As published in the November 2024 edition of Apex Matters
I’m 1500 kilometers away from home, in hot sunny San Francisco – one of the last places you’d think of for cross-country skiing. But I’m looking at our webcam right now and I see snow! As happy as I am to see the ocean, Alcatraz, family and friends, work on my tan, and marvel at self driving taxis, I can’t wait to get this season started. As I trekked up and down these impossibly steep streets, I felt a burn in my legs and glutes and lungs, imagined myself on my two favorite climbs: Eagle’s Nest and Motherlode up to Upper Meadow. If only these roads were covered in fresh, groomed snow! This city would be a skier’s dream. If you like hills like I do, I mean.
Daydreaming aside, I did realistically see I could use my location and situation to my advantage. Whether you’re in a city, a small town, or stuck indoors, you can bring elements of cross-country skiing into your workout routine to get ready for this season. And you don’t even need roller skis.
Uphill Power: Mimic the Climb
Mimic a steep herringbone ski by running or quickly walking up up slopes or stairs. Just like tackling an incline on the trail, these moves challenge your quads, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, building both muscle strength and endurance. Look for the steepest streets, staircases, or even hills in local parks. Try this routine:
Power Walks: Walk briskly up a slope or flight of stairs, focusing on each stride.
Incline Sprints: If you’re conditioned for it, add sprints, going all out for short bursts before walking down to recover.
Backward Climbs: For balance and agility, try walking backward up a hill or incline, which will also work different muscle groups and improve coordination.
Flatland Gliding: Urban Intervals
Cross-country skiing isn’t all hills; there’s plenty of flat, steady gliding too. Urban spaces are perfect for interval training, where you alternate between intense activity and rest, mimicking the rhythm of flat trails. This helps boost cardiovascular health and stamina, key for long days on the trails. Here’s an interval workout inspired by cross-country skiing:
Street Markers as Distance Goals: Use streetlights, parked cars, or other markers as goals, sprinting between them.
Timed Intervals: Set a timer for 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off, keeping your pace steady and focusing on maintaining good form.
Imaginary Glide: As you jog or walk, envision each step as a ski glide, pushing through your toes and feeling the power in your lower body.
Intervals (or HIIT, High Intensity Interval Training) are great for conditioning your heart and lungs, helping you handle the long and winding winter trails with ease.
Pole Power: Upper Body Workouts
Ski poles are essential, propelling us forward and engaging the entire upper body. Without a gym, we can still activate the same muscles—lats, triceps, delts, and core—to prepare for pole work on the trails. Try these:
Pull-Ups or Assisted Pull-Ups: If there’s a bar or even a sturdy branch, pull-ups are fantastic for building lat and upper body strength. You don’t even need to do a full pullup, just grab something a little higher than your shoulders, lean back and pump out a bunch of reps.
Tricep Dips: Find a park bench or ledge and do dips to engage the triceps, critical for each pole push. Or pushups, and they don’t even have to be horizontal. Just lean forwards and push off a fence or desk.
Overhead Punches or Shadow Boxing: Stand in place and punch upward and outward as if pushing against resistance, targeting the delts and arms.
Walking Lunges with Arm Swings: Step forward in a lunge, bringing your opposite arm up as if you’re using poles, switching with each step to work the shoulders, arms, and core.
If you walk with poles use them to propel yourself forward.
Core and Balance: Stability for the Slopes
Downhill sections in cross-country skiing require core stability and balance, especially when snow conditions vary. Here’s how to train for it:
Single-Leg Balances: On flat ground, balance on one leg, and reach forward with the opposite arm, holding for a few seconds to engage your core.
Russian Twists (without weights): Sit on the ground, lift your legs slightly, and twist side-to-side, mimicking the core strength needed to stay balanced on the trails.
Crunches and Bicycle Crunches: These core workouts build abdominal strength and stability, vital for keeping your form as you glide.
Lateral Lunges: Moving side to side, as you would when gliding downhill, strengthens your legs and improves lateral balance.
These exercises sharpen your coordination and prepare you for those slippery slopes with confidence and ease.
Breathing for Endurance: Big-City Air
One of the underrated aspects of cross-country skiing is the way it demands controlled breathing, especially at altitude. While San Francisco’s air isn’t quite the same as a mountain breeze, the city’s elevation changes and coastal air still challenge the lungs. Here’s how to practice:
Deep Breathing Exercises: Take deep, steady breaths as you walk, focusing on expanding your diaphragm.
Breath Hold Practice: Try holding your breath for a few seconds between inhales, as you would on steep climbs.
Slow Exhales on Climbs: When walking or running uphill, focus on long, slow exhales to control your breathing rhythm.
Breath control improves endurance and helps you stay calm and focused, just like on the ski trail.
Let Your Mind Wander: The Power of Visualization
Lastly, let’s not forget the mental side of cross-country skiing – the moments when you’re one with nature, gliding in rhythm, clearing your mind. Though the streets of any city are noisy and distracting, you can still find peace by visualizing yourself on the trails, surrounded by fresh snow. Imagine each step as a glide, each climb as a challenging ascent. Visualization isn’t just a fun escape; studies show it actually helps improve athletic performance and mental resilience.
Wrapping It Up
As we wait for snow up in the hills, these urban workouts can help you stay prepared for ski season, even in the heart of the city. Cross-country skiing is more than just a winter sport – it’s a lifestyle of endurance, strength, and joy. Wherever you are, you can embody that spirit, training not just for physical readiness but for the sense of freedom and adventure that skiing brings. So, here’s to staying trail-ready!
Jens Petersen
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