Workouts – FasterSkier.com

Smooth Transitions: Moving Wisely From Pavement To Snow

Ned DowlingNovember 15, 2024

Our bodies are very good at adapting to change, as long as it comes slowly enough. That first frosty day in autumn always feels brutally cold. Take the same temperature in March and we’re in shorts and short sleeves. Our response to exercise load is no different. Taken as a slow and progressive build up, our bodies will respond with increased strength and capacity to stay on the right side of the load vs tolerance...

Feature Resources Strength Training Workouts

5 Activation Exercises To Get You Ready for Any Workout

Julia KernOctober 15, 2024

From a young age, my track coach insisted that we did a thorough dynamic warm-up before starting any training session to activate the right muscles and avoid injury. I have my track coach to thank for teaching me this at a young age. Especially as I get older, my daily activation exercises are crucial in keeping injuries at bay and getting my body warmed up before the “warm up”. For me, the challenge is...

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How to Go Easy (and Why): An Introduction to the Polarized Training Model

Ned DowlingJune 27, 2022

I grew up playing soccer. Every practice was hard. “No pain, no gain,” and all of that. By tenth grade, I was burned out and quit. I started rock climbing. Every day at the crag was about pushing your limits. This was before indoor gyms or any concept of training other than doing as many pull ups as possible. I plateaued, got frustrated, and quit. Then I had a go at running. I read some...

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Reaping Mountain Biking Benefits for Cross-Country Ski Training with Jessica Yeaton

Jessica YeatonMay 17, 2022

Cross-country skiers are notorious for training high volumes during the off season in order to be in peak racing form in the winter. There is a common mantra used by coaches to help motivate athletes to train hard even though the racing season is months away: “skiers are made in the summer”. From my experience working with different coaches, the large bulk of the summer’s volume is intended to be on roller skis or foot...

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SkiErg Training: Training Considerations and Technique

Ned DowlingApril 4, 2022

I hate rollerskiing. As much as I try to be a good Nordie, I just can’t get over my fear of hitting the pavement. Between a history of bike racing and the rollerski learning curve, I’ve already lost enough skin. I know it’s good for me and might make me faster on snow, but I’m too old to put up with my heart rate being affected more by fear-induced adrenaline than by quality training. My...

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Prime the Body for Race Day with a Race-Prep Workout from Jessica Yeaton

Jessica YeatonJanuary 25, 2022

All the athletes are all stripped down to their race suits and zooming around the course with laser focus. They are breathing hard; in fact, some of them seem to be skiing at max effort. If it weren’t for the lack of announcements, race bibs, and cheering from the crowd (pre-COVID, of course) you might actually think it’s race day – but it’s not. It’s actually the day before the race, and many of the...

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The Nationally Shared Workout: A Look at the U.S. Pace Project

Pasha KahnJanuary 12, 2022

Last year, in an effort to create a standardized workout that could be easily replicated and repeated, national team coaches presented the concept of the “U.S. Pace Project.” The concept is straightforward: a shift away from time-based intervals to distance-based, centered around repeated laps of a 5-kilometer course. This familiar distance is key. In a call in July, Matt Whitcomb, U.S. Ski Team Head Coach, and one of the creators of the project explained that:...

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Interval Session to Kick Start The Season

Rachel PerkinsDecember 17, 2020

We’ve reached mid-December. With any luck, your local trail system is beginning to fill in, you’ve scraped off your storage wax, and you’ve put in at least a handful of easy days getting reacquainted with your boards. Whether or not you rollerski during the summer, skiing on snow has its own jive and it’s normal to feel a little like Bambi your first few sessions. In my experience as a coach and masters athlete, I...

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Developing Single-Leg Stability for Improved Glide

Rachel PerkinsDecember 11, 2020

If you’ve found your way here, you are likely familiar with the three tenets of cross country skiing: push off, weight transfer, and glide. Whether it’s diagonal stride in the track or V2 on the corduroy, your ability to experience a complete weight transfer, ride a flat ski, and carry momentum is heavily dependent on the stability of your standing leg. Why is developing that balance and stability a challenge? For those who choose...

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DIY Fitness Testing: The How and Why with Pepa Miloucheva

Rachel PerkinsMay 6, 2020

It’s May. Yes, really. For most skiers, the new page on the calendar also marks the beginning of a new training year. Dust off your rollerskis, locate your heart rate strap and drink belt, and make sure your running shoes have plenty of life in them. With the country still predominantly on public health orders to stay close to home, avoid groups, and keep at least six feet of distance from those outside your home,...

