SPECIAL TO BC NORDIC MASTERS
GOAL SETTING
Whether in business or competitive skiing, planning starts with goal setting. For the Master skier this boils down to : "How many hours shall I invest in training." Three points to keep in mind before you make your decision: You are not going to the Olympics. You have a family, a social life, a job. More training hours do not necessarily translate into better physical conditioning.Most training (in total hours) should be done in October and November. The number of training hours in this period by Master Skiers seem to vary a lot. Some "invest" only a couple of hours per week and the extreme cases are up to 14-15 hrs. during the month of November. To provide specific examples I have zeroed in on a fairly serious Master Skier who has discussed his aspirations with his family and been "granted permission" to use a training program that peaks at 8 hrs per week for the month of November. I consider this to be quite a serious competitor. (Don't forget that with 2x15 min. of stretching, changing, shower etc. this works out to at least 11/2 hrs. per day)
Again, I emphasize that our "8 hours per week in November Master Skier" (I will call him Master X) is an example. Your own maximum training hours for the month of November should be based on what you have been doing over the summer. If you are presently (September) doing 4 hours, I suggest that you should aim for no more than 51/2 to 6 hours by November. This is a basic training principle, i.e. increase training amount slowly; from month to month and from year to year. Only time will make the body ready for longer and harder training.SPRING AND EARLY SUMMER TIME TRAINING (MAY AND JUNE)
This is a summary of what our Master X has been doing as spring and early summer time training.He has done his math and knows that only 1% to 3% of his "athletic time" will be in the form of competitions. The rest of his "athletic time" is training ,so the training part better be fun. He is also getting older and is starting to experience some problems from too much running.
However, throwing in a couple of days a week of cycling seems to keep stress problems away. He loves kayaking and is an avid hiker. The good news is that in this period (May and June) all of these activities are excellent training. It provides for a lot of variation, makes the training fun and therefore motivation is no problem.I have heard the following objection many times: "give me a break, hiking can not possibly be effective training". This comment comes from the "no pain no gain" camp. However, strap a heart monitor on next time you go for a mountain hike and you will be surprised. Not only is this great slow distance training but also excellent strength training.
What about cycling? Yes, most high performance athletes do not include a lot of cycling in their training program. However, have we not already established that you are not going to the Olympics? Secondly, you are an old fart with a body that welcomes the lack of impact (as compared to running) from cycling. Thirdly, it is fun and provides variation. My greatest competitor on ski trails does no other dry-land training than cycling. I am not arguing that 100% cycling is the solution. Not at all. However, develop training forms that work for you and that you enjoy. This will make you stick to the training in a consistent way and after all isn't that pretty essential? Finally, for what it is worth, I use a factor of .7 to compare cycling and running (i.e. 11/2 hours of cycling equates to approx. 1 hour of running)Back to Master X. He started in May and June with 4 - 41/2 hours a week. Not included in that time is stretching (before and after). All training is easy (Zone 1)(more on this later) with lots of variation. He has had approx. 2 rest days a week. Over the period he has built up his once a week long run and has reached 11/2 hours by the end of June, (2hrs 10 min cycling). Master X has not been doing any strength training or interval training during this period. He participated in a lot of hard races over the previous winter and it was time to give the body a good rest from hard workouts.
LATE SUMMER AND FALL TRAINING.
Master X feels great. More than 2 months of easy training has prepared him physically and mentally for more structured training.As outlined, his total training time will peak with 8 hours during a hard week (more on hard, medium and easy weeks later) in the month of November. At the end of June he is at 41/2 hrs. a week. He has decided to go for 51/2 hrs. (July), 61/2 hrs. (August), 7 hrs. (September), 71/2 hrs. (October) and 8 hrs. (November). He has learned from last year and will "train smarter, not harder" this year.
Having committed the maximum number of training hours per hard week for each month , the task is now to establish a detailed week by week training plan by TYPE, FORM and INTENSITY .TRAINING TYPE.
Master X enjoys roller skiing and decides to start roller skiing as early as July. He will roller-ski twice a week in July, August, and September, going to 3 times a week in October, and November. Cycling will be cut back to once a week in July, August, and September, and terminated at the end of September. Running will carry on with 3 times a week. For most weeks, Master X plans to have at least one rest day.FORM AND INTENSITY.
Master X knows a few basic and important principles when it comes to training form and intensity. He decides to include the following in his training program.85-90 % of training will be done in Zone 1. At least one long, slow distance workout is planned for each week.
He plans at least one hard workout per week in late summer, early fall and possibly 2 hard workouts per week in late fall.An easy training day is normally planned to follow a hard training day (the long, slow distance workout is considered a hard day.)
He plans to alternate training type (i.e. after a roller skiing day, have a running day etc.)He aims for changed workloads week to week. (i.e. hard week, medium week, easy week. More on this later.)
He plans to keep stretching. In addition to strength training done during training hours (i.e. double poling on roller skis, ski bounding with and without poles, etc.), he plans separate exercises for strengthening of lower back and abdomen at least twice a week.In the following, I will expand on some of these principles. Zone 1 training.
