USSA Releases Coaches Conference Material
FasterSkierNovember 3, 2009
USSA has posted PDFs from this fall’s Coaches Education Conference.
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This 3-DVD set is a cross country ski-specific presentation from experts in the field. You’re going to hear from Sweden’s cross country physiologist H.C. Holmberg, USST’s sport psychologist Dr. Jon Hammermeister, Pete Vordenberg – USST Head Coach, and Justin Wadsworth – USST coach as well as ex-coach of Olympic Medalist Beckie Scott. Stratton Mountain School Coach Sverre Caldwell speaks on developing young skiers and the U.S Development System. Other topics include Ski Service by USST’s...
As the years roll by, you hone your skills in maximizing your workouts and can thoroughly break down your body. But as a result the recovery is also becoming harder to deal with. Maybe you're pushing 16 hours, or 20 hours, or maybe even 30 hours. You aren't sleeping as well after the harder days, and your part-time job is becoming a chore.
Strength is something that every competitive racer needs in order to be successful. Whether it is raw power and fast twitch muscles to help with a sprint, or the kind of strength it takes to grind out a hilly 20 kilometer course. Whether it’s one or the other, one thing is for certain, it all begins in the off season. There is more than one way to go about strength training. One of the more...
It’s the end of summer and you’re sweating in the 90 degree heat as you pound the pavement with your poles and glide smoothly over the road while your heart beats like a well oiled machine at 180 beats a minute and your whole body screams as it tries to clear lactic acid as quickly as possible. This is level 4 training or race pace training. This training isn’t something that needs to be done...
Believe it or not, there are people out there are just starting to get into athletics for the first time in their lives. Some of them still find ski equipment intimidating, and fields of snow cold and loney. They stand by bewildered and call us "schralpers," "nodiks," and "stick twitchers." They don't get the inside jokes on johnnyklister.com and think Team Today has something to do with Lymphoma and purple t-shirts.
Stratton Training Group Storms into August
FasterSkierAugust 2, 2009
The SMS training group finished the first half of their summer training with a great weekend of training. The group is progressing nicely and building an excellent endurance base that will help them be successful in the years to come. The group of 18 regulars plus 8-10 who come for special workouts and the bi-weekly mini camps has been focusing on aerobic fitness and specific strength. The big hours don’t always lead to short term...
Every spring, after all the snow has melted and the skis have been put away, each skier must answer the same daunting question: When to start roller skiing and how to go about it for the year? One of the biggest issues with roller skis for most skiers and especially people that are new to the sport is finding the right roller ski to use. For many people this issue is easily solved, as they...
The cycling king believes that active endurance racers go way too fast during OD sessions.
Today FasterSkier launched a new blog featuring training tips from high-level coaches around the country. Check it out at info@fasterskier.com. To start out, we’re offering three sets of tips from some college coaches. First, Middlebury College’s Andrew Gardner writes about setting goals for summer training. http://blogs.fasterskier.com/trainingtips/2009/07/16/eli-browns-tips-for-rollerski-safety/#more-19 And Tracey Cote, Colby College’s head coach, offers some general strategies to make summer training more effective and enjoyable.
Junior coaches may shy away from sprint and speed training for fear of pigeonholing their skiers or limiting their aerobic development. But many of the country’s top sprint coaches and athletes say that these kinds of training can be useful for budding distance skiers as well. In an interview with FasterSkier, U.S. Ski Team Sprint Coach Chris Grover outlined three areas where juniors or young skiers could benefit from sprint-style training without detracting from their...
The New York Times health blog “Well” recently posted a piece on core strength, and the potential risks to the back. Many standard core practices are called into question, and Stuart McGill, a highly regarded professor of spine biomechanics at the University of Waterloo in Canada and a back-pain clinician, provides some sample exercises that are “back-friendly.”
Josh Billings RunAground Triathlon
FasterSkierJune 24, 2009
Reporting Times & Places Bicyclists Price Chopper Plaza, Route 7 – Great Barrington, MA, 8:30 a.m. Canoeists/Kayakers Stockbridge Bowl, Boat Ramp, Rte 183, Stockbridge, MA, 9:30 a.m. Runners Camp Mah-Kee-Nac, Hawthorne Rd. Entrance, Stockbridge, MA, 10:30 a.m.
CXC Academy Training Period Two Released
FasterSkierMay 27, 2009
Training Period 2 (May 25 – June 21) NEW IN THE PERIOD: In Training Plans: – Period 2 is similar to period 1. We increased distance training and added a level 4 effort approximately every week instead of every other week as in period 1. In Video Extras: – Dryland Drills – bungee work (Single Stick and Double Pole); – Dryland Drills – classic kick; – Over Distance – intensity levels; – Cycling Series |...
Counting Your Hours
Topher SabotApril 13, 2009
Part of the review process of the 2008-2009 season is totaling hours. Did you hit your target? What type of change should you plan for next year? Kate Whitcomb recently posted an interesting piece on her blog titled “Read Kate’s blog post. A few things to watch out for: – Don’t fall into the trap of hours for hours sake. You aren’t training to have an impressive training volume at the end of the season. ...
Justin Freeman is a US Olympian in cross-country skiing. He races for the Saab Salomon Factory Team – http://www.skipost.com Level four, roughly speaking, is race pace. And so for those of us who like to race, it is an easy level to train in. The goal of level four training is straightforward: by skiing at the same pace and effort you race at, you get better at racing. The downside to level four training is...
Justin Freeman is a US Olympian in cross-country skiing. He races for the Saab Salomon Factory Team – http://www.skipost.com Level five, which I wrote about in my last article, is about improving race performance by working at a higher pace. Level three, which improves racing by working at a lower pace, is the natural complement to this training. Physiologically, the major goal of level three training is to improve lactate threshold. Your lactate threshold is...
Chad Giese is a member of the Saab Salomon Factory Team. He has raced on the World Cup, is a National Champion and a six-time winner of the Mora Vassalopet. This article first appeared in SkiPost – http://www.enjoywinter.com While being a professional skier for close to 10 years I have had plenty of opportunities to learn what training my body needs to be fit. Over the years I tried new things, went back to the...