Naturally, we are always thirsty for more information about training, nutrition, athletes, events, equipment, and everything related to the sport. Many of us know, at least on some level, how to train, what to eat, and what kind of equipment works best.

The sport is developing all the time; however, the principles of endurance sports are always the same. Many experts state that the theory of endurance sports has not changed radically in 60 years.

It goes without saying that in long-distance skiing, mastering double poling is the essence of everything, and of course, you must do it as much as possible if you want to succeed. The top Ski Classics Pro Tour athletes train hard with rollerskis, and most of them have rollerskiing for up to 80-90% of their summer training and mostly double poling.

We will write about double poling separately, but now let’s recall the basic terms of ski training. 

The basic training methods of all endurance sports, including skiing, are long aerobic training (long slow training), pace/tempo training, interval training, speed play (fartlek, this Swedish term is also used in English), long fast training (this is especially one of the most important forms of training for long-distance skiers) and strength training.

Long aerobic workouts at an easy pace are the base of training. As the name already says, the purpose is to train for several hours at or below the aerobic threshold. In skiing, especially long-distance skiing, this often means more than five hours of training for professional skiers. For recreational skiers, training can vary between 2 and 4 hours. In the summer, a skier’s training can be done rollerskiing, Nordic walking, running, hiking, road or mountain biking, or some other form of training such as swimming or rowing/kayaking.

As your endurance base increases and you gain experience, you can add short high-speed sprints to long workouts to break the monotony of a long session and develop speed. 

Therefore, tempo training is also needed. In simple words, this training is at the level where the body can remove lactate as much as it produces it. That is, lactate removal is at the same level as lactate production, so the so-called ‘wooden leg’ phenomenon does not occur.

The difference between tempo and the speed of competitive skiing, especially long-distance skiing, is that when competing, this threshold is crossed, and the body begins to tire as the distance progresses. In weekly training, on the other hand, the same speed can be maintained for a longer time, even several hours for top skiers. The exercise is therefore done at an anaerobic threshold, depending on the athlete’s condition, experience, and abilities.

Interval training is a workout in which different intervals are done in series, varying the speed and time, always followed by a recovery period. Intervals are often done at or above the anaerobic threshold, and the recovery is slow-paced. The interval length varies depending on what you expect with the exercise. 

In speed training, the intervals can be 20–30 seconds, which can be on uphill or variable terrain, and the recovery time can be the same or longer. Typical longer intervals are 3–6 minutes, and the recovery can be short if you want a more challenging workout. 

Varying the length and pace of training increases the heart’s capacity, raises the training thresholds and increases the endurance and the competition pace, which enable an increase in the skiing speed. With interval training, lactate thresholds are raised, and, of course, VO2max is increased. This is how the body is taught to use lactate as energy without feeling the muscles’ lactic acid ‘burning.’

The speed training mentioned above is close to interval training. The exercise improves the body’s ability to ski fast and make breakaways in the race. So, this type of training is sprints of 20-30 seconds followed by recovery. Intervals can be up to a minute long, especially if the terrain is favorable and you ski with fast rollerskis, for example. You can read more about speed training here.

Recovery is essential in these exercises because the purpose is to develop speed. You can do a series of intervals, for example, 5 x 20–30 seconds, and keep the recovery the same length. Still, such workouts can quickly become too hard, turning into more interval training and improving performance. Especially in winter, it is good to have a longer recovery between speed intervals so that the muscles and nervous system are ready for speed. In the summer, it is also good to make short sprints in connection with long aerobic workouts so that the monotony of the training is broken and the speed characteristics are preserved.

One method that combines both interval and speed training is speed play or fartlek. In it, the speed of the exercise varies freely, from a slow pace to fast intervals. This is a good form of exercise that also develops mental stamina and works exceptionally well for recreational skiers, for whom the actual interval training can be mentally hard.

Long fast training is when the skier trains for a long time at high speed, simulating competitive skiing. The speed, of course, depends on the level of the skier and the weekly program. This is a typical workout for long-distance skiers. Various intervals and fast sections often accompany this exercise, and the whole workout can last more than five hours, including hard intervals and tempo segments. This requires a strong fitness base and a mental edge, and the rest must be sufficient after the exercise.

Finally, we talk about strength training, which can be done at the gym, at home as a fitness circuit, or during your sports workout, for example, double poling up steep hills. For long-distance skiers, it is crucial to strengthen the core as well so that the double poling technique remains the same despite fatigue. You can read about core workouts here. 

Strength training is a physical activity that aims to increase muscle strength in a specific muscle group or individual muscle. The resistance is either external weights or your body weight. There are two types of resistance training; isometric and isotonic.

In isometric training, the athlete’s muscles work against a stationary object, such as the floor in push-ups or a bar in chin-ups. In isotonic, the muscles work against moving resistance, as in weightlifting. The importance of strength training has grown in modern skiing with increased performance and technical changes. Strength training can also be done in cycles, the so-called block training, focusing on gaining strength for a certain time. 

Here is a brief introduction to the basic forms and terms of skiing training that every athlete needs regardless of age, condition, and abilities. The training combines these forms into a weekly and monthly training program to achieve the best condition in the competition season. Of course, this varies according to the skier’s background and personal characteristics. In general, it can be said that endurance training should be 70-90% of the total training, 10-20% of intense training, intervals, and speed training, for example, and 5-10% of strength training.

This also varies according to the athlete’s age and experience. Many veteran skiers who have had a long career already have such a solid aerobic base that their base training is adequate, and the training pace is quite good. In this case, they often have a much lower training volume than, for example, younger skiers, for whom building the aerobic base is still the cornerstone of training.