By Rob Shaul
We began our offseason training for pro skiers on July 5.
From a fitness perspective, our goals for summer skier training is focused on increasing relative strength, chassis integrity, speed and overall athleticism/agility, and general fitness work capacity. Six to eight weeks directly prior to the ski season, we’ll drop them into a focused, ski-specific dryland cycle – but this far out their training is more general.
I’m interested in increasing durability, mental fitness, and professionalism towards sport. In the mountain world – especially freesking and snowboarding, there is no strong tradition of gym-based training to prepare for the season. There’s even less tradition for off season summer training – like we’re doing now.
Over the years, we’ve had over a dozen athletes commit to our regemine, and move on to major sponsorships with gear, clothing and ski manufactures. I’ve written before that training improves everything – and athletes who show this type of dedication to professional fitness extend that commitment and work to other areas of their athletic career. They stand out, sponsors notice, and they get picked up.
The most accomplished athletes return summer after summer – even after they’ve “made it,” and are in their prime. When they stop, I know their careers are winding down.
This session from Thursday blends sprints, work capacity and chassis integrity.
Simple. Hard. Work.
Video From Free Ski Dryland Session 8: