Summer Training
"All great skiers are made in the Summer" - Boonie
Styrke
Coach Boonstra offers a summer training program called Team Styrke, which meets Tuesday and Thursday during the summer from 7-9 a.m. at Staring Lake Park. The workouts consist of kettle bell strength for an hour and then alternating days of hill strength work and rollerskiing.
Summer Training Equipment
Kettle Bell
15lb - beginners
20lb - good weight for older girls and beginning boys
25lb - good weight for intermediate boys or older girls
30lb - good weight for older boys
Rollerskis
Combi rollerskis are great for Styrke and Loppet Nordic Racing (LNR). With combi rollerskis, you do not need to purchase two separate pairs of classic and skate rollerskis. These are what the majority of the EP Nordic team athletes use. The school has a few pairs of rollerskis that are distributed on a first come, first served basis in order of registration. If you do not get a pair of school rollerskis, the next place to look would be former high school skiers who are willing to sell you their rollerskis. You may also have some luck by finding used rollerskis at a secondhand sporting equipment shop. You can purchase new Marwae rollerskis at FinnSisu if all of the other ways of acquiring rollerskis are unsuccessful. There are other rollerski brands out there, but most rollerskiers use Marwae because they work well and have the most ski -like feel.
Kettle bells can be found at Target, or any sporting goods store. Before you purchase a kettle bell, check to see if any of the older skiers on the team have an old one that you could borrow. Through years of doing Styrke, athletes may need to increase their kettle bell weight either every summer or every other summer.
Tire Pulls
For this piece of equipment, you will need a used tire (size depending on what is available and your strength), a weight belt, and a rope. You can fashion your own tire pull by drilling a hole into the tire, attaching a rope to it and then attach the rope to your weight lifting belt. If you need a tire, you could go to a junk yard to find one for minimal cost.
However, first ask graduated students if they could give you their old tire pull.
Pictured above are combi skis. The smaller wheel on the front of each ski is detachable. When classic skiing, keep the wheels on and when skating, take the wheels off. The wheels give the extra length that is needed to stride while classic skiing. The large front wheel of the rollerski has rachets on it which allow you to perform the striding motion. The great thing about rollerskiing is that you always have great kick! The rachets on the skis do not interfere when skate skiing with the skis.
Rollerski tips
If you used school ski poles during the ski season, you will need to purchase your own poles at any local ski store mentioned on the equipment page. If you already have poles, they will work just fine. However, if you use high end ski poles for winter racing, it would be recommended to use or find cheaper poles to use for summer training. Poles can get much more banged up and broken in the summer.
In order to use your winter ski poles in the summer, you need to attach a different tip, called a roller ski ferrule. These tips are harder and sharper in order to stick into the asphalt. Ski shops will install rollerski ferrules for you. However, you can do this at home as well. When the winter comes around again, you will need to switch your poles back to winter tips.
The top ski is a combi ski, the second is a skate specific ski and the the last ski is a classic specific ski.
Boots
When rollerskiing, you can use the same boots that you do in the winter. However, if you plan on doing a lot of rollersking it might be good to use a older, cheaper pair of boots because ski boots tend to get worn down a lot faster when rollerskiing.
Gloves
Wearing gloves while skiing in the summer can help protect your hands from nasty blisters. However, you can go without gloves by toughing it out and going through a couple weeks of blisters. You can get long rollerski gloves at specialty ski stores. If you want to stay cooler and have a little bit tougher hands you can use shorter biking gloves. You can find these at many specialty bike shops.
This is a rollerski ferrule
This is a rollerski tip sharpener. If you are doing a large amount of rollersking during the summer and you notice that your tips are starting to slip when you plant them, you can sharpen them with the tool pictured above. This tool is available at local ski shops.
Water-bottle belt
It is important to carry water with while skiing in order to be hydrated and get the most out of your workout. You can get a water-bottle pack to clip around your waist to take with you on all of your skis. These can be found at the local ski shops. There are two styles of belts that you can purchase. The first belt pictured is larger and can hold about 32 ounces of water and will work well in the winter because the water container is insulated and will not freeze. The second belt has a detachable water bottle that holds about 18 ounces of water and will work well in the summer. However, the water will not stay as insulated in the winter and may freeze. This style of belt is, however, better for running.
Long Rollerski Gloves Short Biking Gloves
Helmet
One item that is absolutely necessary when rollerskiing is a helmet. You can't go rollerskiing without one. It may not look that cool, but even professional Nordic Skiers have to wear one. A normal biking helmet is what you want to use.
Larger Winter Belt Smaller Summer Belt
3-day Loppet Nordic Racing (LNR) at Hyland
This program is perfect for students who want to improve as a Nordic skier and make serious gains over the summer. It meets Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 7 a.m. at Hyland Park (the same place where we ski in the winter). Each week alternates between classic and skate skiing. On Fridays, there is hill bounding and ski technique. There are great coaches and training to help you take your skiing to the next level. All of the kids in this LNR program are split up into groups depending on ability level. Each group has its own coach with Coach Boonstra being one of them. This program meshes very well with the Styrke 2-day program, allowing you to do some ski related activity everyday during the week. You can also do this 3-day program and still attend Cross Country Captains' practices afterwards. For more detailed information and to sign for the program, go to the LNR Website.
5-day Loppet Nordic Racing Competition Team
This program is for athletes who want to commit to Nordic skiing and are willing to work hard to see improvement. It meets five days a week at a different locations around the Twin Cities like Hyland, Wirth, French Park, Afton, and Elm Creek. Practices are at 7 a.m. and usually run for 2-3 hours. This program does not work with Stryke and you will only be able to attend Tuesday evening Cross Country Captains' practices, and maybe Monday CC practice if it is done early. If you are interested in more information about this program, check out the LNR website regarding the Summer Competition team.
LNR Fall and Spring Team Training
The LNR Competition Team runs year round, but you can participate in each season separately. If you are constantly finding yourself injured from running or other sports, you may want to consider switching to some ski training for a season instead of just sitting out from running. The Fall and Spring training meets almost everyday after school and consists of roller-skiing, weightlifting, and some running (if you can't run due to injuries, there will be other options). It is a great way to improve as a Nordic skier. To get more information about the Fall program and the Spring program you can visit the LNR website.