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So after a hard week of training with 4 to 5 days at the gym, and 5 days of intense bike rides/sprints, my Saturdays are the days where I can relax a bit and do some of the easier but long cardio workouts that are actually some of the more important workouts of the summer!  Its really important to really work your "lower end" cardio early in the training period so that you build a strong cardio base, so that when you do those sprints and intervals all week you can work at a higher intensity level.  We call these workouts "Slow Long Distance" workouts, and I usually like going on a fun adventure by going on a hike in the mountains!  During these SLD workouts I try to keep my heart rate between 135 and 155 so it is pretty chill and I have to go slow on some of the uphills.  However there is a huge payoff to doing these workouts outside on a hike rather than on a spin bike in the gym; you get to see some pretty amazing places and it is super fun! Believe it or not, some of the other

This photo gives me motivation to get in the gym! (Looking out of the start hut at Kitzbuhel)

Ski season is officially over, and for many ski racers like myself, vacation season (time off) is also sadly winding to and end.  This only means one thing; it is time to get back in the gym and start getting strong again for next ski season!  Being on the US Ski Team for the last 7 years, I have learned a lot about how important it is to be strong in order to push the limits in our sport and in order to prevent injuries.  Injury prevention might actually be the most important thing.  The stronger, fitter, and more flexible I am, the faster I am able to bounce back from a crash.  In the last training run at Kitzbuhel this year I crashed on the bottom side hill, and bruised myself up pretty good, but since I had worked the entire summer before on getting strong and on my flexibility, I was about to bounce back and have the best race of my career the very next day getting 12^th!  

Spring is the time of the season that we begin testing skis and boots for the following season. Here are some key reasons why we stress testing now opposed to the summer time:

Snow: When testing products you should test it on a condition that is most similar to what you will be racing on during the season.  This all revolves around the feel of the ski or boot.  Depending on the condition you will find that there can be differences that will/can eventually add up to a time difference in the course and that can be the separation between you winning or losing.

Tune:  Having the ability to test multiple different brands of products with the exact same Start Haus tune.  This will result in you being eliminate the tune as being a variable in the test and making it easier for you to feel exactly how the ski feels.

Product:  Ultimately you are testing skis or boots to see if you are faster than other brands.  When you have the ability to test multiple different skis or boots in one

Nothing is better than waking up and seeing 2 feet of fresh at lake level or the valley floor; especially this season! We’re all pretty comfortable with the light and fluffy stuff but sometimes when the "Pineapple Express" hits, the fresh snow can be dense and heavy. How do you approach these types of conditions? Here are three tips to help make your day more enjoyable if its not as light as you hoped:

1. Allow your skis to plane out of the snow, you may need to aim straight down the hill or at a diagonal to get some speed built up. It will help keep your skis on the surface.

2. Steer your feet and legs progressively, spend just a little more time in the fall line than what your instinct directs you to do. Big, aggressive twisting moves will bog you down and throw you off balance.

3. Shrink your turns to go slower and stretch out your turns to go faster, read the terrain and scope out your line, so you know where you will need to make adjustments to maintain fluidity and control.

And don't

Skiing man-made snow is a far cry from those fluffy powder days that we dream about.  But skiing firm man-made conditions can be fun too, especially when it's the only snow around.  The first thing you need is a good tune.  Sharp edges and a smooth waxed base go a long way in these conditions.  In order to take advantage of those sharp edges you gotta tip those skis over.  Tipping action originates in the feet and ankles and then moves up the body to include the knees and hips – in that order.  Practice rolling your feet and ankles side to side while standing in place, start mellow with just your feet and ankles, then work your way up the body. Next try gliding and tipping the ski side to side by initiating the movement pattern with the feet and ankles. The next move is to take the hill at a diagonal and practice rolling your feet down hill and back up hill as you go across the hill. Once you get comfortable with this move, try tipping the ski through a complete turn. If you

Parents often wonder what their role becomes when preparation for the race season is over and the competition season begins.  New research published in the Journal of Applied Sports Psychology, investigates the athletes perspective on their parents behavior during competition.  Competitive youth (age 12-15) tennis players were studied and although different from ski racing, the information has validity due to the ever present parent/athlete relationship in all youth sports. The findings are described below in order to guide parents to better understand what they can do help their child during the competition season.

