Spring is when skiers take stock and set their goals for the next season. What do you want, and how do you get there?
Madshus athlete Halvard Hanevold, a former Norwegian national biathlon team racer, Olympian and World Champion, shares his best advice, whether your goals are the World Cup, your local races or simply becoming a better skier and have more fun on the snow.
There are three things to consider when setting goals and building a plan to get there:
Where am I now?
Where do I want to be?
How do I get there?
To the first item: It’s always good to take stock and determine where you are. Be honest in your evaluation, otherwise it’s hard to create a realistic plan. Make sure to include a capacity analysis when you evaluate the season – this is one example. Rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 where 10 is best in the world.
Example
Endurance/max capacity: 8
Endurance/high LT: 7
Strength: 7
Technique: 6
Mental strength/”race face”: 9
Where do you want to be: Ask yourself where you want to be next season. Where do you want to be two or five years from now? Be bold, dream a little! Spelling out your dreams can help motivate you on those less than perfect days.
Then put the picture of the current state next to your dreams and goals and determine what you have to do to get there.
How do you get there: The most important element. Before you get too deep in details, prioritize the most important elements. Ask yourself: Where do I most need to improve? From the above example, that’s technique. Where am I lagging a little behind my main competitors? What am I already good at, but with a little extra effort I could be the best in the world (above, that’s mental strength)?
Make a priority chart, such as this one from Hanevold:
| What | How |
| 1. Become the best in the world | Pretend workouts are races |
| 2.Continue to work on technique | Do specific technique workouts, with + w/o coaching |
| Always focus on technique, even on distance/ intensity | |
| Work on core strength (stabilizing, abs etc) | |
| 3. Improve upper body strength | Double-poling, roller board, speed, gym strength |
Always strive for a balance between what you need to improve on, and what you already do well but could become the best in the world at. This balance is important to stay motivated and not lose your confidence.
Identify training methods you enjoy. It’s important to put yourself in a situation where you most easily can reach your goals. For instance, some people like running their toughest intervals on a treadmill because these workouts are incredibly measurable. There are no external environmental factors that can interfere.
Spring and summer: Look at the opportunities where you are. Often, long summer days make it easier to get more volume, and offer a chance to do activities you otherwise don’t get to. If the snow sticks around in the spring, take advantage of skiing way into April and May. Consider paddling, swimming ad hiking. Play soccer, run orienteering, try adventure racing… Learn from other sports, get to know new people and pick up some new training methods. Build a solid foundation on general training and activities – you’ll enjoy that when the specific, hard training season sets in later in the fall.
(Sources: SKIsport)