The Norwegian traditional cross-country skier Emil Iversen is in full training mode with the preparations that will lead to a comeback before the World Championships at home in 2025. Here is the 31-year-old’s favorite training session during dryland season.

After Emil Iversen was not selected for the Norwegian National Team, he is focusing on a comeback with his private plan and support team. But he doesn’t miss training partners, even though he is outside the national team.

The goal is to be selected for the Norwegian squad for the 2025 World Championships in Trondheim, Norway. If he wants to achieve that goal, many hours of training must be done where the World Championships will be held, and when the event starts, few people will know the courses in Granåsen better than Emil Iversen.

The 31-year-old trains there both in the summer and winter and during the dryland season, there’s a training session that he always looks forward to.

“The goal is that when we get to the World Championships, I will be one of the people with the most sessions on the tracks,” says Emil Iversen about the comeback project.

Are you enjoying the dryland season, or is it just a long countdown to the next racing season?
“I like working out. I’m happy in the summer and think dryland season training is fun.”

What is your favorite workout during the dryland season?  
“There are ‘semi-hard’ intervals in the roller ski track in Granåsen, together with Didrik Tønseth and the other guys. It is undoubtedly a favorite session.”

Why do you like the session?  
“It’s fun to ski the roller ski track in Granåsen, and it’s a session that includes many elements.”

What does such a session look like?
“It’s a standard interval session, six times 10 minutes with two minutes rest between each interval, in varied and hilly terrain.”

How is the session structured?
“We start with a simple warm-up of about half an hour and then do the intervals. They are ‘semi-hard’ intervals, but we go faster and faster throughout the session. Afterward, we do a 20-to-30-minute cooldown.”

What specifically do you get out of that session? And why is it so good?  
“It’s a session where you get a lot of useful information, both technique and tactics because you roller ski with others. The interval time is a full hour; then you get to train capacity and endurance as well.”

How often do you run this session?  
“Once a week, depending on other things that happen or if it’s a camp. But at least three times in four weeks.”

How long does it take, from start to finish?  
“Just over two hours, including warm-up, cooldown, and the intervals.”

Read More: Five videos to improve your roller skiing technique. 

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