her new normal. While beating what is believed to be announcing her diagnosis on social media, Randall has been promoting AKTIV...
The following Wednesday Workout comes from Dr. Zuzana Rogers, PT, ScD, SCS, COMT, of Anchorage, Alaska. Rogers has been the go-to physical therapist for the U.S. Cross Country Ski Team since 2013 and Alaska Pacific University (APU) Nordic team since 2011. *** You are probably training hard…but is your recovery optimal? As you transition from summer to fall training and the intensity increases, you may start noticing certain tweaks that are happening to your body...
Jessie Diggins is having a big month. Nominated for an ESPY Award (along with Kikkan Randall for “Best Male and Female Athlete With A Disability”), Diggins recently posed ESPN The Magazine’s annual “The Body Issue”, which features various famous athletes sans clothes. In a “The Body Issue 2018” came out, Diggins, 26, explained her reasons for agreeing to the “tastefully nude shoot that shows off athlete’s muscles”. The post, titled “Body Issue(s)” (which she called...
Editor’s Note: The following is part of a series proposed by Maks Zechel, a 20-year-old Canadian cross-country skier embarking on his first season training abroad. In August, he made the big move to Norway, where he’ll be training and racing with Team Asker for the entire winter. Through these updates, Maks hopes to share his personal “observations, stories and lessons learned” to help close the gap between North American and Scandinavian nordic skiing. Previous posts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. ...
Coming off ajetted to a victory in the first SuperTour race of 2017/2018 — the freestyle sprint in West Yellowstone, Montana. “I haven’t straight out won a highly competitive race in two years, so winning on my arch nemesis course of West Yellowstone was huge,” Hart, 25, wrote in an email last week about her Dec. 2 sprint win. “I know that the period one altitude is not my best friend, and am really working...