"An athlete that masters the basics of technique and practices the fundamental principles of training will be far more successful than those who follow a more complex path. Take care of the big details first.

There are some key things you need to know about training for high performance sports. They involve technical proficiency, mental, muscular and cardiovascular fitness, and broad

The first training principle is that of specificity. If you want to be a skier, you have to ski. For most of us this is limited to during winter months, so we must simulate skiing with cross-training as best we can. This is why skiing is a good model for multisport coaching fundamentals.

There is no off-season for ski training. Plan cross training in a variety of sports starting in the spring through into summer. This is a time for rebuilding. Much of the workouts should concentrate on muscular strength using weights, and cardiovascular endurance in such activities as running and biking. As the summer progresses, the activities must become more skiing-specific.

Roller skiing, and ski-striding with poles become the major activities by the Fall. The strength training also becomes more specific; migrating from heavy free-weights to plyometrics and drills on roller skis. It is important that the more intense work-outs also be the more ski specific ones.

Periodicity and progressive loading are other important principles of training. That is, alternating between hard and easy days, or hard and easy weeks. The training load needs to be increased progressively to obtain further adaptation and improvement in performance.
Thus, gradually building the intensity and hours up to a peak. The body requires rest in order to complete the performance-enhancing hard workouts.

In the spring and summer, the training should concentrate on strength and endurance. As you progress through the fall, more intensity, in the form of intervals should be incorporated into the hard days. The strength training switches to power and then speed. By the peak in February many athletes are alternating racing or practicing light recovery.

Too many people train too many hours at medium-well effort rather than having high
dynamic range in their training intensities. Consequently, they cook their performances
medium-well...."

This is an excerpt from a wonderful training manual which is packed with good advice and photos that make you want to get out and train or ski. It is a big pdf download.

Roller Skiing is the primary means of dry-land training for cross-country skiers and biathletes. This time of year, I often drive by folks on roller skis on the highway into Montpelier and it brings back memories of training on the bike trails and back roads of Central New York.  It was early in the days of ski skating and there never were brakes on roller skis so hill repeats, with a good climb for the workout, became a little hair-raising on the descents.  Of course, no helmets, pads -- just boots and a water bottle.

I was never big on double poling on roller skis even though I knew it was probably the best overall roller ski workout.  However, I’ve gathered some ideas on double poling on roller skis from good skiers and want to share a few.

First of all, consider using a helmet and knee pads -- and if on a highway, wear colorful clothing. Use roller-skis not roller blades. (If you use roller-blades and skate like hockey player, you will get nowhere on the snow.) Begin every roller-skiing workout by checking your equipment.  Start by double poling to acclimate to the new balance and resistance of the skis. Make sure that you can stop safety before picking up too much speed. Since most roller skis do not have brakes, it is essential to think ahead.

Use skis with a similar rolling resistance to a skis on snow, and poles about the same weight as your normal poles. The poles for roller skiing should be a few cm longer than normal, and you should use a special roller-ski pole tip. And keep the pole tips sharp -- dull pole tips lead to incorrect technique, for they slip during the important later part of the double pole. When this is the case, you learn to rely only on the initial part of the double pole stroke when the poles are more vertical. Gains in technique and strength for the important later part of the double pole are therefore minimized when using dull tips. It is not only very frustrating to have the tips constantly slipping it can also be dangerous -- when the tips slip you can easily pitch forward onto your face.

As is the case for all training, concentration is key. For double poling think about initiating the double pole with the stomach. Instead of bending over at the waist, hunch your shoulders and upper-body over the poles and crunch down with the stomach. Contrary to an older style of double pole, keep your arms bent throughout the first part of the double pole and rapidly straighten your arms back behind you quickly by firing your triceps at the end of the double pole.

The same dangers that come with striding on roller skis are present when double poling with a kick. The kick tends to be long, late and slow - unless you concentrate on being snappy and kicking from on top of the skis. Prior to the initiation of the kick, thrust your hips forward so that they are actually in front of your feet. From this forward position, focus on making the kick dynamic and quick.

Now, take a look at some US Ski Team members on rollers and on snow.  Get psyched for skiing on snow with some pre-season workouts.

Image by Beige Alert