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PRE-SEASON
Dave Cieslowski
Contributing Editor for The Master Skier
Dave has been skiing forever and is an instructor at Mt Bachelor. You can email him at dave@webskis.com
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Many master skiers jeopardize their season preparations by not rollerskiing. This is a big mistake. One reason might be that many of you became discouraged when you tried rollerskiing 15-20 years ago when rollerskis were heavy and difficult to handle.
Today's rollerskis, however, are lightweight, smooth and fun. Without the specific nature of rollerskiing, a skier's body simply cannot be adequately prepared for the demands of ski racing.
Once on snow, skiers who haven't trained on rollerskis will notice that their arms fatigue faster, their backs will ache quickly in a long double-pole or diagonal section, and their abdominals will lack the strength to get the necessary compression for good technique.
Those who have trained on rollerskis, on the other hand, will see great improvements in technique and fitness - and their race results will show it.
There are a number of ways in which rollerskiing can add to a training plan.
The most obvious is by using rollerskis for distance workouts, which enables a skier to simultaneously train all the muscles he or she uses while skiing - because he or she is skiing.
Your first rollerski workout of the season should be in an empty parking lot or similar area without cars. Work on stopping, starting, skiing circles and changing directions while looking around for imaginary cars.
After a couple workouts like this you will be ready for distance training.
Let the first 3-4 distance workouts be 30-40 minutes long, and gradually increase the length and effort of these sessions, as the ski season gets closer.
Rollerskis can also be used for strength training by using a slight uphill and doing repeats of double poling and single poling up the hill, or by doing skating on rollerskis without poles.
Once a skier has developed efficient technique and is comfortable on rollerskis at higher speeds, tremendous progress can be made by doing intensity work.
Since the focus was on increasing speed, race lengths have been fairly short; from one to five kilometers.
Not only was the racing fun, but you will also seen great improvements in speed, power and racing skills - such as finding the right speed early and being able to hold it the entire race.
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