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 World’s Great Age Begins Anew: Athletes Mark May 1

If you’re reading this website, you’re probably well aware that the nordic skiing training year begins on May 1. In a sport where most races happen between November and March, and demand of athletes that they repeatedly race to the point of nearly losing consciousness, the preparation for race season had better start a long time before that. As the well-worn, but accurate, saying has it, skiers are made in the summer. tretinoin Embracing the...

Wednesday Workout: Review the Training with Jessica Yeaton

  May 1. Start of a new training cycle for some. In this Wednesday Workout, we checked in with Jessica Yeaton. Yeaton resides in Anchorage, Alaska where she trains with APU and has represented Australia on the World Cup, World Championships, and the Olympics. She earned two U.S. National Championship podiums in Craftsbury, Vermont last season. She placed second in the 10-kilometer classic and third in the 20 k mass start freestyle. A sixth place...

Wednesday Workout: How One Skier Keeps Marathon Race Fit in Portland, Ore.

  This Wednesday Workout comes to us from Harrison Harb; Portland, Oregon denizen.  HH grew up racing bicycles and xc skis in Hopkinton, NH. He graduated from Stratton Mountain School in 07, and UNH in 2011. H has lived in Portland, Ore. since 2014 where he coaches cyclists and skiers while racing for XC Oregon on skis and River City Bicycles/Bike Law on the bike.  *** Portland, Oregon: home of craft beer, mycological diversity, and...

New Program Info for the Alpine Insurance Alberta World Cup Academy

(Press Release) March 20, 2019 – Our Academy programs in Canmore and Calgary are currently accepting applications. We have brought changes to our Program Guidelines for 2019-20, new options are now available, providing financial flexibility.  Program Guidelines Submit your application with the Alpine Insurance Alberta World Cup Academy by April 7, 2019. Apply Here! We welcome questions through 

Wednesday Workout: The Pressure is Off Approach to Your First World Cup

At eighteen-years-old, Gus Schumacher remains composed in what is a pressure cooker of endurance sport. There he was last week on his home tracks of Kincaid Park in Anchorage, AK., claiming four first place medals and providing locals a deep-well of pride. If in fact this young man is stressed before or during a race, it’d be hard to notice. And maybe part of that demeanor has to do with his preparedness. Schumacher is prepared. ...

Wednesday Workout: Guiding Junior Athletes With Adam St. Pierre

This Wednesday Workout includes guidance from Boulder Nordic Junior Race Team (BNJRT) Head Coach Adam St. Pierre. After earning a BS in Physics and Biochemistry while skiing for Colby College in Maine, St Pierre earned a masters in Kinesiology and Exercise Science at the University of New Hampshire. While in graduate school, he was the assistant ski coach to Marty Hall at Bowdoin College and has since coached all age groups. His primary role at...

Wednesday Workout: Cold Weather Resource for Insiders and Outsiders

If you find yourself this morning in a part of the world where it’s truly cold, we feel for you. If you get outside and ski today, say in the Midwest (we’re thinking of you Duluth), the snow might be sandpaper slow, but the upside, there will be no snow melt. The trail conditions will hold until the next banana belt puff of air blows through. Here at FasterSkier, we scanned the archives to bring...

  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...

Wednesday Workout: Exploring Macro and Micro Terrain with Bernie Nelson

This Wednesday Workout comes from a true cross-country coaching whisperer: Bernie Nelson. First off, if you aren’t familiar with Bernie — she’s not a dude as the name might suggest. It’s Bernadette, but its Bernie on the name tag. Nelson grew up in Truckee, California as a cross-country ski racer and you’d have to ask her yourself, but she came into her own mentoring aspiring skiers. An informal or formal on-snow technique session with Nelson...

First Tracks as a New Parent: Kikkan Randall [Part 1]

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...

Wednesday Workout: What’s the Prescription for “Flooding” Legs?

2014 is when a relatively green Patrick O’Brien took charge of the Stratton Mountain School’s elite team, otherwise known as SMS T2. In a relatively short time, by way of juggling athletes, wax-teching, training plan writing, and life-living O’Brien has become a problem-solving resource. Jack of many trades, and very much an emerging master of elite level coaching, FasterSkier tossed a general question out to O’Brien for our Wednesday Workout series: what are some workouts...

Wednesday Workout: A Flashback to 2016 and Midweek Race Prep with the U.S. Ski Team

We hear a lot about the details of a cross-country ski racer’s day on race day, but what about those four or five days in between? What do World Cup racers do then, in the middle of the week? FasterSkier Norwegian contributor Aleks Tangen ventured to Lillehammer back in late November 2016 to find out.  *** LILLEHAMMER, Norway — FasterSkier spoke with Bjornsen, Jessie Diggins, Andy Newell and U.S. Ski Team Coach Matt Whitcomb to see how they...

Wednesday Workout: Getting Out With Kids in Tow

This week’s workout comes from contributing reporter Rachel Perkins, a former USCSA National Champion turned dedicated citizen racer and now a new mom to a baby girl born in October. Here Rachel shares tips from her own experience as well as the wisdom of local chariot pulling veterans. This article is an introduction to an upcoming series highlighting the pregnancy and postpartum experiences of skiers including Kikkan Randall, Holly Brooks, and Caitlin Gregg as they...

Wednesday Workout: Core Nordic Exercises with Stuart Kremzner

The following strength and performance tips come from one of our resident experts, Stuart Kremzner, MS, CSCS, FMSII, OS, RN, an exercise physiologist who has coached and raced in nordic skiing for over 20 years. Kremzner has trained/consulted with college athletic programs, elite teams, and athletes with the goal of improving athletic performance and injury prevention. When not working, he is running and skiing on the trails in New Hampshire or writing wax tips for the TOKO...

Wednesday Workout: Simi Hamilton’s 10’000 Foot View of Fun

  This post in our long-running Wednesday Workout series takes the 10,000-foot view — almost literally. The nuts and bolts of it are this: we’re posting Simi Hamilton’s training log from Monday, April, 3oth thru Saturday, June 9th. Hamilton needs no introduction to FasterSkier readers. In any case, here are Hamilton’s basics. Thirty-one-year-old sprint specialist who popped a 12th last season in Seefeld, Austria in a loaded 15-kilometer mass start freestyle. The seventeenth ranked sprinter on...

Wednesday Workout: Beach Skiing with the Bowdoin Nordic Team

The workout this week comes from the head coach of the rising Bowdoin Ski Team, Nate Alsobrook. While it can certainly be beneficial to train at altitude or in the mountains, Alsobrook shows that the unexpected beaches of the Maine Coast can be equally well suited for preparation. This workout highlights looking outside the box to take advantage of the terrain you have access to.  In our program, we are always looking for creative ways...

Back to Basics: How to ‘Reset’ for Nordic Performance

The following strength and performance tips come from one of our resident experts, Stuart Kremzner, MS, CSCS, FMSII, OS, RN, an exercise physiologist who has coached and raced in nordic skiing for over 20 years. Kremzner has trained/consulted with college athletic programs, elite teams, and athletes with the goal of improving athletic performance and injury prevention. When not working, he is running and skiing on the trails in New Hampshire or writing wax tips for the TOKO...

Wednesday Workout: Diversify Your Core Strength Progression from U.S. D-Team Coach Gus Kaeding

  This gem of a Wednesday Workout comes from U.S. Ski Team Development Coach Gus Kaeding. Ready yourself for the complete menu of the U.S. Cross Country Team’s core exercises. This spring, the USST coaches sat down to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our program.  One of the areas we identified for improvement was core strength. We felt there was still a gap to our Scandinavian competitors.  With the help of the USST strength...