I assume that you are familiar with the different heart rate zones related to exercising, (refer to CCBC's coaching package: "Easy does it! Train smarter not harder.")Very briefly, Zone 1 equals 60-75% of max. heart rate. Approx. formula for max heart rate is: Men: 214 minus (.8 x age) Women : 209 minus (.7 x age) (Refer to the CCBC article for more accurate establishment of max HR (heart rate) through actual testing).
For a 50 year old male the max heart rate works out to about 174 bpm. His training Zone 1 will be between 104 and 130 beats per minute. If you have not previously been involved in this, you will be surprised how comfortable it is to exercise in this heart rate zone. I strongly recommend that you invest in a heart monitor. It is fun, but do not become a slave of your monitor.
Doing 85-90 % of all training in Zone 1 is definitely good news. It is a very comfortable training zone. Most of us are consistently running in a higher zone. It tires you out and it is not effective training. You have to walk the hills to keep your heart rate at this level.For the record, here are the other heart rate zones: Zone 2: 75-80% of max HR. Zone 3: 80-90% of max HR. Zone 4: 90-95% of max HR.
Zone 2 and 3 is not used as active training zones for cross country skiers. You are likely to hit Zone 2 every now and then when you do your Zone 1 training. This is of course no big deal. Zone 3 is sometimes used when starting up interval training in the summer. In conclusion, only Zone 1 (long, slow distance) and Zone 4 (interval, distance and tempo training) are of interest for cross-country skiers.LONG SLOW DISTANCE WORKOUT
As indicated, Master X is going into the month of July with long runs of 11/2 hours. From July to October he plans to build his long run up to 2 hours and 15 minutes and keep it at that level through to the start of the ski season. He decides that the long run during his hard weeks (more on hard, medium, easy weeks later) each month will be as follows: "July (1.45), August (2.00), September (2.00), October (2.15), November (2.15)"Based on experience, Master Xwill do all long runs on weekends when he can start in the morning. Although, it is slow speed, long runs are hard on the system. It is therefore important to be well rested at the start (coming home from work to start a long run is never a good idea). Master X also knows that in addition to his 2 water bottles, a power bar half way during the long run is a good idea.
HARD WORKOUT
You do not have to do these. If you are basically doing loppets (30-50 km) you can come a long way with Zone 1 training only, especially if you are religiously doing your week-end long run. However, Master X remembers how much it hurt in the beginning of every race. He has also noticed how his skiing friends that do hard workouts seem to get higher up the hill before they start to struggle. He decides to go for one hard workout (Zone 4)per week in July, August, September, and try up to 2 hard workouts per week in October and November. His hard workouts will be no more than 10% of his total training time for a week. Being already committed to no more than 8 hours during a hard week in November, this works out to a total of 48 minutes or 24 minutes for each of the 2 workouts. He will use this principle as a guide.Master X could do his hard workouts on the bike, running or roller skiing. The actual workout could be in the form of "farts-training" (i.e. continuos running with hard running in the hills and very easy in between), interval training (repetitions), distance training, tempo-training or a combination of all of the above.
Master X likes structure. After completing a hard workout he wants to know exactly what he has done. He therefore buys a heart rate monitor, figures out his Zone 4 heart rate (90-95 %) and settles on the following program: (Each hard workout session will start with 30 min. of easy warm-up and terminate with 20 min. of warm-down.)The single hard workouts in July, August and September will be as intervals on steep up-hills, so steep that hard ski walking is sufficient to stay in zone 4. The first couple of weeks he will stay at 85%, then step up to 90-95% (not above 95%). He starts in July with 4x3min. (3) (figure in bracket indicates minutes rest between repetitions) and will work up to 6x3 min (3) by the end of September. Some weeks he does "pyramid" intervals [2(2)-3(3)-4(4)-3(3)-2(2)] for variety. (Note that resting time is counted as part of the overall hard workout).
Once a month he substitutes the interval workout with a time trial. This is a continuous workout at competition speed. Based on Master X's training program, approx. 25 minutes would be appropriate. He will use this very same test-run every month until ski season starts so that he can monitor his progress. The distance workout could be running ,cycling or roller skiing. Master Xdecides on roller skiing using a long gradual uphill with no places to slack off.For October and November Master X has progressed to two hard workouts per week. He continues with his 6x3 min ski walking. He will experiment with resting time and probably find that he can go from 3 to 2 min rest (making sure that his pulse is down to 60% of max HR prior to start of each interval). He has also noticed that he now gets farther up the hill; a welcome result. For variation he keeps changing interval lengths [6x3(2), 3x6(4), 4x4,5(3) plus the "pyramid"]
Master X's second hard workout during October and November is on roller skis, one week skating , next week double pole with kick. This is done on a gradual uphill. He feels he should do longer intervals on roller skis. However, he starts carefully (4x3 min) and works up to 3x5 min. He uses his heart rate monitor to make sure the heart rate is down prior to each interval. He also makes certain that regardless of heart rate, resting times are at least 2/3 of the interval times.Depending on how well the training has gone over the summer and early fall, two hard workouts a week may be too much for Master X. However, he is not a slave of his program and will drop the second hard workout if he feels he loses the extra energy that has been with him so far in the training.
