Core Strength for Skimo

Core strength is critical for skimo races. Racers with weak cores become painfully obvious in the tail end of a race on technical terrain. You can watch as their upper and lower bodies get out of sync and they become unable to effectively transmit upper body power. A strong core is critical to keeping the[…]

Fall Training Update

November and December were two of my biggest training months this year with a big focus on volume, especially skiing vertical ascent, and this is pretty well reflected in the numbers. I’m happy with my totals, especially compared to the same months in 2012 (as I prepped for US Nationals in January) although the low[…]

Leg Strength Routine for Skimo

This fall I made the step up from training at the university gym to working with Jen and JF at Challenge by Choice, a strength training center in Squamish. The athletes training at CBC are all primarily runners, cyclist, climbers and skiers so it is pretty easy to feel at home. The gym is not[…]

Gear – Foot Weight

The ISMF had an interesting statistic in their Skimo World Championships Preview document released earlier this season. They claim 1 gram lost from feet is like losing 7 from the pack in terms of energy cost. I can’t find any data to support this but do have some thoughts as I try to cut my[…]

Exercise Recovery

Recovery is an important factor in endurance races, especially in back-to-back events. I have a few thoughts on the best practices for maximizing subsequent performance. By no means comprehensive, these are just a few principles that I try to follow. Recovery begins immediately after an exercise event and the following concepts are a few of[…]