Off-Season/Summer Training for Otter Ski Athletes

You may or may not know this, but any of you who have participated on this team have been part of an experiment! Every year, I keep notes on everything from practice plans, to wax flavor of the day, to training progression. As some of you have figured out from XC and Skiing, I have been creating our weekly/season practice plans based off the most modern trend of 80/20 training. In short, about 80% of training should work on an athlete's base through exercise that is at or below an athlete's threshold heart rate (L1 & L2 training). About 20% of training will consist of a short, intense workouts that elevates an athlete's heart rate above threshold. 

To think about this training in another way, think about what it takes for your body to recover after each kind of workout. In terms of food, the slow, threshold or below workouts will require one or two healthy meals to recover (less than 24 hours). The L4 & L5 workouts will require 5-6 healthy meals for the body to recover (about 1.5 days). This training is opposed to the old-school mentality of, "No pain, no gain," which is engrained in our culture. If an athlete operates under this principle on a consistent, their body is never able to fully heal and recover, and the impact is detrimental on everything from illness prevention to sleep to enjoyment. Ultimately, the "No pain, no gain" mentality leads to burnout--physically, mentally, and spiritually. 

Without getting into the weeds too much, the focus of the 80/20 plan is building an athletes base level of fitness. Think of the base like an engine. The 80/20 plan is helping to build and fine-tune a larger engine in athletes. As an example, I was just reading about college track athletes who specialize in the 800M. Modern day 800M athletes are running between 70 & 80 miles per week. 80% of those miles are slow, low heart rate mid to long distance runs. This feels a little counterintuitive, doesn't it? An 800M athlete never runs that far in a race, so why do it in training?

Mental Training Practice for Otter Ski Athletes

Olympic track athlete and coach, Steve Magness, writes in his book, Do Hard Things, “The inner drive matters more than the outer. How do we keep going, despite ever-increasing stress and/or fatigue? Those who persist [have] different goals. They weren’t driven by fear, or guilt, or pressure. They were pursuing a goal because it aligned with who they were and brought enjoyment and contentment. They were choosing to do the work, not being forced to.” These are the athletes who will have the most success.

Inner drive assists with persistence and mental tougness because athletes opperating with an inner drive see demanding tests–be it a physical exertion or a difficult class–as a challenge instead of a threat.

Internally driven athletes experience more positive emotions whereas those who compete out of fear, guilt, or pressure experience more negative emotions. The first releases the happy feelings neurons such as endorphins, oxytocin, serotonin, and dopamine. The latter releases adrenaline, cortisol, and sometimes low doses of serotonin. The athlete working with negative emotions is releasing chemicals associated with the “fight, flight, or freeze” response. Such energy may feel powerful at the start, but it is fragile and dissipates quickly. Magness found that, “Individuals motivated by external pressure were more likely to disengage, give up, and see the endeavor as a threat.”

Below are some common practices elite athletes utilize to be more internally and positively driven.

1. Visualization Exercise

Visualization involves mentally rehearsing a performance or experience, creating a clear and detailed mental picture of success.

• Prompt:
  Think about your next competition or workout. Visualize yourself performing at your best from start to finish. Picture the details—your actions, your feelings, the environment, and the outcome.

  • Describe what you visualized:
    
    

  • How did it feel to visualize your success?
    
    

  • How can visualization help you in actual performance?

2. Mantra Creation

A mantra is a short, powerful phrase that you can repeat to center yourself, stay focused, or boost motivation during stressful moments.

• Prompt:
  Create your personal mantra that you can use in training or competition. Keep it short and empowering.

  • My Mantra:
    
    

  • Why this mantra resonates with me:
    
    

3. Breathing Technique

Controlled breathing helps you manage stress, stay calm, and maintain focus during difficult moments.

• Prompt:
  Practice this simple breathing exercise: Block your right nostril with your right thumb, and breathing through your left nostril, breath in 4 seconds, then out 4 seconds, in 4 seconds, out 4 seconds, in, out for three to four minutes. After completing the exercise, write down how it made you feel.

4. Alter Ego Activation

An alter ego can help you step into a more confident, focused version of yourself when you need it most, like during competition.

• Prompt:
  Imagine your most powerful, confident alter ego. Write down a description of this persona. Think about their attitude, strengths, and how they handle pressure.

  • My Alter Ego’s Name:
    
    

  • What makes this alter ego powerful?
    
    

  • How would this alter ego act in a difficult situation?