Aerobic capacity, specific strength, agility, performance mindset, “killer instinct”, teamwork, motivation…there are a lot of puzzle pieces to successful cross country skiing. But often, we can overlook one of the most fundamental components of what we do…movement itself!
Our movement competency forms the foundation for all physical aspects of sport, and luckily for us there is a wealth of knowledge, scholarly work, science, and research on the topic. Is it as dynamic as brutal intervals up a steep mountain road, or as heroic as a lunge across the finish line in February? Certainly not. But we can improve both of those moments (and many more) with a better understanding of how our bodies move in space, how balanced we are, and how strong some fundamental muscle groups are.
We were fortunate to be joined over the last two weeks by Sharon Henry, PT, Ph.D, ATC as well as Coach Sara (now through her 2nd year of PT school) for some athlete screenings. We rented the classroom space of the Jericho Community Center, and had ourselves a miniature clinic. Individual athletes went through several tests, which are detailed below by US Ski and Snowboard. Sharon and Sara made notes and took down some scores, and athletes were able to get some feedback and exercises that targeted weak areas.
As a coach, it was really great for me to see both individual tests as well as overall themes. We’ve already added a few new exercises to the short warmups we do before each ski or run session, and can now make changes to our strength training plan based off info from these sessions.
Here is a link to a video detailing the US Ski and Snowboard assessment, for those interested.
US Ski and Snowboard Movement Screen
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