Train like a pro: get in shape before the ski starts. Sport is for life

What does it take to become a champion in skiing, get into the Olympics and have a chance to be the best in the world?

If the answer to this question were simple, then skiing would not be what it is - a sport that requires tremendous endurance. The athlete needs a unique combination of physical data, many years of training that turns this data into a powerful sports “motor”, almost perfect technique, the best equipment in the world, a cheerleading team, luck and following two psychological rules. The first rule I call "killer instinct". It forces the athlete to train in the face of such a terrifying challenge as the fight for the title of the first in the whole world, it requires an almost inhuman will, courage and determination to rush forward for as long as it takes to reach the end of the cruelest Olympic distance. The second rule is "spiritual balance". It is not easy to reach the podium of victory, and on the way to it it is necessary to overcome many psychological obstacles. There will be injuries, and setbacks, and disappointments, and the temptation to deviate from the training schedule or overtrain, not allowing the body to fully recover. All these obstacles require the athlete to have psychological and emotional resilience, which will not give him the opportunity to go astray to victory.

To be born with a big heart and lungs
First of all, you all need to have suitable physical data. In fact, skiers are very different. Unlike other sports, where the winners look very similar to each other, the growth of champions in ski types sport ranges from 1.68 to 2 meters. You may have noticed that skiers, compared to other athletes, are thin, but this is not entirely true. The average skier weighs more than a runner but less than a rower. However, what really matters to a skier is on the inside.

Inside the skier is the biggest sports engine in the world. More - only in a thoroughbred racing horse-champion. The power of an athlete's engine depends on the ability to saturate the body with oxygen, which the muscles need to convert glucose into energy. Therefore, a skier needs big lungs and an equally large and very powerful heart. To some extent, in order to be born with outstanding data, he must be "lucky" with the genes. However, champions are special people not only because such a small percentage of the population has such genetic advantages, but also because even among these few, only a small part can endure all the training and have the necessary mental attitude to succeed.

hard training
What nature has given you means nothing without for long years hard training. You will never find a young champion in skiing. It takes years to build the endurance needed to stay on the track. On average, the age of a champion is from 27 to 29, and sometimes even up to 35 years. This fact can be explained by the fact that the heart is a muscle that becomes strong only after training. A skier's heart can pump more than 40 liters of blood per minute - in one beat it throws out more than 200 ml of blood, dispersing it through the body. Skiers train up to 30 hours a week!

Above all, training gives you time to perfect different riding techniques. During the race you have to use various techniques: skating, classic and double-support, and the athlete must not only perfectly master them, but also know in what situation they need to be used. None of the skating techniques can be called simple, they all require the athlete to have perfect accuracy of movements, which takes years to achieve. By the time skiers are "ripe" for the Olympics, the difference in possession efficiency different techniques in athletes is only 5-7%

The best equipment
The equipment of the champion, without a doubt, must be the best in the world. Most of the results of skiing competitions over the past 30 years have improved due to the improvement of equipment. Improvement means better weight deflection of skis, improved ski sliding surface and better lubrication. The correct weight deflection makes it possible to evenly distribute the weight of the athlete along the length of the skis. Optimal distribution of the athlete's weight is a delicate art, and must take into account the condition of the snow and the skier's skiing technique. sliding surface modern skis are made with small indentations. This eliminates the sticking of the water film on which the skis move. Finally, lubrication - the chemical coating of skis - a combination of science and experience, giving the champion the magical ability to glide perfectly on the surface of the snow.

Great team
Ability to be well equipped right time directly depends on the ability to play for a good team. Good team attracts sponsors - equipment manufacturers supplying the latest, almost works of art models that can greatly help the champion. In addition, a good team always has a system in place in which each member is provided with a set of skis and lubricants that correspond to the weather conditions on the day of the race. This task is carried out by a lot of oiling technicians and retired skiers who check the skis and grease while the athletes are resting.

Possibilities
Opportunities play a big role on the way to victory. You are more likely to become a champion if you come from a remote area where skiing was part of your growth and upbringing. Living in such places instills love for fresh air and heavy physical labor, which forces the champion to go out for a daily workout at any temperature.

