Example Volume Week (freshmen/sophmore)

Hourly Break-down

You may have to use double sessions to get in your hours. Please keep in mind the your level of training up to this point. It can be counter-productive to make a huge jump in volume. Having said this, the correlation between amount of training and (good) race results is very strong! It can hard to judge, but do as much as possible without doing too much.

When doing high volume it is also vital to be disciplined about training zones. If you are training too hard on the distance workouts the physiologial adaptation is different from what is intended (central instead of peripheral factors)! Remember that what you do in one workout also affects performance in other workouts. If you're tired out, important intensity workouts may be compromised.

You should feel tired and maybe a little cranky by the end of the week- this is normal! You should also be attempting to make your training more ski-specific as the fall progresses.

Example Workouts

Monday: Day off or active rest

Go canoeing, play volleyball, etc. Have fun, but don't overdo it.

Tuesday: Stength and Spenst

Wednesday: Easy Skate Rollerski

1.5 hr Total. Include 30 minutes of no pole skate to focus on leg strength/endurance and balance.

Thursday: General Strength and Tempo Run

Friday: Classic Rollerski

1.25 hours total. Find an uphill to work with, about 2 or 3 minutes long. Do 3 or 4 double pole repeats of this hill. This is an interval workout, but the focus is on specific strength. The goal is to work on muscular endurance. To do this the intensity should be at (or below!) level 3. Skiing at a higher intensity than level 3 will actually shift the focus of the workout. Do it right!

Saturday: Road Race and Recovery

Sunday: Over-distance

Run, hike, or rollerski for 2.5 hours.