Leg Strength Routine for Skimo

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JF giving instructions at Challenge by Choice during the 2013 Skimo Training Camp

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 the biggest around but definitely has a certain atmosphere to make up for it.

Most clients seem to take advantage of the circuit training classes offering a great basic strength and conditioning session for athletes with limited time or those who want to spend their time doing their sport rather than training for it. Open gym sessions are also available throughout the day and are my choice for following a specific routine geared towards skimo goals.

Several in the skimo community have already published their own personal strength training routines so I figured why not mine too?

Nina Silitch

Bryan Wickenhauser

I tend to mix up my strength training based on goals (pure strength or strength endurance) and the time of year. I typically use a variety of supersets in a circuit fashion with the intention of targeting either upper or lower body in a single workout. One of my go-to lower body workouts that I work into the fold just before the snow starts to fly is intended to make those peak-to-valley floor descents less of a leg burner.

  • Weight should be adjusted to do between 10 and 15 of each exercise.
  • Exercises are completed in supersets of three exercises times three sets with approx. 30 sec rest between (so for the first superset, do 12 squats, 12 lunges, 12 box jumps, then repeat twice more before moving on to dead lifts).
  • After running though everything, I repeat the whole process.
  1. 3X: [Barbell Squat x 10-15, Lunges x 10 – 15, Box Jumps  x 10 – 15 (big enough box for explosive jumps, not fast reps)]
  2. 3X: [Dead Lift x 10 – 15, Single Leg Squat x 10 – 15, Wall-sit x 90sec]
  3. 3X: [Hip Adductors  x 10 – 15 (Step-ups on a box w/ weight OR Cable machine w/ a foot stirrup), downhill-tuck x 90sec(on stability ball or half ball)]

Don’t forget to stretch! More strength routines coming…

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