Of course, high speed is even more critical for skiers focused on sprints and short distances. Still, even in long-distance races, speed is a valuable factor in winning races, achieving successful breaks during the race, and simply being able to ski faster.

Speed ​​training may sound simple, but for long-distance skiers, it means being able to ski quickly with tired muscles during a long ski performance. To improve this ability, the skier must do specific speed workouts to trim his body’s performance even in a fatigued state.

Speed training benefits are neuromuscular, and the muscles are taught to move quickly. You should focus on the technique and keep it intact when doing speed training. Speed ​​training intervals can be either an independent workout or done in connection with a long session and often suitable towards the end. In this case, the body’s fast muscle cells are activated, and competitive conditions are simulated.

One good and widely used example of speed training is to do three sets of 5 x 30-second sprints. Ski either on rollerskis or skis at full speed for 30 seconds and then rest for two minutes. In this specific workout, it’s essential to get full recovery between sets since speed is the goal of these intervals. Also, take 10 minutes of rest between sets so that you are recovered and ready to go on the next set.

A more intense version of the above is 10 x 30-second sprints with a 30-second recovery. This is more than just a speed workout as the intensity of the workout increases exponentially from the interval session described above due to the short recovery time. This exercise can quickly become a power workout because of the short recovery. You can also do these intervals during a long session.

An even more challenging version of the interval session mentioned above is 15 seconds at full speed with 15 seconds of recovery. However, the rest time is so short that this exercise quickly becomes very strenuous and thus turns into VO2max training. Mattias Reck, who works as Team Ramudden’s coach, is known for his so-called “40-20 intervals,” where you go all out for 40 seconds and then have a short 20-second recovery. The number of sets and intervals varies depending on the nature of the workout.

There are many variations of this type of speed training, and you should find the best method for yourself. However, it is essential to remember that a short recovery time increases the overall intensity of the exercise and makes it more of a “capacity” session than pure speed training. Sprint skiers have long breaks between intervals because speed is the primary goal. Still, long-distance skiers often have shorter recoveries because they need to be able to ski fast even when exhausted.

You can change the length of the intervals, but they can easily become too intense and power-oriented to be pure speed training. One-minute intervals on suitable terrain, for example, a gentle downhill or flat, work well for this purpose. The beginning of the interval can be taken a little more calmly to ensure that the speed is at its maximum at the end of it.
When doing speed training, you have to remember that the goal is to develop speed and not produce too much lactic acid in the muscles. A minute is so long that too much lactate easily develops in the body. The recovery in these moves varies from a minute to three minutes, depending on what you try to do with the training.

Speed ​​can also be developed during the rest of light aerobic training, in which case you can do a few short intervals to activate fast muscle cells. For example, 4 x 20-second intervals with a long, at least 2-minute rest in between work well in connection with a long session.

Recreational competitors and veteran skiers should also do speed training to increase their speed capacity even on long distances. Proper speed training will raise the competition speed as a whole and improve the ability to make breakaways and get good speed if necessary.