This plan is designed for the avid cross country skier that already has a solid general fitness background and who is ready to accelerate their ski specific fitness. If you’re not familiar with training zones, there is an aerobic and anaerobic threshold test to hep you define your individual zones. The volume and intensity training of the plan is geared towards competing in a longer marathon style race; at least 20-50 kilometers. Because this is a 12 week plan, it is recommended to have a decent foundation of aerobic fitness built up over the summer and fall months.

Even though there are technical and tactical pointers and guidelines, athletes that choose this plan should feel confident in their technical abilities so they can get the most out of the physical and mental demands of the plan. Although not necessary, an athlete can get even more out of this plan by working on their technical skills throughout the summer on roller skis.

Athletes can easily extend the plan by repeating weeks 1-4 before progressing to week 5 if their objective is farther into the future.

This plan includes an anatomical adaptation period of strength training (4 weeks), then progresses into a max strength phase (4 weeks), and then finally followed by a more ski specific and plyometric strength program (2.5 weeks) that is geared towards ski specific movements. For the final week and a half the focus turns to applying that power into high intensity speed training while reducing the overall volume of training.

Send us your success stories! You might also want to visit our free forum at uphillathlete.com where you will find answers to the most common questions about our training plans.

Happy Training,
The Uphill Athlete Team