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Wednesday Workout: Strong From Home with Carolyn Parker of the Ripple Effect Training Center

Rachel PerkinsApril 29, 2020

Like many mountain towns, Carbondale, Colorado is a magnet for athletes. The definition of that word is used broadly — though there are plenty, it is not just home to the uber endurance junkie. Within 30 miles, you can find world-class rivers for whitewater kayaking or fly fishing, five ski resorts, a variety of rock climbing and bouldering objectives, and miles of single track to be run, hiked, or ridden. With this unbelievable backyard, we...

Strength Training Workouts

Want to Work Out With Johannes Høsflot Klæbo?

Rachel PerkinsMarch 20, 2020

A new reality is setting in. As a nation, we are isolating ourselves at home, minimizing our contact with others to flatten the curve. Depending on your geographical location, you may still have access to scarcely populated nearby ski trails, routes to run, or bike paths to ride while still socially distancing. However, with schools closed, gyms shut down, and the challenges of working remotely, you may be finding that maintaining your usual exercise routine...

Lifestyle Resources Training Workouts

Juggling Work, Life, and Training for the Birkie: A How-To Guide

FasterSkierDecember 5, 2019

At some point in the past seven months you signed up for the American Birkebeiner. Maybe you’ve done it before, maybe you haven’t. Either way, you’re now committed to skiing the American Birkebeiner, excited to experience “Birkie Fever,” whether for the first time or the 20th time. No matter your level of skiing or your goals for the Birkie, tackling a 50-kilometer ski race is no small feat. Realistically, for many people who participate, training...

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Ski Games for Kids of All Ages

Gerry FursethNovember 20, 2019

(If the video doesn’t play in your browser, click here) XC Ski Nation and

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Wednesday Workout: Mitigating Risks in Mountain Running Races with David Norris and Jessica Yeaton

Rachel PerkinsAugust 21, 2019

Before we begin, if you have not heard of the course record holder. In 2016 he bested the time of world renowned mountain athlete Killian Jornet. Norris chose to sit out this year’s event due to the smoke-induced poor air quality. Norris also won the Cirque Series Alyeska race in 2017 and 2019 and took third in between. In 2018, Yeaton won the Cirque Series race and both members of the duo won Mount Marathon —...

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Wednesday Workout: Depletion

Jason AlbertAugust 14, 2019

To be depleted can take on many forms. In endurance sport, depletion often refers to an athlete’s fueling state. Are they stocked up on muscle glycogen, have they properly fueled with a balanced diet of proteins, carbohydrates, and “good” fats or are they trending towards empty? Carbohydrates are the body’s primary fuel source, particularly during exercise, however, fat molecules are a caloric gold mine when it comes to available energy. The caveat is that fat...

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Wednesday Workout: Inside or Out, Improve Your Double Poling

FasterSkierJuly 17, 2019

We are trying to stay slightly ahead of the overuse injury and poor air quality curves. You may be midway through your summer training schedule and dealing with a bum ankle. Or you live in a place like much of the Western U.S. that has been or will be affected by poor air quality due to wildfires. Whatever the causation, skiers can find themselves in make-do mode. If the air quality index (AQI) is high...

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Wednesday Workout: Lizzie Larkins and Ski Tunnel Hot Laps

Jason AlbertJune 12, 2019

In September, I got an email from my high school club coach, Gus Johnson, about an opportunity to go to Östersund, Sweden to start the summer. The camp entailed participating in some research being conducted at the Swedish Winter Sports Research Center of the Mid Sweden University and training with college age skiers in a part of the world that I had never been to. I decided to Öster-send it, and a little more...

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Wednesday Workout: Summer Training for Junior Athletes Competing in Fall Cross Country

Rachel PerkinsMay 22, 2019

This Wednesday Workout comes to us from Matt Boobar who has been coaching the Stratton Mountain School (SMS) nordic team since 2007. In the fall, he also works with the cross country running and mountain bike programs, and leads cycling in the spring. Boobar has a B.S. in exercise science and has earned a USSA Level 200 certification. He has been the head coach of the New England Junior National Team eight times and was...

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

FasterSkierMarch 27, 2019

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...

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