"Killer Instinct"
Now let's move on to the final ingredients. This is the difference between Olympic Champions and very good athletes who were not selected to participate in the Games. A true champion has a spirit of a fighter that cannot be overcome. The credo of one of the greatest skiers of all time, Bjorn Dali: "I always give my 100%." He described his desire for success in the book "The Hunt for Gold". He compares the title fight to "climbing the stairs". According to his philosophy, "for those who really WANT to succeed, there are no limits." Bjorn believes that in order to keep climbing the stairs, you need willpower and a desire to succeed. All the talent in the world is nothing compared to an iron will. Twenty-year-old Dali climbed a hill near his home in Norway, taking five-minute breaks between climbs. Weather conditions did not matter to him - whether it was dark, cold, rainy. Each interval was given with such difficulty that after overcoming the next stage, he fell from exhaustion. After lying down for a few seconds, he descended again to begin a new ascent. He repeated this over and over. The force driving his training was willpower and the desire to become the best. He believes that it is not enough to just be the leader in the weekly standings and dream of a champion title - the dream should be replaced by a strong and firm desire to achieve this title.

Spiritual balance
So let's move on to the last part. Willpower and desire can drive you crazy, right? Yes, they can, and here there is a need to train the mind. Along with the desire to achieve success in the physical sense, that is, to become the fastest skier, a potential champion must focus on the connection of body and mind. You need to find a balance between too easy and too hard workouts. To find the "golden mean", you need to learn to listen to the body and control the mind, working with the body and mind together, direct them to achieve peak form, and stay at that peak. This is not an easy task, in which only some people achieve excellence, which gives them the opportunity to show their potential. Without it, they get sick, get injured, reach the peak of their abilities too quickly or do not reach at all, or even simply stop training. Dali was an absolute master at how hard and for how long you need to load the body during training.

For many years, every morning Evgenia Ivanova begins the same way: at 5.30 - getting up, at 6.00 - training. Master of Sports in cross-country skiing, he retired ten years ago, but continues to train seriously and set new goals for himself - now in triathlon. This story is about how the point of sports has become for a once village boy, and now a successful entrepreneur, a fulcrum in life.

For me, exercising is like sleeping. Sometimes, after work, you think: now I would go home and sleep. But still you go to an evening workout and the strength reappears, you can work again. I draw energy from sports, - Evgeny Ivanov, the owner of the POINT OF SPORT stores, says with a smile.

“I signed up for the section to run on plastic skis”

Eugene has been involved in sports since the 6th grade. At the school of the village of Bolshiye Siby, Mozhginsky district, where he comes from, plastic skis in physical education classes, they were given only to those students who went to training. The rest ran on their own.

I had wooden skis on soft mounts. To run on plastic ones, I signed up for ski section and I was drawn in. I quickly realized that in order to be the first, you need to train a little more than competitors. If everyone trains only in the evenings, then you also run in the morning. As a result, in the 8th grade, I won the district championship among schoolchildren, leaving behind even high school students.

But despite the athletic data, Evgeny Ivanov saw himself as a biotechnologist in high school. He won not only on the track, but also on district olympiads in biology, ecology and literature.

My parents are teachers: my mother worked all her life as an educator in kindergarten and his father was a school principal and teacher. Their priority was study, not sports. Therefore, my parents had one strict requirement for me and my middle brother Semyon, also a skier: if you want to train, study for "4" and "5". Once Semyon got a "troika" in Udmurt literature, so his father forbade him to go to competitions for the next quarter. So it was in our interest to study well.

Eugene is sure: in life you need to do only what you love. This credo is also used in work - all sellers in the stores "TOCHKA SPORTA" are athletes Photo: personal archive

“I won cars and sold them to buy sports equipment”

However, the sport took over. In the 11th grade, Evgeny Ivanov became the champion of Udmurtia, the winner of Russian competitions. It became clear that biotechnology would survive somehow without it. And he entered the Izhevsk branch of the Nizhny Novgorod Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, better known as Antonovka. They were just recruiting a sports team.

Our hero played for the Udmurtia cross-country skiing team, won prizes at the Russian championships, and in 2007 decided to end his sports career.

I was 27 years old, at that time quite an old man. It is now that skiers run even at more than 30 years old, but then there was a problem with funding, it was necessary to give way to the young. We were paid only for trips to training camps and competitions, we bought all the sports equipment ourselves. For example, I twice cross-country skiing won cars. He sold both, and spent half of the proceeds on skis, poles, and boots. I understood that if I did not invest, there would be no return.

