Cross-country skiing is among the most physically demanding winter activities. Long hours on the trails can leave your legs tired, your energy depleted, and your body in need of proper recovery. It’s true: the sport is known for its peaceful surroundings and endurance benefits. However, recovery is just as essential as performance itself. Get the right post-ski routine in place, and you can restore energy levels to prepare for another day outdoors. This...
This article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers. If you value coverage like this, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription. A Different Equation Masters’ athletes are often told to “train smarter, not harder,” or the current version: “Go easy on the endurance sessions so you can go hard on the intense sessions.” Those phrases get repeated so often they’ve lost context and meaning. But there is a real physiological reason...
This article was made possible through the generous support of our voluntary subscribers. If you would like to see more articles like this one, please support FasterSkier with a voluntary subscription. Over the past three decades of coaching—monitoring dozens of athletes and using tools like Firstbeat analytics to track training load and recovery—I’ve developed my training theory that I call “continual improvement.” Some exercise physiologists, sport scientists, and coaches question whether this is even possible. Others...
As endurance athletes, and especially as cross country skiers, we like to suffer. We enjoy a sport that takes place in the coldest months of the year and requires both strength and endurance to climb big hills and descend on skinny skis with no edges. We like to breathe hard. Most of us are in it for the suffering and the healthy dose of chemicals that our bodies release when the heart rate goes up...
My relationship with yoga is very one-sided. Though I do not consider it in any way lesser, I ignore it most of the year when considering my options for exercise, choosing primarily running or skiing instead. Then something crops up. A switch from skiing back to running in the spring makes my hips and IT bands cranky, causing pain in my knee. A couple ankle rolls on a trail run fire up my peroneal tendon....
If you’ve ever set a lofty athletic goal, one that required full commitment, going all in and pulling out all of the stops to optimize your training, you may have searched for strategies to similarly optimize your recovery between sessions, getting you back on the ski trails feeling strong as quickly as possible. In this process, you may have found yourself perusing a seemingly endless array of devices, foods, and drinks, each promising to improve...
Kate Oldham is a U18 athlete from Carbondale, CO who skis for the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club. After strong results at US Nationals, Kate was selected as one of the six female U18 skiers to travel to Otepää, Estonia from January 20th – 30th to race in the Nations’ Cup races, where she competed in a field of about 40 junior athletes from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Estonia. Kate finished 24th in the...
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...
Heart rate monitors, activity trackers, smart watches -- there is a lot of technology out there at your disposal. But what can competitive athletes use to track both physiological stresses of training and activities of daily living? You've probably heard of Firstbeat; here's a comprehensive look at the system and software.
Colds and flu are an inevitable part of winter. Athletes who limit their exposure, get vaccinated for seasonal flu and follow a physician-approved return to training plan can protect themselves from the dangerous consequences of getting sick and maximize their time out on the snow.
For this week's Wednesday Workout we revisit an important activity that improves strength, flexibility, and recovery: Yoga. Former Canadian National Junior Development Team skier Frédérique Vézina takes us through her routine.
Noah Hoffman was down after breaking his fibula in November, but he certainly wasn't out. He now returns to the world stage to complete in the upcoming Wold Championships in Falun, Sweden. However, the Colorado native is just as "curious as everyone else" to see how he measures up to the rest of the competition.
BSF skier Jennie Bender answers common questions about recovery: "How do you know when to listen to fatigue, and when to slap it in the face?" she writes. "If you take a rest week from training, how should you feel? What does a rest week mean?"
In theater, "break a leg" is an ironic idiom used to wish good luck. While the nordic ski community has yet to adopt a similar saying, "break an elbow" might become the new well-wishing vernacular after Sophie Caldwell's second fracture in six months.
One More Day! Do you have an amazing pre or post-workout food? With a quick submission you can win the respect of the ski community in addition to some Rottefella swag! Submit a recipe and photo of your favorite training food by THIS Friday for your chance to win Rottefella bindings and more!
As nordic skiers we are extremely ambitious, especially when it comes to our training plans. While there's nothing wrong with aiming for many hours filled with intensity and distance during our volume weeks, it's important to remember to be just as enthused with our recovery weeks.
This week, Canadian National Senior Development Team skier Frédérique Vézina, who trains with the Pierre-Harvey Training Centre in Quebec, writes about her favourite recovery activity – yoga — and explains how it can be cross-country skiing specific.
Wednesday Workout fans, you're in luck! The following article complements Bill Pierce's recommendations for stretching, agility and self-massage. Not exactly sure how to use a foam roller? Stuart Kremzner, exercise physiologist, owner of E3 Sports Performance, nordic skier and coach, explains.
In this edition of the Wednesday Workout, we talk about tapering and present some conventional wisdom along with endurance-specific tips. Zach Caldwell explains what some of his professional skiers do to rest up for a big event, and explains why there's no sure-fire method of peaking.
The symptoms started at a July training camp with Central Cross Country (CXC) in northern Wisconsin. The runner-up from last year’s SuperTour series, Jennie Bender, 24, wasn’t feeling well. For two to three days at a time, she’d experience bouts of nausea. Then her neck felt sore, along with her jaw and teeth. One night, she tossed and turned with cold chills, and feared that she’d wake up a leper. The next day, she pushed...