1. KNOW YOUR THRESHOLD
Skiing at a fast pace causes your muscles to produce lactate
acid. As this acid builds up in the muscles, fatigue occurs as the muscles
ability to contract is impaired. Luckily, muscles are able to ‘clear’
or remove lactate while you are producing it. The balance point of lactate
clearance and production is called the Lactate Threshold. This is vital
information for your training. Performing intervals at the lactate
threshold pace once per week will supercharge your fitness. Training
above this pace can lead to early burnout and overtraining with no benefit
to your fitness. The second most common training mistake is training
at too high a heart rate during intense training.
The first step is to get your lactate threshold measured. This can
be done by an exercise physiologist at a sports testing lab. It involves
small finger pricks to measure the lactate acid at increasingly faster
running or biking speeds. Heart rate is measured at the same time. You
come out of the testing with a lactate profile, and the specific training
heart rate to maximally improve your fitness.
You can also perform a field test to obtain your lactate threshold.
This is done by performing a time trial for 20-30 minutes. After a good
warmup, skiing your maximum steady pace for 30 minutes will give you
the heart rate that closely corresponds to your threshold.
2. GO SLOWER
The number one training mistake is going too hard for most
of your exercise. Going at a fast pace all the time trains your body
to use carbohydrate for its fuel. Oops, it forgets that most of its
fuel is stored in fat. This will cause poor endurance at the longer
adventures and actually blunt your fast speeds as the carbohydrate is
used up too early in the ski. Hmmm, sounds like the Atkins approach
to training.
One of the principles of training is that you get good at what you
do. Doing most of your training at a moderately fast speed lets you
get good at going only moderately fast. The goal is to get as fast as
possible. This is best accomplished by judicious use of fast training,
with the majority of training done at slower paces to allow for recovery,
better endurance, and optimal use of your bodies fuel stores.
The solution is to strap a heart rate monitor on your chest, and don’t
exceed 75% of your maximum predicted heart rate (220-age is a good place
to start if you haven’t done more specific testing to determine
your max) during your training. Most heart rate monitors have very annoying
beeps that will tell you when you are exceeding this value. Save
1-2 days a week for a fast interval workout at your threshold heat rate!
3. HYDRATE, HYDRATE, HYDRATE
Any amount of dehydration will degrade performance. Your muscle cells
require good hydration to contract, your heart needs water rich blood
to pump to the muscles. All this requires water! Living in the northwest
with an expresso stand on every corner doesn’t help the situation!
Its very common to become chronically dehydrated throughout the day.
Dehydration can’t be made up by drinking a quick water bottle
before you hit the trails. Good habits include drinking a like amount
of water for each beverage containing caffeine. Seven glasses of water
during the day should keep the tank full.
4. TRAIN FOR STRENGTH
90% of power and speed arises from a foundation of strength. This has
been evident in the winter sport of alpine skiing for many years. There
is now a resurgence of interest in strength training for endurance sports
such as Nordic skiing. This is especially true in the Northwest with
its steep terrain. Hill climbing is helped immensely by strong hips,
the flats are helped by a strong upper body. Strength training is accomplished
by doing an exercise that has enough resistance that you fatigue at
around 8-10 repetitions.
Simple movements that can be done at home include single leg squats.
This helps train balance, and develops strength in the key hip region.
If you have a pull up bar, chin ups strengthen the arms and backs, essential
for double poling.
Remember, it’s the journey, not the finish that’s important,
as long as you get there ahead of your Buddy!