Eugene won cars twice in competitions. And both times I sold them to buy the best one. Sports EquipmentPhoto: personal archive

Idea for business

After leaving the sport, Evgeny Ivanov saw two possible paths before him: to be a coach or to open his own business. The third - to work in his specialty in law enforcement agencies - he did not even consider. I realized that it was not his, even during the internship.

I am a loner, both in sports and in life. I understood that I would not be able to work for someone, but the topic of entrepreneurship interested me. I knew what I wanted to do. As a skier, he was constantly faced with a shortage of professional sports equipment. Therefore, I often asked the guys from the national team traveling abroad to bring me scarce goods from there. I ordered them with a small margin, resold the surplus. So there was no need to look for a free niche in business.

But still, the fear of the unknown, the fear that it might not work out, turned out to be stronger. Therefore, when Yevgeny Ivanov was offered to head the Mozhginskaya Youth Sports School, he agreed.

I liked working at the sports school, there were results, but it was crowded within the given limits. Like in sports, I wanted to work and not depend on anyone, rely only on myself. As a result, two years later, I quit my job and opened a sports equipment store in Mozhga. Many didn’t understand me then, they were spinning at the temple, they say, who in a city with a population of 50 thousand people needs a specialized store for skiers and runners?

Two "Points of Sports" in two years

But to the surprise of many things went well. In less than a year, the 300 thousand rubles invested in the opening of the store paid off. By that time, the novice entrepreneur already had a stock of goods worth a million rubles.

For the first year and a half, I was everything - a driver, an accountant, a loader, a salesman, a manager. It was good school, - Eugene recalls those difficult times. - I focused mainly on skiers, since in Mozhga and in the Mozhginsky district skiing developed. I went to Moscow every two weeks to buy goods myself. Moreover, he brought a lot on an advance payment - on the orders of coaches and athletes, with whom he continued to communicate. This made it possible to do without loans, to develop only due to high trade turnover.

A year and a half later, Evgeny Ivanov opened the second "POINT OF SPORT" - in Izhevsk. And a year later, in 2012, having got tired of plying the route Mozhga-Izhevsk-Mozhga every day, he moved to the capital of Udmurtia. This year, which Eugene spent between the two cities, he considers lost for sports.

Many athletes, ending their careers, completely forget about training, begin to enjoy the joys of life that were previously inadmissible to them. Why didn't you quit the sport?

Stops training, as a rule, the one who has achieved in sports high results. I didn't succeed. I had to throw out my unrealized fuse somewhere, so I continued to train. In addition, the feature of our store is that my employees and I test what we sell on ourselves. So sport accompanies me in business as well.

“A marathon is a kind of meditation for me. I try to enter a state of trance so as not to notice these exhausting kilometers. Photo: personal archive

“Famous manufacturers are asking to test their new products”

Knowing this, world-famous manufacturers of sports equipment, with whom Evgeny Ivanov directly cooperates, began to offer the Izhevsk entrepreneur to test their new products. For example, in 2015 he traveled to France to evaluate ski boots, which Salomon planned to put into production.

There are not so many sports retailers in Russia that not only sell, but also test their goods. I am convinced that this is the secret of success - you need to do only what you love, what you are an expert in. That is why all our salespeople are athletes. Here, for example, Sergey, - my interlocutor points to one of the sellers, - a candidate for master of sports in athletics, and Denis is a master of sports in cross-country skiing. When we get a new collection, I see how the guys' eyes light up. It is interesting for them to study everything themselves, so that they can then competently offer buyers.

“In order to attract buyers, they started holding competitions”

Eugene, at the very beginning you were afraid that the business might not go ahead, because professional athletes not so much, the majority buys sports goods in the same "Sportmaster". Where did you eventually find and continue to find buyers?

The fact that the buyers of "Sportmaster" will not come to us was obvious, after all, we do not have an economy class store. Interest was attracted in different ways. But the most effective method- to promote the development of sports where you work.

Back in 2009, while working in Mozhga, I experienced a noticeable decline in off-season sales. What to do? Decided to go for a bike ride. I figured that its participants would need helmets, cycling shoes and other accessories, and brought all this to the store in advance. I decided to give the winners and prize-winners of the competition not prizes, but cash certificates for the purchase of goods at the "POINT OF SPORT". As a result, they came not alone, but with friends. Out of ten people, two or three left with purchases.

