Easing the transition from Dry-land training to snow
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You train all of the off-season in every conceivable manner: running, hiking, roller-skiing, muscular endurance, running uphill with poles. You’ve done everything you can think of to prepare for snow, and when the day finally comes to strap on the skis for the first day of the on-snow season, you think “why does this feel so hard”, “why is my HR going crazy on a super easy ski”….what is going on!? I trained so hard! Well the thing is, snow skiing is snow skiing, and while there are analogues that we use in the dry-season, they are still approximates and not “exactamites” .
Its worth noting that if you watch off-season training videos of the Swedes and Norwegians training in their national snow-tunnels, the athletes all say 2 things 1) it feels different than dry-land training( more like snow skiing ) 2) does not feel exactly like winter skiing outside. But all of the national team athletes start spending more time in the tunnels come October, because while not perfect, it’s closer to winter skiing than anything else…but even still, is not exactly the same.
so what do we do if we don’t have access to s snow-tunnel? how do we avoid that inevitable moment of “questioning fitness” when we put on our snow skis outside for the first time of the season? Two important considerations come to mind:
1. Trust in the process. Trust in the training plan that you put together 10-12 months ago. You did the work, and a little snow did not suddenly erase the 100’s of hours you spent sweating in the off-season. So this is the Mental Preparation for going back onto snow. Don’t expect to feel like you do in February, in November. If you are a Skimo athlete and have been racing mountainous Sky Races for 9 months, yes, even you might be breathing a bit harder with 5lbs of gear strapped on as you make your first lap at the resort. Setting your expectations for your first few days back will help you avoid panic.
2. Remember, no matter what kind of training you did in the off-season, what you did not do was ski outside on snow. Mechanically, snow-skiing is just different enough from anything else that it requires a bit of seasonal-warmup and mechanical-acclimatization no matter how many seasons you have under your belt. So the key-word is Patience. Your first day on snow skis should not be race-day. Give yourself a break for the first few days back on snow. You might even be sore is some obscure muscle.
its really easy to get super-excited for the first days back on snow, and if you remember these 2 points when you head outside on snow for the first time, your stoke will be amplified, not deflated.
Transitioning from dryland training, even roller skiing to snow training takes time. Skiing is harder than dryland. Don’t push it for the first couple of weeks.
Scott
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