1. Parents should focus on supporting the athlete's involvement in the sport rather than the outcome of the competition.  You want to give them support not put pressure on them .  By focusing on the outcome(aka winning)  the athlete may become nervous and their performance may decrease.  In turn, this could make it even harder for them to focus on their next run or

It is important to maintain a centered stance over your skis to work the skis effectively.  While standing on your skis on flat terrain, try moving your body forward and backward over the skis by using the ankle joint as hinge.  This is how we want to re-center our center of mass over the skis.  The goal is to maintain a perpendicular relationship of body to the skis.  When approaching steep pitches it is natural to move your weight back because you are hesitant and maybe a little nervous.  Unfortunately when this happens, you lose the ability to direct and work the ski effectively.  You may find that you are suddenly going faster than you want and may be heading out of control.  When skiing steeper pitches, concentrate on keeping your body perpendicular to the hill by hinging the body forward through the ankle joint, especially at the start of the turn.  This will help to apply pressure on the front of your boots with your shins.  The pressure on the front of your boots

What do most skiers say when they arrive at the Start Haus for their boot appointment?  "Hey man, where are your boots?" Oh, there are plenty of boots—they just aren't on display. The fact that there is no traditional boot wall in this race-focused bootfitting operation highlights the Start Haus philosophy that the boot-buying and bootfitting experience should be entirely athlete-based.  Everything starts with an initial assessment of both the athlete's performance needs and a close evaluation of their foot, lower leg and biomechanical range of motion that determine which boots will be considered for try-on.  According to owner/operator and board-certified pedorthist Jim Schaffner, what starts with a bit of trepidation quickly turns to full cooperation as the shoes and socks come off. "We're not about leading with specific products, instead we let the athlete's story dictate the direction we go," Schaffner said........

Read more at http://www.skinet.com/skiing/photo-gallery/15-best-bootfitters?pnid=124285

Isn’t safety the #1 concern for all of us when it comes to skiing and riding in the slackcountry, sidecountry, or backcountry?  True to NASTC standards, our avalanche instructors are of the highest quality, professionalism, and experience level. This is a 3-day education and certification class in which you earn your AIARE Level I (American Institute for Avalanche Research and Education). It’s the minimum amount of know-how if you want to travel, ski, or ride out of bounds safely. There is time spent in the classroom and on the snow daily. Each year more resorts are lifting their boundary lines, allowing us to get to fresh snow and exciting terrain even after the resort itself is “skied out.”

However, the risk has never been greater. You need to know what you’re doing if you are heading out there. A friend may say, “oh I know some avalanche safety stuff…” but really? Do you want to rely on them, or have the knowledge yourself? In this course, among other skills you learn how to plan a

By: Chris Fellows

As director of the North American Ski Training Center and father of three active kids, I don't have large chunks of time to spend in the gym.  However my skiing performance and fitness is important to me. I'm guessing that's the way you feel as a passionate skier too?

By staying healthy and fit throughout the season, I can provide my clients with solid skiing instruction and demonstrations and I can keep the wheels from coming off the cart mid-season due to overuse injuries, bad alignment, or illness due to lack of recovery time. Don't forget well-fit boots and the right skis in your quiver complete the perfect relationship: good fitness, good equipment, and good technique = lots of fun, excellent skiing and reduced risk of injury.  Thanks in advance for reading.

The following tips keep me moving athletically throughout the ski season and help prevent injury.

1. Exercise fads come and go. Make a commitment to keep fit and make exercise a part of your daily routine.

When I first heard the phrase “atomic push-up” at the Sugar Bowl Academy Performance Training Center, I thought,

“No big deal.”

I was standing with a group of students during their first physical test day of the year.  They were likely thinking the same thing I was thinking,

“I can do a push-up, no matter what adjective bomb you drop in front of those two words.”

Then Douglas Brooks and Candice Brooks, world-renowned fitness trainers and Directors of Athlete Conditioning at SBA, slid their feet into the handles of the yellow and black apparatus’ hanging from the squat racks.  They moved into a plank-like push-up position, with their feet suspended in the air.  They dropped down, pushed up, and curled their knees into their chest.  Back to plank.

In a single, fluid movement of balance and strength, the atomic push-up wasn’t just a fancy way of saying push-up; it was a test only a handful of the kids would pass.

Arms trembling at three—whole bodies were dropping at ten.  Sweat

Journaling isn’t just for detectives like Nancy Drew (and diaries aren’t just for wimpy kids like the wimpy kid that kept a diary).  Writing, journaling, diary keeping—whatever you want to dub the pages soaking the ink of your thoughts—is rad.  And if you want to be numero-uno down the road, a training log is a great key to long-term success.  If you track it, you’ll always be able to go back to it.  If you end every training session with a journal entry, you’ll begin to recognize patterns, and solve the issues when you hit a plateau

Writing is also a good way to problem solve.  Ski racing is full of confusing, convoluted lingo.  Believe me, there were many times when I had no idea what my coach was asking of me.  Don’t feel ashamed to ask questions, and in your journal, work through those questions.  Technical talk is often hard to understand.  When you work through a training session in your journal, you may realize, “Hey, I didn’t even know what my coach wanted me to