We use this experience to this day. Every year "TOCHKA SPORTA" holds five ski and two triathlon starts. In addition, we are sponsors of many other competitions. If there are no starts, people go in for sports less, so we have fewer buyers. And so we kill two birds with one stone: we develop sports and business at the same time.

IRONMAN Medal in Barcelona Photo: Sergey Grachev

Another business rule is that you can’t get moldy, you need to constantly catch the trend. To do this, I once a year go to the international sports exhibition to Munich. There you can see what will be in trend in Europe in a year or two, and in our country in three or four. Buying novelties, goods of new brands, sometimes you work in the red, but by doing so you attract buyers. Many are flattered that they buy sportswear, shoes in the store, which presents all the most advanced.

Evgeny Ivanov notes another trend recent years. In the last two or three years, the customer base of his stores began to grow not at the expense of professional athletes, but at the expense of advanced amateurs.

Advanced amateurs are people who want to enjoy the sport, who need professional equipment. I include myself and my friends in them - the Vigorous team.

The Vigorous Team

Vigorous is a team of like-minded triathlon enthusiasts, some of whom, including our hero, proudly bear the title - Ironman (translated as "iron man").

IRONMAN - triathlon competitions. First, the athletes swim in open water for 3.86 km, then they ride a bike for 180.25 km, and then they also run for 42.195 km. Those who make it to the finish line are called "iron men"

We train together with Vigorous, we have a clear plan for every week. Our team is mostly entrepreneurs. Why? I think this is due to the fact that triathlon, marathon running are individual sports. Here, as in business, you work and see what you have achieved, not the team.

Every week, Evgeny Ivanov publishes the Vigorous training plan on Facebook. Here is one of them:

Next week FUN:

Monday. Sailing at 12:00 in the "Dynamo"
Tuesday. Ride on your own bike for 80 minutes
Wednesday. Sailing at 12:00 in the "Dynamo"
Thursday. Riding bikes at 6:00 80 minutes
Friday. They run at 6:00 from the gates of Kirov Park for 70 minutes. Sailing at 12:00 in the "Dynamo"
Saturday. Brik (combined training - bike + run) 60+5, at 8:30
Sunday. Ride bikes 150 minutes at 8:30

Evgeny Ivanov notes that the current boom in triathlon in Udmurtia is not the first. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, it was already observed. Then the triathlon was even included in the program of republican rural sports games. In 2002, Eugene, playing for the team of the Mozhginsky district in this type of competition, took 4th place. Then he could not have imagined that this was the first step towards the Ironman title.

Evgeny Ivanov at the IRONMAN competition in Barcelona Photo: personal archive

“In two months I learned to swim 4 km”

Evgeny Ivanov returned to triathlon in 2014. It is recognized that something unknown at that time attracted him to this sport.

I did not understand why someone completely different distances are given easily, and you die on them? The interest was also aggravated by the fact that at that time several Izhevsk residents took part in IRONMAN competitions at once and became "iron people". I decided to follow suit and showed up for Ironman 2015 in Copenhagen.

I did not prepare purposefully, as a result, at the “dress rehearsal” - the sprint triathlon in Izhevsk - I barely swam 750 meters. And in a couple of months I had to swim almost 4 km! Rescued Zhenya Morozov, swimming coach, whom I met at the competition. He showed me how to swim correctly, pointed out the mistakes, and as a result, after a couple of training sessions, I began to swim 3-4 km.

It was hard in Copenhagen, I wanted to retire. The only thing that stopped me from taking this step was that all my friends knew about my participation in IRONMAN. As a result, he finished with a time of 10 hours 47 minutes. Then I realized what I need to work on, and the whole next year I trained hard.

"It's not just participation that's important, it's the result that's important"

What does “strengthened” mean in the understanding of our hero can be imagined if we compare his results. A year later, Evgeny Ivanov overcame IRONMAN in Barcelona in 9 hours 52 minutes - almost an hour better than in 2015.

Running out of 10 o'clock is very cool for an amateur. In Udmurtia better result only a professional triathlete in the past, multiple champion of Russia Denis Lekomtsev - 9 hours 27 minutes - Evgeny is satisfied. - This autumn I'm going to Barcelona again, I want to beat Denis' record. He knows about it and also does not sleep, trains.

