FIS racers are training at Copper Mountain (photo: NorthwoodNYSEF Instagram).
Northwood’s Alpine ski team has been very busy this fall. Because the ski team does not have year-round access to snow, a lot of their time is spent in the gym. Northwood skiers meet every morning before class for some sort of dryland activity. They follow a fairly strict schedule and don’t usually stray.
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, athletes will use their mornings for a group lift. Before every lift, Thomas Biesemeyer leads an active warm-up that takes around 15 minutes. Following the warmup, lifts usually consist of building leg muscles and some upper body or arm muscles. The lift usually takes a little over an hour.
On Tuesday and Thursday, the skiers participate in an agility and core workout. These workouts are usually more cardio-based and help the athletes build stamina. Coaches Jeremy, Kyle, and Maris help lead these workouts. These workouts consist of running stairs at the Olympic Center, sprinting, or doing a coach favorite titled “Worm’s Picnic,” which consists of a loop that is run as many times as told. It starts with a 10-minute run followed by 3 minutes of lunges, a 1-minute jog, 3 minutes of giardellis, a 1-minute jog, 4 minutes of air squats, and finishes off with a 5-minute jog. This loop will go on 3 times unless a coach directs otherwise.
On Fridays, the skiers break out of their comfort zone and try new things. So far, they have taken a dance class, gone rock climbing, hiked, and swam.
As fall comes to an end, so does dryland. The FIS athletes are currently training at Copper Mountain in Colorado and return on November 21, getting a total of 14 on-snow training days.
The FIS athletes are not the only athletes preparing for travel. The U16s depart for Austria on November 12 for 23 days of training on the Hintertux glacier.
Once the athletes return from these trips their racing season will begin to start.
