Ski Longer and Harder with this 30-Minute Workout Most mornings I awake at about 4:30 to my wife’s alarm, stroll downstairs, make my FRS (not an endorsement, but it does get me through my morning workout) and answer about 20 or 30 emails. This morning I received an email from a skier who asked me to define power endurance. I answered his question and received a quick response back that asked for a sample workout that he could perform in 20 or 30 minutes to help him improve this aspect of his fitness. FYI: Skiing involves explosive movements over an extended period of time. This athletic quality is known as power-endurance. Training for power-endurance can be absolutely grueling. Typically, however, the athlete that possesses the greatest amount of power-endurance usually goes home the winner. Below is a 30-minute power-endurance based workout that will maintain your reaction time and quickness. Perform this workout twice weekly and ski longer and harder all season long! For a more customized workout, sign up for My SkiCoach today. NOTE This web site does not provide medical advice and does not direct that you undertake any specific exercise or fitness regimen. You must consent to the Terms of Use Policy and consult a physician before undertaking any activity described in this web site. FAQ What do A1, A2, etc... mean? A1, A2, B1, B2, C1 and C2 denote supersets. A superset is where you perform two exercises back to back with little to no rest in between sets. For example perform the split squat and then immediately follow it with the overhead medicine ball throw. Rest for 30 seconds and then repeat two more times. What does Moderate Intensity mean? For Energy Work (Warm-Up) a moderate intensity is where you maintain a heart rate at 60-70% of your heart rate maximum by the end of the exercise. For Strength Work a moderate intensity is where you are using a load or weight where you can easily get 4 or 5 more repetitions at the end of a set. You might be using 50-60% of your maximum for that weight. The goal when focusing on improving power endurance is to move the weight quickly enough to recruit fast twitch fibers and be able to maintain that speed over a longer period of time (30 seconds or more). What does Tempo refer to? For Energy Work (Warm-Up) a moderate tempo is where you maintain a consistent steady speed that is comfortable. You might be around 60-70% of your maximum speed. For Strength Work an explosive tempo is defined as one where you would be moving the weight or load as quickly as possible in an explosive fashion (with good form). This may take some getting used to. Start the exercises slowly if you are unfamiliar with them and gradually increase speed as you gain confidence. Where can I find descriptions of these exercises? Split Squat Overhead Medicine Ball Throw Lateral BOSU Hops BOSU Crossover Lateral Step Up Medicine Ball Rotational Pike Lying Hamstring Stretch Lying Hip Stretch Foam Roll Quad Let me know if you have questions or comments on this workout. We are always striving to meet every skiers health and fitness needs so the more feedback you provide the more we can improve our content. Stay Fit Skiing, Andrew Hooge, CSCS ahooge@fitskiing.com