Without progression, we will never improve! Continuing to challenge our best is what leads to gains and growth (at ANY age) and that’s why we are revisiting the 30/30 workout from earlier this summer. You can find that initial posting right here:
It has been 5 weeks since that challenge, a perfect window of adaptation for our bodies to have gotten used to a new level of training. The mission this week is to step it up by increasing the number of 30-second bursts in each set. Last time was 2×6 minutes, and this time we will shoot for 2×8 minutes. That’s only an extra minute per set, or 2 minutes total…but the goal is to keep increasing…think about it!
In August that means 2×10 minutes
In September we jump to 2×12 minutes
October brings a longer standard set: 1×20 minutes
November means 1×25 minutes
December shortens the intervals to 20 seconds on/40 seconds of but in a 2×15 minute segment…facilitating recovery and speed-of-movement as we sharpen for race season…and then, from January onward these types of speeds are incorporated into all sorts of warmups, distance skis, and race-prep.
It’s time to increase the intervals and increase the power!
Another week is upon us, and the training must go on! This Masters Workout of the Week is a focus on specific strength.
What is “specific strength” and why do we do it? Getting stronger in general will help our skiing; not just to be more powerful on climbs or more stable on descents, but also to help us execute the technique that we want to ski with. So many of us look to video clips and drills to improve our technique…both of these are super critical to improvement, but without enough strength to execute and maintain this technique we might only be able to ski the way we want for a couple kilometers before the correct body position and movements begin to suffer.
Specific strength is a way to isolate a muscle group in a ski-specific setting so that we can improve its capabilities. With specific strength work, you can also get a feel (literally) for the bigger picture of ski technique, and how different muscle groups play a role in contributing to powerful motions. Double poling for a long period of time will really make you appreciate how handy your legs can be in a hilly classic race. Likewise, doing a lot of skating without poles might make you realize how much you can rely on your arms and poles for balance rather than power and propulsion.
And those last two sentences give away a bit about the two most basic types of specific strength…double pole work and no-pole skate work. Both involve the core, and one really targets the upper body while the other engages the lower.
Some athletes like to combine workouts and do a ski with a set amount of no-pole skating and a set amount of double poling (usually with skate poles, as you are on skate skis). However, I prefer for a workout to have one focus and technique at a time unless it is a combination workout aiming for a long distance. With one technique at a time, you can get that better overall picture of how components compliment one another.
For example, you can incorporate a chunk of double poling into the middle of a classic rollerski, but it’s likely that the beginning and ending parts of that classic ski will also involve some double poling…you can therefore have a better feel of when/where it makes most sense to double pole during OTHER parts of your ski, having double poled on all sorts of terrain during a specific strength “set”. The same goes for skating, but more-so with tempo and body position…without poles you can’t quite rely on raw upper body power to compensate for good body position, driving knees, and engaged hips.
The Workout:
1 hour classic ski or skate ski
[IF CLASSIC] incorporate 20 minutes of double poling only during the middle third of the ski
[IF SKATE] incorporate 20 minutes of no-pole skating during the middle third of the ski
Try to notice your complete technique during the first and third components of the ski!
This week’s Masters workout is another nod to the NENSA virtual programming that has been happening this spring and summer. However, this one has a unique MNC connection as this event was founded and is spearheaded by MNC alum Jenny Wilbraham. See below:
The challenge for this Masters Workout of the Week is to complete a workout that is 1 hour, 11 minutes and 19 seconds. You could train for longer than that (OR do the full 71.19km!) but for this week the suggestion is to take on the 71-minute option.
For some of us, this isn’t a terribly long time to be training. For others of us, this is a serious undertaking.
The extra credit part of this Workout of the Week? If you are someone who often trains for this amount of time, try completing this challenge in a mode you aren’t as familiar with or something you’d like to get better at.
For example, if you haven’t ever rollerskied for more than an hour, use this as your motivation to push it a bit more. If you are always mountain biking and your running shoes are getting buried under the floormat, dust them off and hit the trails without wheels. If an hour and 11 minutes seems too simple, you might find taking on a different activity can make all the difference.
Calling all MNC Masters! We are pulling another workout from the REG (Regional Elite Group) camp and US Ski Team testing criteria…but don’t be intimidated by these organizations and names! This is the Canadian Strength Test, an endeavor which is humbling for even the most athletic and surly Junior racer who has been hitting the gym all year.
Masters really need to focus on some strength training, both for injury-prevention as well as power and stability in ski technique. While most fear strength because it could LEAD to injury, the opposite is often the case if the strength is carried out correctly. Take note that some of the exercises in this test are dated, therefore we take the info from the test to identify weak areas and then use more modern exercises as corrective measures.
This test only takes 10 minutes, AND you can choose to omit parts of it should you choose. The test should begin with a good 15-minute (or longer) warmup of jogging or biking, followed by some dynamic stretches and movements of both upper and lower body. Easy suggestions are jumping-jacks, inchworm-style walkouts, and other track-and-field-based mobility exercises.
The test itself? Colin Rodgers demonstrates below in a video. The general layout:
-1 minute on/1 minute rest
-As many *clean* reps of each exercise that you can do
-Multiply your pull-ups by 3, and add your other scores together
Interested in giving it a go? Contact Coach Adam to take advantage of the MNC Center of Excellence (aka Adam’s backyard gym where the Juniors did the test). The MNC Center of Excellence features a totally partner-free system with weighted sit-up station to avoid another person having to hold feet. It features a free-standing pullup bar, a 16″ regulation box, and all the fresh air an outdoor gym needs!
Coach Adam will be in quarantine starting Thursday afternoon (following a COVID-test a pre-Mountain Camp) but MNC members should feel free to contact and stop by to use the equipment: it will be kept outside and in ready-to-go status along with a cleaning solvent…just bring a rag to wipe down the gear with once your test is over!
Alternatively, feel free to omit certain exercises, and then keep track of how you may improve on specific ones!
What we don’t recommend outside the test are elbows-out pushups (we prefer tricep pushups, displayed in this video at 1:57) and full sit-ups (we prefer planks and core that keeps the spine off the ground).
This summer MNC Masters have been running and cycling at varying locations in the area. It is actually amazing the miles of trails and gravel roads we have at our disposal. This week we were treated to an especially fantastic gravel bike ride starting from the Middlesex park’n ride. With pre-mapped S (20Mi) , M (33 mi.) & XL (54 mi.) routes designed by Sarah K. All told 14 riders set out choosing amongst the three route options and many opting to go all in for the XL 54 Mi & >5,000 ft of climbing. Regardless of route, all the riders we treated with some spectacular gravel roads and terrain in the area. Of course, there was the obligatory stop at Red Hen for well deserved after ride reward.
This coming Sunday, Tom and Shiela will be hosting the ride in another new location starting in Charlotte. Also, don’t forget to check the Masters Training doc for all the roller skiing, running and cycling this coming week.
