For this week’s Wednesday Workout (WW), FasterSkier is featuring Knute Johnsgaard, a native of Canada’s Yukon Territory. A 2018 Olympic cross-country skier and former Canadian World Cup Team member, Johnsgaard, 25,
HomeCategory
Training
There is really only one way to become a faster skier. Train. We will keep you inspired with training reports from the best around, as well as articles on specific workouts and suggestions on how to improve your own training. Use the links below to view articles in a specific sub-category, or srcoll down to view all Training articles.
The U.S. Ski Team (USST) wrapped up its latest spring training camp in Bend, Oregon, on June 1. One of the primary aspects of the
Wednesday Workout: Elghuffs with Britain’s Nichole Bathe and Annika Taylor
Gabby NaranjaMay 30, 2018
This week FasterSkier presents a workout from British national ski team members Nichole Bathe and Annika Taylor. Last season, both Bathe and Taylor competed overseas on Great Britain’s national nordic team. They were interviewed on the phone last fall and email this spring. *** May. For some, it’s a month marked by caps and gowns and new beginnings. Last year, May was a month in question for Nichole Bathe. The Madison, Wisconsin, native had just...
Wednesday Workout: Killer Ski-Specific Strength with the HardCore Training Center
FasterSkierMay 23, 2018
This week’s workout comes from Bill Nurge, head coach and owner of the Click on this link for more information. *** You can blame Matt Liebsch for this workout … and for making me a better skier! Last August, my wife and I joined Coach Matt, and 25 other nordic tribe-mates, on the Haig Glacier for what turned out to be a bucket-list topper in every regard. One of the biggest takeaways from skating a dozen...
VERNON, British Columbia — Each year, the Sovereign Lake Nordic Centre reopens its trails in May to let skiers start the new training season on snow at its annual Spring Fling Ski Camp. In addition to the local skiers, groups came from Whitehorse, Canmore, Saskatchewan, and Methow Valley to absorb some Vitamin D and snow. The longest travel award goes to Mark who travelled from Atlanta, Georgia, for a long weekend on snow. The trails were...
When retiring from NoCo this spring, FasterSkier reached out to the veteran for a tried-and-true workout. Fletcher’s response was simple. For him, nothing beats a “good-old-fashioned hill climb.” The experienced skier’s most savvy advice? Take the gondola back down. “Downhills can be pretty abusive on the knees and your back,” Fletcher explained on the phone. “[This workout] is super-easy way to get long hours in or a good intensity session in, without putting a huge...
While we covered
It’s May 2 and the overall NorAm leader heading into the 2018/2019 race season, myriad of injuries. Despite a late start, she finished last winter as the first Canadian woman in the overall NorAm standings, earning World Cup starts in November and December later this year. So what’s one of the workouts she’s looking forward to this spring? That would be Rocky Mountain Racers’ “most tried and true workout”, which can be done skiing, rollerskiing,...
This article has been updated with additional information on pro skiers who volunteered with Skiku, and additional pictures from Montana and New York. * * * It’s the last week of April. Skier New Year, May 1, looms next Tuesday. It’s roughly six months till So, caveat lector: Just because your favorite skier has been taking a well-deserved break from finding and curating Instagram-worthy content for your enjoyment, this doesn’t mean that they’ve been sitting on their...
Closing the Gap: Competition Instincts
FasterSkierApril 24, 2018
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: 2, 4, 6, 8, and
Wednesday Workout: Kris Freeman on Prepping for Tuckerman Inferno Run-Bike Transition
Jason AlbertApril 11, 2018
Four-time Olympian Kris Freeman may be settling into post-elite-level nordic ski racing by broadening his training opportunities. The 37-year-old New Hampshire native is slated to enter a grueling multi-sport race this Saturday that will certainly test his end-of-season nordic fitness. Here’s a detailed glimpse of Freeman’s workout — as he explained it in an email — to soften the blow to the legs when transitioning from the run portion to the bike. “I plan to...
With ski season winding down, you may be one of the lucky ones hitting the road for some quality family/friend/significant-other time. Here’s a one-hour workout you can squeeze in on-the-go, which we received from Alaska Pacific University (APU) skier Reese Hanneman back in 2013. Hanneman, now 28, and his brother Logan, 24, raced at their first Olympics this past winter in PyeongChang, South Korea.
With an incredibly elaborate hoax from the Chinese now in full swing, winter athletes from all over the world continue to struggle with our planet’s changing climate. Snow sports have been particularly hard hit, as rising temperatures and increasingly erratic weather patterns have resulted in less predictable snowfall, mid-winter rain storms, rapidly abating trail conditions, and thusly greatly shortened training and racing seasons. This fallout from these changing climactic conditions is far-reaching and appears to...
The following was written by Katie Miller, a former University of New Hampshire (UNH) ski racer who recently completed her first American Birkebeiner and 50-kilometer ski marathon, after registering for the race last year. That race was canceled due to low snow, but Miller returned for
Why Skiing (and Am I in the Right Birkie Wave?): Part III
FasterSkierFebruary 23, 2018
In March of 2016, we published an article penned by Scott “Bjorn” Cummings, a Postbaccalaureate student working towards his Academic Behavorial Strategist K-12 (ABS) Special Education License at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD), titled “Part II” update in September. Here’s his latest Birkie leadup piece. *** The annual benchmark nordic ski race is here. The American Birkebeiner in Hayward, Wisconsin, for nordic skiers is like the Hajj in Mecca for Muslims. Everyone who is physically and...
BiathlonBiathlon CanadaCanadian National Ski TeamGeneralLifestyleOlympicsRacingResourcesUS BiathlonUS Ski Team
FasterSkier’s Unofficial Guide to 2018 Olympic Cross-Country and Biathlon Suits
Jason AlbertFebruary 16, 2018
FasterSkier would like to thank Fischer Sport USA, Concept2, Olympic cross-country and biathlon cheat sheet, and not long after, we received a comment from a reader asking for a uniform cheat sheet. We, too, found ourselves sometimes befuddled. During Saturday’s skiathlon, this reporter found himself looking for the emblematic stars on the U.S. Ski Team’s new unis. There were stars, think Diggins and Kalla, just no obvious stellar-like branding on the USST suits. So for you and for us,...
Part 1, and here. Does your team already have a climate or climate activism project? Let us know what it is and we can share it with our community! Contact Pete Vordenberg with questions, ideas and to register your team. pvatuphillskier@gmail.com (To subscribe to the Nordic Nation podcast channel, download the iTunes app. If you have iTunes, subscribe to Nordic Nation here.)
Wednesday Workout: Masters Training Trips with Pioneer Midwest’s Brad Johnson
FasterSkierJanuary 17, 2018
This Saturday, Jan. 20, the
Closing the Gap: Head Games
FasterSkierJanuary 16, 2018
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. ...
FasterSkier’s 12 Days of FBD Christmas: Day 12
Jon "Fast Big Dog" SchaferDecember 25, 2017
DDay 2 | Day 4 | Day 6 | 7 | Day 9 | Day 11 *** Day 12: Masters World Cup Total World Domination Package Day Twelve. We made it. Wow. Sure, we lost a few along the way, good men (and women, though most women were likely smart enough to not set foot on this sinking ship in the first place) As a quick aside, I bartended at Smullin’s rehearsal dinner, so I naturally wore a name tag...