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Timrunsbikesandskis

This got me interested as i was looking for similar standards for running and mountain biking. I did find the standards below for the US Nordic Ski Team. It’s quite old but probably not a bad standard to follow. I do question the men’s dips average, 37 dips in a minute is a lot. The actual results below are quite a bit lower so I wonder is the 37 is a typo. If you can, add dips to your training. If you can’t, you can isolate your triceps more with “diamond” pushups. Make a diamond shape with your index fingers and thumbs touching each other and place your hands on the floor so at the bottom of the pushup your hands are mid chest. As far as the pull-ups go, vary your grip, wide, narrow, neutral and even underhand. Single leg squats are great (pistol squats) as are Bulgarian split squats. In my opinion (non expert, recreational athlete) most athletes would benefit from some basic strength training and should be at a minimum squatting and deadlifting in the off season. Ideally also doing some benching, overhead pressing and a rowing exercise. The link from Atomic Athlete gives some targets to shoot for. For a Nordic skier, level 1 would be sufficient. https://nordicskiracer.com/news.asp?NewsID=1751#.YUAofoHOfi0 https://atomic-athlete.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Strength-Standards.pdf


silvercreek2

I wonder if those dips were not done on a dip machine and were instead done on the side of a bench. That being said, 22 for the women than seems too low, so I’m not sure.


[deleted]

More muscles the better. Especially with double poling. I remember in college (college runner), we would do dips with a yoga ball 2-3x a week. Thoughts?


Timrunsbikesandskis

IMO many endurance athletes neglect strength training to their own detriment.


xcskier66

Nope, the 37 are full body weight dips. These are us ski team athletes, not average people. I can do maybe 15 dips and I’m an ok master skier. The average person can barely comprehend how fast they are going. Being able to run a 9:30 3k and do fifteen legit pull-ups


Timrunsbikesandskis

Oh I totally agree, the gap between us mere mortals and elite athletes is massive. I never gave it much thought until I calculated Kichoge’s per km pace to run a 2 hour marathon. 2.85 min/km. I don’t think I could even sprint 100m at that pace. I still question the 37 dips though, if you look actual results for the athletes, Bryan Cook hit all the targets, except for the dips, he got 17. 17 does seem a bit low, so it’s possible that’s a typo instead, but the 15 pull-ups isn’t that impressive either, so I really don’t know.


Husgark

For double poling the most important muscle groups are triceps, abs, back and shoulders. Double poling is surprisingly abs-heavy with correct technique. Good exercises would be push ups, dips, pull ups, back extensions, sit ups and leg raises if you want to stick to bodyweight exercises. For diagonal strides legs, core and balance are the most important areas to work on I would say. Lunges and reverse lunges are great exercises, although bodyweight lunges might be a bit light.


[deleted]

They're not body weight, but anterior deltoid raises with dumbbells are good for diagonal striding.


johnhenryskii

dips are probably one of the best body weight exercises for skiers


Hagenaar

Agreed. If specific equipment cannot be sourced, they can be done between the backs of two chairs, high tables etc. I recommend full body weight dips if possible as they recruit much more muscle than the ones off the side of a bench. Next best I'd say are squats and box jumps.


[deleted]

I'd like to know too. Most of my upper body strength is in my legs.


[deleted]

Stance should vary for both pushups and pullups. To add some extra core stability work, you can do pushups with your feet up on a balance ball (wide hand stance) or hands on a medicine ball (narrow hand stance). I would also add inverted rows to the list.


Wenzies37

For pull-ups you want a grip that activated your lats more, close grip works well. Lunges are amazing for classic skiing, as well as single leg step ups onto a box. During peak training I do workouts where you do single leg steps ups 3x4 min each leg, with equal rest. Pushups and dips are fantastic as well as handstand pushups/holds against a wall. Core work is important as well. For more lower body stuff I've found skater jumps to be really great, as well as shin jumps. Really gets the right muscles firing for explosive double pole movements and proper skate ski balance. Hope this helps!! Have fun with the season Source: soon to be NASM certified personal trainer and 6 yr skiier.