By the way, the Vigorous made an unofficial rating of the "iron people" of Udmurtia. They included in it the acting head of the republic Alexander Brechalov. With a result of 10 hours 41 minutes in the IRONMAN super triathlon, he takes the 5th position in it

It is important for me not only to participate in competitions, but also to achieve a certain result in order to say to myself: "I did it, I did it." So it was this year at the ski marathon in Ugra (I don’t even quit skiing), I wanted to run at least part of the distance ahead of the great Petter Nortug (two-time Olympic champion - Ed.) and Sergey Ustyugov, invincible this season (two-time world champion - Approx. ed.). And I did it, although I started far behind the leaders.

“During a marathon I go into a trance state”

- Eugene, what do you think about while you are swimming, running, pedaling for almost 10 hours?

You can think about something, solve some issues in training. And marathons for me, when I run alone, and not in a group or with someone in a pair, are a kind of meditation. I try to enter a trance state so as not to notice these exhausting kilometers. Haruki Murakami described this condition very well in his book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. He compares running to long distances with internal cleansing, and I agree with him.

- If you prioritize, what comes first for you now: sports, family or business?

It should be right - family, work, hobby. But it turns out differently for me: business, family, sports. Although my wife and I work together, she is the marketer of our stores. Alexandra has never been involved in professional sports, but she is with me at all competitions, she even ran 10 km in Kazan when I ran a marathon there.

- Is sport for life?

Perhaps yes. And in this I have someone to look up to. Nikolai Arsenievich Smolin, the coach of many well-known Mozhginsky skiers, for example, Dmitry Yaparov, Olympic medalist in Sochi, continues to play sports at the age of 83. This season he competed and skied 56 km in 4 hours! He is cheerful, despite the years, and I strive for this too.

Eugene with his wife Alexandra Photo: personal archive

DOSSIER

Evgeny Ivanov, 36 years old

Owner of "Point of Sport" stores.
Master of Sports in cross-country skiing.
Triathlete, twice participated in IRONMAN competitions. Takes 2nd place in the unofficial ranking of Udmurt triathletes.
Married.

Through regular cross-country skiing, you can easily reach a level where workouts are perceived easily. But to become fast in competition, you need to do special training aimed at developing the qualities needed in racing.

Whether you're a World Cup skier or a competitor in your city, the suggested weekly training plan below will help you get faster and reach your goals.

6 days per week

Most elite skiers train 6 times a week and rest 1 day a week. week plan includes long, interval and strength training. If you want to be successful in ski competitions from January to March, then from the very beginning of winter you need to do some kind of endurance training 6 times a week. The duration of training should be from 1 to 3 hours, depending on your goals and level of training. Ideally, of course, it should be skiing (skating and classic style in alternation), but if your area has problems with snow, then you can run, run with sticks, roller-ski or bike - any of these activities will support your functional state .

Interval training

At least once a week, usually on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, cross-country skiers do interval training. If you are preparing for a long race ski marathon), the intervals should not be too intense, but long enough - this way you will develop endurance, which will be very useful closer to the finish line of the marathon.

An example of such an interval workout to prepare for a ski marathon: intervals lasting 8-10 minutes at intensity level 3 on a 5-point scale (where 1 is the easiest level, 5 is the hardest). Rest 4 minutes between intervals. Start these workouts 6 weeks before your target start and dial in them at first for 30 minutes of interval work, gradually increasing to 60 minutes.

Those preparing for shorter races (5 or 10K) should do shorter intervals. The traditional scheme involves 4 x 4 minutes, but 6 x 3 minutes are also possible. or 4 x 5 minutes. As your race approaches, the duration of the intervals should be shortened and the intensity should be increased in order for you to train your competitive speed.

Power training

There is a common saying among skiers that “heavy workouts should be hard and light workouts should be easy.” So on long training days, ski at an easy pace so you can really push yourself through your intervals.

Another option for hard training is power training. Strength training during the ski season will help strengthen individual groups muscles, strengthening your entire body and helping to avoid injury. A typical strength workout lasts 40-60 minutes and includes leg, arm, and core exercises (in that order), as well as stretching.

Do not worry about the lack of work with the scales during the winter. Instead, do exercises with own weight aimed at important muscle groups for skiers: quadriceps, rear surface hips, triceps, latissimus dorsi back, press To develop the strength of the legs, you can do lunges, squats, jumping, and for the arms - pull-ups, push-ups, push-ups with emphasis on the back (on the triceps). Strong core muscles are a serious “weapon” for a skier. So end your workout with 5-10 exercises that target a variety of abdominal and back muscles. We really like exercises such as fitball rollouts, back raises, medicine ball throws and the “wipers” exercise (lowering the legs to one side and the other while lying on the back).

