Be Fit to Ski

About the Book

Every winter, world-class racers schuss down race courses at speeds upwards of 80 mph, going all-out for 2 minutes of racing. Die-hard recreational skiers spend weekends exhausting themselves to catch that last chair-lift ride. Professional ski instructors devote their free time to honing skills in technique and tactics to meet specific national standards. Regardless of the number of days spend on snow, all participate in a sport that demands a balanced combination of peak conditioning in targeted fitness areas, called performance abilities- endurance, strength, power, speed and agility. As part of a thesis for the completion of a Masters degree in kinesiology, Be Fit to Ski incorporates over 30 years of research on alpine skiing and athletic training toward the development of a year-round fitness program. The idea of periodization, a block-training approach using microcycles and macrocycles, forms the basis of four training phases that begin in the spring and culminate with the end of the ski season. Divided into three sections, Basics of Training, Performance Abilities, and The Training Year, this book provides all the necessary answers to develop year- round fitness training for skiing that will result in quicker skill improvement and guaranteed more vertical per day.

About the Author

Sue Kramer has worked in the ski industry as a ski instructor and race coach since 1985. Over the past few decades she has reached the highest levels of certification as a ski instructor and has become an Examiner with the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) organization, travelling all over New England to coach other instructors. In addition to training instructors, she is a certified race coach, working with young athletes and educates other U.S Ski and Snowboard (USSS) race coaches on fundamental skills and coaching methodology. The idea for this book evolved from her off-snow training in preparation for the PSIA 2012 National Team selection. Following the sound concepts presented in this book she has been able to continue to ski at the highest level of performance.