“At the start of the training year, it’s important to decide what you want to improve on this season. For many, upper body strength and double poling should be high on that list”, says former Norwegian national team coach Geir Endre Rogn to Langrenn.com.

He finds that more and more traditional skiers are curious about what long-distance skiers do. “It’s not without reason.”

“Many are inspired by what long-distance skiers achieve when they compete in traditional ski races, including what Astrid Øyre Slind achieved at the World Championships and what Eirik Sverdrup Augdal achieved at the end of the season this year,” says Rogn, referring to the long-distance skiers’ victory in the five-mile freestyle and bronze medal in the 10-kilometer classic during part 2 of the Norwegian Championships.

“I think we’ll see a number of cross-country skiers who are keen to see how fast they can go in traditional distance cross-country skiing this winter, especially in the first part of the season when the World Cup squad is selected.”

Rogn is a training expert on Cross-Country.com and runs training guidance through his company Topptrent.com. The former national team coach believes that many people have a lot to gain from being inspired by cross-country skiers, both to increase their own chances at the World Championships, but also in general at all levels.

Also Read: Setting SMART goals for the summer training season

He emphasizes that it’s not only the elite athletes who will benefit from prioritizing upper body capacity both in the run-up to the season and throughout the winter.

“There are probably some people who have become a little slower with double poling since the double pole-free zones were introduced, but double poling is such a big part of cross-country skiing now that traditional skiers should definitely look at some of the things they do in long-distance cross-country skiing,” says Rogn, and continues:

“There was more focus on double poling and upper body capacity back then when you could double pole everything. But what we saw was that when the traditional skiers focused more on double poling and upper body capacity, they got better at everything. They not only got better at poling but also better at double poling and upper body work in general. It’s not surprising when you consider that upper body work accounts for around half of the propulsion when you push straight backward.

Rogn points out that double poling has not become less important in cross-country skiing after the double poling-free zones.

“Double poling is an important part of traditional cross-country skiing in general, both in sprinting and distance and in upper body work in skating. Creating really high speed requires a lot of power from the upper body. For example, the introduction of the men’s 10-kilometer race, which places even greater demands on speed than the 15-kilometer race, has made upper body capacity even more important,” he says.

Specifically, how should you train to increase your upper body capacity and get better at staking?

“There are many sessions that are relevant, but the most important thing is to get double poling sessions in regularly, especially now in the training season, but also throughout the winter,” says Rogn.

“He recommends doing a lot of long double poling sessions, as well as regular interval double poling sessions. If you want to get better at something, you really have to prioritize it.”

“I think it’s important to think a little differently about double poling intervals and make sure you get some speed into them.”

This is the coaching expert’s suggestion for a staking interval session:

3 x 10 minutes of 30/30 intervals. This means that you ski 30 seconds at really high speed, then 30 seconds with more flow, and alternate between these until 10 minutes have passed. In between each 10 minutes, take a two-to-three-minute break. Feel free to ski the session in relatively easy terrain.

Remember to warm up well before and after the interval part of the session.

Are you interested in long-distance and traditional cross-country ski training? Click HERE and read more about it.

Geir Endre Rogn is a training expert at Langrenn.com. He has a coaching education with a specialization in cross-country skiing and a master’s degree in coaching and psychology from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences and extensive experience in the profession: Rogn coached the women’s elite national team for two seasons, until May 2020, and the junior national team for two years before that, as well as eight years as a coach at NTG Geilo. Rogn now runs training guidance through his company, Topptrent.com, and follows up everything from elite runners to younger athletes and fit amateurs in cross-country skiing, biathlon, and running.