Rest

Finally, one of the most important components of successful training is rest. Always include recovery in your training program, and this includes more than just a rest day.

Do volume workouts at an easy pace, remember to sleep a lot and drink a lot. The foundation of your recovery is nutrition, so be sure to grab a snack containing carbohydrates and proteins when you go to training; Eat it within the first 15 minutes of finishing your workout. Also do a carb-load 2 days before an important race.

In order to feel fresh and rested on race day, reduce your training volumes the week before the race. This week, do not do interval training, replace it with short 10-second accelerations, trying to develop maximum speed on them.

Following this training plan will help you become a strong skier ready to compete successfully.

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Before posting excerpts from training diaries I want you to read excerpts from an interview with Bjorn Daly. This interview is almost 20 years old, but views on training process and the motivation of the athlete are very relevant in our time. Yes, perhaps something has been revised in the training methodology and his training plans seem outdated. But this is only at first glance. Daly's commitment to the final result, his desire to constantly improve, not to stand still is striking.

Bjorn Daly - famous Norwegian skier, eight-time Olympic champion and a nine-time world champion.

Several times during testing documented IPC indicator 96 ml/kg/min. One of the highest rates in the history of testing.

He always wanted to be a skier. Systematic training began at the age of 15 years. He did not win a single race in the Norwegian Junior Championship. However, at the age of 20, he finally got into the national team of Norway. It took him another 4 years to shoot in the main team. And since 1991, the triumphant period of the athlete began.

So excerpts from the interview in the form of a question-answer:

training volumes.

What is the training volume each year? About 800 hours effective workouts in year.
What month has the highest volume? September, October and November. About 90-100 hours per month.
When do you exercise the least? April. About 30-40 hours.
How often do you exercise? Twice a day.
How many workouts per week in the fall? 12-14 workouts every week.

Remote training.

What percentage is distance training? On time - 80%. I am switching at competitive speed while working remotely.
What is the pulse during distance training? 130 on average, 140-150 while going uphill.
What is the maximum duration of distance training? 5 o'clock. I do 3 - 3.5 hour running training every week.

Intensity.

How often do you do interval training per week? From May to August, one interval training per week. From September to November, two interval training sessions per week. During competitive season, no interval training per week. Too many races.
Can you give me an example of a typical interval workout? 4 x 6 min. uphill running intervals. 5 x 5 min. cross-country intervals. Tempo work - 10 km for the time.
How heavy are the intervals? Within maximum value Heart rate at the end of each interval.

Power training.

Do you work with weights? Yes, light weights and lots of reps.
Do you work on special equipment? Yes, on a skateboard. On the treadmill before strength training as a warm-up.
What exercises do you use the most? Squats. Back exercises and abs. And of course the main thing is work on a skateboard.
How often do you do strength training? Three times a week in summer and autumn. In winter, less or even stop before important competitions.
How many repetitions during strength exercises? 10-50, sometimes more.
How many sets do you do? Usually three sets of several exercises.
Do you do special strength training on rollerskis or skis? When I was younger, I did special uphill rollerski work using DP. But now it's part of my regular distance training, as I predominantly use modern moves both flat and uphill. This is my typical special strength work.
Have you used the help of third-party strength training specialists? Yes, before Olympic Games 1994 we worked a lot with specialists speed skating under a special strength program.

Control and tempo workouts.

What part do control and tempo workouts take? In the summer I often participate in roller ski and ski shows. In the fall, I do 1-2 test workouts a month. The length of the control workout is usually about 30 minutes.

Speed work and explosive power.

What exercises do you use to develop explosive leg strength and increase repulsion power? I use jump simulation for short sections, with ski poles and without. Very often I do interval training in the form of jumping imitation with sticks. This great exercise to develop the power of the legs and besides one of the best exercises for the development of the cardiovascular system.
Do you use track work in the stadium to increase your speed? Every summer, when the national team has a ski camp in June or July, we hold control training in the 3000m race around the stadium. My best time 8 minutes 18 seconds. And no one has surpassed him yet. We have a couple of guys with track and field backgrounds and they set the pace for these workouts. A couple of years ago I ran the 800m against Thomas Alschgort at the Bishlet Stadium. In the presence of a huge number of spectators, he won in 1:59, I ran in 2:01. He won a car that he donated to charity.

intensity and heart rate.

