Cross country skiers need to know the difference between offseason exercise and training

By Keith and Heather Nicol

    When I teach at the Supercamps early season cross country ski camps I always ask my students what activities they did during the summer to get ready for the upcoming ski season. I usually get comments like “I hiked in the Rockies on the weekend and biked to work during the week” from skiers from Calgary. Or “ I participated in 2 triathlons and trained for those through the summer by running, swimming and biking when ever possible” from skiers in Toronto. Usually students want to focus on aerobic activity which is great for maintaining or improving muscular endurance. But when I ask “What exercises did you do to improve your 1 footed balance?” I usually get silence. Unfortunately activities like hiking and biking don’t have many specific skills that transfer directly to cross country skiing- for instance, the development of 1 footed balance (see biking photo below).

So we need to distinguish between exercise and training. If we want to get better at an activity we have to enact training that develops the specific skills needed to perform that sport.  Unfortunately none of the activities like running, biking, and swimming  actually help our one footed balance which is the key to good cross country skiing. Note that if I classic ski or skate on cross country skis that I move from balancing on 1 ski to balancing on the other ski(see photo below). The better one footed balance you have the better you can cross country ski. So you need to build in some specific balance training into your fall routine if you plan to become a better cross country skier. Also since our balance deteriorates with age we need balance practice drills simply to maintain good ski technique.  

 

So here are some of the balance training drills I go through in the fall.  I use a wobble board through the late summer and fall to improve my one footed balance (see photo to left).  It strengthens the muscles around the ankle and foot which are needed to stay balanced. When doing this try to be flexed at the ankles, knees and hips.  This flexed position very similar to what we use when we cross country ski. If you don’t have a wobble board then you can make this balancing device out of 2 by 4’s that you can see demonstrated in the video below.    Another activity that I ramp up in the fall is roller skiing since it duplicates the ski skills needed for cross country skiing very well. I do alot of no poles roller skiing since one of my goals is to improve my one footed balance which is best trained when no poles are used (see photo below).  So don’t simply get ready for the cross country ski season by getting some exercise like hiking or biking...build in some training with some balance drills that are cross country skiing specific. Thanks to Fitterfirst balance equipment and Jenex roller skis for their help with the following video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea9QdeMR4UY   which expands on these

 ideas. For information on the early season Supercamps held at Silver Star and Sovereign Lakes , BC see: http://xcsupercamps.com   They are a great tune up on snow for the upcoming xc ski season.