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Updates from August, 2009 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
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cxccoach
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cxccoach
Calculating Training Load
Can you give more detail on how to calculate training load? For example, how many minutes at Level 1 gives a load of 10? How many Level 3 intervals to get a load of 6?
Intensity is commonly measured by perceived exertion. Perceived exertion is often scaled from 1 to 10, 4 to 20, etc. A popular method is a 1-10 scale which coincidently corresponds to general lactate levels. Another very simplistic method, which is what we are using in CXC Academy, is an intensity scale 1-5 that corresponds with the training levels 1-5. Review back to “Determine Your Training Intensity” under the yearly overview section. You will see definitions for each intensity level and their corresponding lactate, VO2 percentage and percentage of maximal heart rate.
In short, a consistent unit of measure for time and intensity is necessary to measure load. We use hours to measure duration and a 1-5 training intensity scale to measure intensity for purposes of CXC Academy. Measuring load and not just duration alone is an excellent method to measure training and how much one can handle week to week, month to month and year to year.
For example, one workout might have 15 minutes of warm-up, 20 minutes of level 4 intervals (5X4 minutes) with 4 minutes recovery in between and then a 15 minute cool down. The total training load of that workout would have a load of:
Level 4 – 0.33 hrs X 4 = 1.33 TL.
Level 1 – 15 min warm-up + 4min X 5 recovery time between intervals + 15 min cool down = 50 min or 0.83 hrs
0.83 hrs X 1 = 0.83 TL
Total effort is 1.33 TL + 0.83 TL = 2.17 TL
We often analyze total training load per training level per week. For example, 10TL for the week in level 1 is 10 hr of level 1 training for that week.
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kchaudoin
Fun in the Northwoods/Birkie Master’s Camp
The last time I wrote was in the middle of our speed block at the Hayward camp in July. Needless to say I survived my first speed block : ) and it wasn’t even as bad as I thought it would be! I have to see how I feel after a second, but I think I liked having so much intensity jammed into one week; it made me feel like I was getting some really good training in.
After the Hayward camp, I spent about a week in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, training with my boyfriend, Kevin Patzoldt, who is a biathlete. We got some really good training in (though my week was pretty small since it was a rest week after our intensity block), while also attending a wedding and spending a day or two on the lake swimming and fishing on off days. Once I left Grand Rapids, I drove back to Ely for about a week, where I spent time with my parents, worked, and of course got some more solid training in. The week in Ely just flew by, and by the time I knew it I was traveling back to the Cable/Hayward area to help coach at the Birkie Master’s Camp August 7th through the 9th. Throughout the camp there were several technique sessions, evening lectures, and even one videoing/analyzing session. Matt Liebsch and I also led a trail run and bounding/ski walking session Saturday afternoon. A planned 1:30 trail run quickly turned into a 2:15 session…yeah…Matt and I aren’t from the area ; ). But the run was great, and luckily we didn’t make TOO many wrong turns in the woods, thanks to a GPS unit on a heart rate monitor that Aaron, one of the masters, had!
All in all the camp was great! I learned a lot about coaching and found even more respect for my coaches for all of the hard work they put in every day. I am very thankful for the experience and also for the chance I had to meet so many talented and hardworking master skiers from the area. I look forward to looking up their results in the next Birkie!
Now it’s off to Ironwood, Michigan for another CXC Team Vertical Limit training camp. Kuzzy and I are taking off from Cresthill Resort in a little less than an hour.
Enjoying the view of Lake Superior
Training Time
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nygrenk
Getting Ready for Ironwood
The Ironwood camp is rapidly approaching and I am excited to train with the team again but I also greatly enjoy training by myself. In order to be a successful skier I think you need to like training alone in the forest or on a quiet stretch of road. I think the hardest part is simply getting out the door and down the driveway. I my case the following scene greets me and makes it all the easier.
I also enjoy the simplicity of doing every thing at home. I leave most workouts directly from my house and even lift in the garage and yard.
I am currently enjoying a rest week before heading up to Ironwood on Monday for a CXC Team Vertical Limit training camp. I have found that an enormous difference in my training so far with CXC has been my ability to properly rest, recover and thereby optimizing training. Previous years I have worked 40 hours a week in the summer and been heavily focused on school during the rest of the year. With training now as the main focus I am really seeing myself improve. Big weeks are bigger and rest weeks are only slightly smaller then a week when I was busy with school. Knowing that proper rest is paramount I am still not one to sit idly around when I am not training. One reason I enjoy skiing is because I enjoy working hard and seeing the fruits of my labors. I enjoy putting on old cloth and really getting to work. I am currently clearing buckthorn, a non-native invasive tree, from my neighbor woods. I enjoy tromping over there with a chainsaw on off days and really seeing some progress. I find that when done smartly and in moderation such work leaves me feeling better then if I simply sat around all day (the financial benefit is also a nice plus).
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gkuzzy
The Week of Camps
Every once in a while, we CXC skiers step out of our position of athletes and assume the role of coach. This week has been filled almost entirely with coaching, and I’m gaining a new respect for the hard work that coaches put in on a day-to-day basis!
I started the week with a clinic for the Northland College & St Cloud State University “Endurance Camp” in Delta, Wisconsin. The camp has over 20 high school Nordic skiers and cross country runners training all week: running, rollerskiing, swimming, biking, & doing high ropes course adventures. I was only able to join the group for a morning, but we had a blast running ladders, holding jumping contests, playing balance games, and rollerskiing on the perfect asphalt on the Delta-Drummond Road. After a brief (albeit big) lunch, I bid adieu to the Northland Endurance Camp (thanks to Dave Beeksma for all his hard work organizing the camp!) & made the short trip down to Telemark for the CXC Birkie Junior Technique Camp.
This is the the 10th annual running of the camp and my fourth year being involved. It’s a great chance for middle school & high school skiers of all abilities to get out and get in some great summer technique work. We’re out on rollerskis twice a day for four days, but as difficult and boring as that may sound, it’s been a blast. It’s cool to watch as skiers get more comfortable on rollerskis & really push their limits and make big improvements. This afternoon we skied on Lake Owen Drive and ended the ski with a barbecue and some tubing on Lake Owen. Sweet.
Tomorrow is the last morning of the junior camp and on Friday the Masters Camp starts. I’m looking forward to that as well, but I don’t know how it’s going to be even half as much fun as the junior camp!
Tougher than Packer training camp!
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brcook
Colorado Training Camp
By: Bryan Cook
There was an unofficial CXC Team Vertical Limit training camp held in Crested Butte, CO over this past weekend. The players were myself, Maria Stuber, and Gus Kaeding. However, it was not just a training camp, but it was also my best-friend’s wedding. Our former NMU Ski Team teammates James Letson and Kelly Ahern were married at the amazing Lazy F Bar Ranch in Crested Butte. This place was unreal, and the weather for the wedding was perfect.
James and Kelly
If you have never been to Crested Butte you are really missing out. The whole town was great for anything outdoor, as well as indoor, where we celebrated James’ bachelor party on Friday night. We then hiked up Mount Crested Butte on Saturday until we cleared 10,000 feet. The rehearsal dinner was on Saturday night, and then the wedding at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
Crested Butte, CO
Currently, Maria and I are still in Colorado for the rest of the week. We are staying near Boulder with our good friend’s Tami Kochen and Shane Mundt of Mundt Arts. We will be here training at altitude until Saturday when we will fly back to Milwaukee and go to Maria’s high school friend Nicole’s wedding. Back-to-back wedding weekends are going to be pretty intense, but we are both really looking forward to it. After that it is back to Marquette for some more working and training.
Colorado Living
