Training Basics

Student-athletes should be aware that this is a ski racing team rather than a ski club. We have vigorous workouts that include running and strength training. We don't cut athletes, but athletes are expected to attend and put their best effort into all practices. That said, we have students join each year that have never skied before or even done any organized sport before and do just fine and enjoy the team and sport. Some of our current captains started this way. Prior experience is not needed,  just a good attitude and willingness to work hard and learn.

Nordic skiing requires a combination of endurance, strength, and speed, making it a challenging yet rewarding sport. Therefore, our Nordic training will involve all  three of those types of training. Because the Nordic Ski season is relatively short, and we are working with very short daylight hours after school, we have to make sure we are very intentional with our time at practices and get them done efficiently. The three types of workouts (endurance, strength, and speed) are explained in a little more detail below:

Endurance days are crucial for building your base fitness, and we try doing one of these workouts once a week. They consist of between one and a half to two hours of easy, prolonged exercise, such as an easy run/hike or ski on easy, rolling trails. Two hours may sound like a long time, but it's very easy when you’re with teammates and can become a very social workout. When you’re spending an afternoon in the woods, skiing and chatting with friends, time can fly and it can quickly become a favorite workout for skiers.

We typically do strength training 2-3 days a week. This can be in the weight room after the workout or outside as a part of the workout. Strength training can be done with just body weight exercise (crunches, push-ups, and pull-ups at a playground), with free weights in the RAHS weight room, or by doing strength-building exercises on snow with skis. The focus of these days is to build your maximum strength and power output, which is very helpful for sprinting or climbing hills in races.

Speed training is typically done once or twice a week and is usually some form of interval session where you push hard for a few to several minutes and then easy for a short period and repeat several times. This can be done on foot, on roller skis, or on snow. The rest of these workouts are relatively easy outside of the designated interval time and last about an hour and a half. We also do ski technique drills and agility exercise on those days.

VERY IMPORTANT: An email will be sent and the website updated with the practice plan for the week on Sunday evenings. Last-minute changes will be relayed through the team’s Remind App, so make sure to check your email and phone often for practice updates.