At what intensity do you train? For all of us who train a lot (800-850 hours per year, excluding gymnastics and flexibility exercises, work on technique), most of the work is done at a low heart rate. My maximum heart rate is 190 beats per minute. I do remote work on a pulse of 130. On lifts, the pulse rises slightly to 140-150. I often accelerate during distance training to competitive speeds so that the body does not forget that I am a racer after all. Approximately 10% of the total is hard work, which includes racing, interval training, test starts. In the fall, I do two interval workouts a week. When I do intervals, it's really, really hard work. For example, here is my last interval workout. I did 4 x 3.5 km uphill at maximum effort. Used roller skis. At the end of the intervals, I reached the maximum heart rate of 190.
What do you think of monitors? heart rate? Yes, this is a good device for beginner athletes, which helps to determine the maximum heart rate and helps to feel the training zones. However, as an elite athlete, he gives me little. I have gone through so many MIC and lactate tests in so many different conditions that I know my body perfectly. Wearing a heart rate monitor and being maniacally dependent on what heart rate zone I am in is not for me. I focus on my well-being and knowledge of my body. I believe that young skiers should also use heart rate monitors less to learn how to feel their body and not become a slave to these devices. I believe that the younger generation who use monitors and calculated recommended intensity zones are training too little, which does not develop enough aerobic capacity.

Technical training.

You keep working on technology ski runs? Yes, I continue to study videos of my movements and the movement of opponents. I also do a lot of joint training with Thomas Alschgort to improve my skating style movement. We work together, one after another, we try different variants at different speeds, trying to find the best technique for different driving conditions and terrain. An important part of my training is working on cross-country skis. I specially prepare skis with uncertain grip and hone the technique of movement in these difficult conditions.

Other training methods.

Do you use alternative preparation methods? Yes, in the summer I do a lot of cycling and kayaking on the lakes.

Getting to the top of the form.

What are you doing to reach your peak? sportswear? Since 1990, the Norwegian national team has been very successfully using the highlands in their preparation and reaching the peak of form. For me it works very well. For me, the number of camps in the mountains, their duration, rest periods and the final camp in the mountains were calculated. Everything is calculated and aimed at achieving maximum performance for the main starts of the season. In addition, it saves us from unnecessary communication and gives us the opportunity to fully focus on the preparation. Naturally total load decreases.
How many rest days do you take when you are in peak shape? Not at all. I train every day, but with a smaller load.
How much rest do you have while preparing in the fall? Not at all. I usually have one day of rest per month, very rarely two.
What do you focus on in the last week before the main competitions? I don't have a formula for success. I listen to my body and correct work. I mainly use medium intensity and short accelerations.

Nutrition.

What is your diet? Regular Norwegian food with many variations. I eat a lot of bread, potatoes, pasta, vegetables, fish and meat. I take a lot of fluids in the form of water and sports drinks. It is important for me that the food is natural and tasty. I don't eat what they say may be good for me if I don't like the taste.

Tips for young skiers.

Can you suggest an example of interval training for juniors? I think the following work will be useful - uphill intervals of 2 min + 3 min + 5 min + 1 min. Rest between intervals is half the time of the interval.
What is your advice for ambitious juniors? Train as varied as possible. Try not to do the same interval work. Remember the interval can be 1 minute and 15 minutes, and everything in between. Use the terrain that is available to you and squeeze the most out of it. You don't need to copy the workouts you heard about from someone else, it could be a completely different terrain, different elevations, different lengths. Use what is around you. More advice. Gradually increase the load to reach maximum volumes by the age of 20. This allows you to integrate into adult sports without stress. I also want to note that I started to specialize in cross-country skiing only at the age of 15. Before that, there was a versatile, diverse training.

Summer preparatory work.

What other secrets are there in the "Norwegian" ski training system?

The truth is that Norwegians do a huge amount of low-intensity work. They wind up kilometers for hours at a “conversational” pace.
Intensity during interval training really very high.
They avoid training at an average pace. Two poles. Either slowly or very quickly.
They do a lot of strength work.
Use competitions, summer and winter, as part of the training program.
They eat well and properly. They prefer natural products.