The Norwegian coach Erik Bråten (topptrent.no), who, among other athletes, helps the double Olympic champion Ragnhild Haga in her work towards a national team comeback, has been interviewed by langrenn.com about the risks of transition from dryland training to snow.

Here are the three most common mistakes when transitioning to “early snow”:

“You ski for hours with such a low intensity that you don’t ski with the correct technique.

You ski for several hours with a slightly or substantially too high intensity to maintain proper technique.

You go from training 100 percent on dryland to 100 percent on skis as soon as the facilities with early snow open.

Points one and two may be seen as contradictory, but it is instead that they represent two opposites. The same person rarely makes all three mistakes simultaneously,” says Bråten.

But he believes that the first two points, in most cases, have the same main explanation.

“The problem with many facilities with early snow is that, in many cases, they are laid on tough loops. And there are different snow conditions than there are in winter. This means that the snow can become sugary, which makes it even more demanding,” says Bråten.

This makes it challenging for the vast majority, regardless of level and training background.

“It’s only the national team and elite skiers who can keep the heart rate down at A1 level (easy distance training) and maintain the technique on the tough tracks, at least now early in the season when it comes to the transition between dryland and snow.”

“Many people tend to ski a little too fast when they get on early snow, precisely because they want to ski well technically. But the danger is that all training then becomes a little too tough. And if you also train a little too long, you risk coming to the competition season and being more tired than well-trained,” he explains.

What advice does Bråten want to give before the first sessions on snow?

“Put the watch away and ski at the speed you need to achieve good technique. And train an hour instead of one and a half. Also, remember that easy training is still important. When you do a little harder session on snow than you had planned for, it is a good idea to alternate with some leisurely rides on rollerskis or running.”

Another typical early-snow mistake is that many choose to go from 100 percent training on dryland to 100 percent on snow. It’s rarely a good idea.

“That many people go to a training camp for maybe four days to get early snow is one thing. But it is important to get used to skiing on snow. It is much better to train well on dryland than poorly on snow. Therefore, it is good to ski some hard intervals on dryland even if you have access to snow. In general, you can use both rollerskis and skis until Christmas. You should also do one to two short training sessions per week throughout the winter.” 

Bråten also reminds us that there is no reason to stress in training as soon as the first early snow facilities open.

“For most people, except for elite skiers and high-level juniors who are chasing good results to be selected for specific races, there are few important races before Christmas. So, focus on training well. There are many advantages to training systematically and purposefully on dryland rather than queuing on a short and steep course with poor snow conditions,” concludes Erik Bråten.