Bjørn's Strength Session for J2's
· Thu Nov 13, 09:58 AM by Kristen Westesen
Hello J2 rockstars!
Here is the strength routine I would recommend:
Start each workout with a GOOD WARMUP. This is vital—if you are not warmed up before a strength workout, your muscles will not be able to effectively handle (and respond to) the stress you are putting them through, so the workout will essentially be useless. Start with AT LEAST 10-15 minutes of something light and easy (a quick run, a short cruise on your bike, etc.).
From here you may choose the order of exercises, although I would recommend starting with the core exercises. In my opinion, core strength and stability is the most important aspect of strength training for a Nordic skier. With a strong core you can maintain good technique longer throughout a race, which will ultimately translate into faster race times.
You can work your core very effectively with an “eight-minute-ab” routine I used to do (yes, it sounds cheesy, but this routine will rock your socks off if you do it right).
The routine is continuous—there is NO BREAK between the different exercises. If you spend 30 seconds on each exercise and move immediately into the next, you will finish the routine at 8 minutes (hence the name…). Here is a video demonstrating each exercise to go along with this routine.
The 8-minute-ab exercises are as follows:
· Standard crunch
· Crunch on left side
· Crunch on right side
· Waiter/waitress (sitting with legs up, moving arms side to side)
· V-ups
· Rows/Butterfly
· Superman hold
· Standard plank
· Plank on left side
· Plank on right side
· Reverse Plank
· Crunches to the right side (w/right leg held straight)
· Crunches to the left side (w/left leg held straight)
· Butt lifts
· Straight leg raises
· Crunch with legs high in the air
You may all start at 30 seconds for each exercise, but when you feel like you can dominate this routine, bump that up to 1 minute per exercise (making it 16-minute-abs)—this is a gnarly routine!
Finish the ab routine with a set of Ulvangs (25 per side). Again, I will demonstrate what Ulvangs are in the video.
Upper-body strength should consist of:
· Pull-ups (3x maxing out)
· Push-ups (3× 30 seconds)
· Hanging dips (3x maxing out)
· Dips off of a chair (3×30 seconds)
Alternate between these exercises (1 set of pull-ups, 1 set of push-ups……repeat twice).
Lower-body strength will consist mostly of plyometrics. Exercises should include:
· Frog jumps
· Vertical jumps
· Classic jumps
· Skate jumps
Try 10 jumps per exercise. If they involve jumping on one leg, try 10 jumps per leg per exercise. After the plyometrics, try sitting up against a wall for 1 minute (try these 3x)—this burns and will make you a rockstar!
In summary, this is what your strength workout should look like:
1. Warm up
2. Core
· 8-minute-abs+Ulvangs
3. Upper-body Strength
· Pull-ups
· Push-ups
· Hanging dips
· Dips from a chair
4. Lower-body Strength
· Frog jumps
· Vertical jumps
· Classic jumps
· Skate jumps
· Wall sit
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