BOUNDING AND SPRINTING
One effective but extremely tough training form is ski-bounding with poles on steep hills. (Strength and cardiovascular training.) This form of interval training should probably not exceed 40 seconds per repetition (for Master X I suggest 30 sec. max.). Being an "old fart", Master X reminds himself that he is not going to the Olympics so he skipped this type of training from his program. Maybe next year!Also Master X has decided that for his level of skiing, no time will be invested in sprint training (8-10 repetitions for 10-15 seconds going all out). However, with the new sprint disciplines entering the cross-country skiing arena, he may change his mind on this item in future years.
STRENGTH TRAINING.
Twice a week Master X does strength training. He has extended the training session from 15 min. to 30 min. by the end of November.As we grow older we lose general strength much faster than cardiovascular capacity. Strength training is definitely therefore important to master skiers.
All of Master X's strength training is based on repetitions using the body as the "weight" (i.e. no separate weights.) Emphasis is placed on strengthening lower back and abdomen. Details pertaining to strength training are not part of this article.STRETCHING EXERCISES.
I believe a series of recommended stretching exercises for cross-country skiers is soon to appear on CCBC's web siteso I won't go into this here suffice to say this is important.
Master X takes this seriously, and stretches faithfully for 20 min. both before and after training sessions (wait 3-4 hours before stretching after hard workouts)
THE TRAINING PROGRAM.
The programs given here are examples based on a hard training week in November, not exceeding 8 training hours. For programs with different target hours in November the program is prorated.By applying the principles outlined, you can make your own week by week training program for the fall. Remember to choose training forms that you enjoy, keep it fun.
Master X has now made all the decisions he needs to develop his detailed weekly training program.In previous years Master X has done a reasonable job at gradually (week by week) increasing the workload (both total hours and intensity.) But he has not tried the 3 week cycle approach: i.e. hard, medium and easy weeks with each consecutive cycle getting harder. He decides to include this principle in his program.
The following is an extract of Master X's training programs for a 3 week cycle during November. (stretching and strength training is not shown.)
Hard week in November. (Total of 8 hours)
Monday: Roller skiing (classic) double pole w/kick (Zone 1) 1 hr.
Tuesday: 30 min. warm up, ski walking in steep uphill, 6x3 min (2-3 min. rest), (Zone 4) 20 min. warm down 1hr.20 min.
Wednesday: Roller skiing (skating) (Zone 1) 1hr.10 min.
Thursday: Running (Zone 1) 1 hr.
Friday: Uphill roller skiing, double pole w/kick, 30 min. warm up, 25 min. time trial at competition speed, 20 min. warm down. 1 hr.15 min.
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: Long run (Zone 1) 2hr.15.min.
Medium week in November (total hours: 85% of 8 hours, approx. 7 hrs.)
Monday: Roller skiing (classic) double poling (Zone 1) 45 min
Tuesday: 30 min warm up, ski walking steep uphill, 1(1),2(2), 3(3), 3(3),2(2), (Zone 4) 20 min. warm down 1hr.10 min.
Wednesday: Roller skiing (skating) (Zone 1), (15 min. without poles) * 45 min.
Thursday: Running, (Zone 1) 1hr.
Friday: Uphill roller skiing (classic). Double pole w/kick .30 min warm up, 3x5 min (4) (Zone 4) 20 min warm down 1hr. 20 min.
Saturday: Rest day.
Sunday :Long run.(Zone 4) 2 hrs.
*Never train classic roller skiing without poles.
Easy week in November (Total hours: 60-70 % of 8 hrs. 70 % used here i.e. 5 1/2 hrs.)
Monday: Roller skiing (classic), double pole w/kick (Zone 1) 45 min.
Tuesday: Running (Zone 1) 55 min.
Wednesday: Roller skiing (skating) (Zone 1) 45 min.
Thursday: Rest Day.
Friday: Uphill, roller skiing (skating) 30 min. Warm up 5x3 min (3) (Zone 4), 20 min warm down. 1 hr. 20 min.
Saturday: Rest Day.
Sunday: Long run, (Zone 1) 1 hr. 45 min.
Master X should remember to apply the 3 week cycle with some flexibility. For some athletes hard, easy, hard, easy etc. works better, others may prefer 2 hard weeks in a row. As with everything in the training program there should be room for experimenting. Adapting the program to personal preferences is important for success.
AND THIS FROM THE NET
Here is an article that complements Per Gaarder's contribution. It is entitled "Managing Your XC Fitness Year- For All Ages and Abilities" and was written by J.D. Downing, XC Oregon Coach/Director. You can find it at US Masters Cross CountryBACK TO TOP
