I just thought I'd share my experience so far. This summer I began doing kettlebell workouts (for those of you who are unfamiliar with kettlebells, look up Pavel Tsatsouline kettlebells on You Tube) and with rollerskiing I can already feel a huge difference in my leg strength going uphill and for general speed. They really seem to be doing wonders for me, but does anyone else here have any experience with them as well?
FasterSkier Forums » Training
Kettlebells training and skiing
(3 posts)-
Posted 1 year ago #
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Skiing Bear,
After many years with strength training in my program, I re-read Joe Friel's Cycling Past 50 chapter on weight training. After an initial adaptation period, I added dynamic power lifting including kettle bells to my training program w/ good results.
Standard slow movement weight training won't get you very far in sports like cycling or skiing which require power, not strength. As a result of trying many forms of power strength training, I've concluded they are all good - including kettle bells - and superior to traditional weight training. But the dynamic nature of kettle bells, power lifting, plyos & etc mean you need maybe 4-8 weeks of the traditional forms of weight training to get ready. And you need to maintain a consistent schedule - a 2 week vacation could lead to injury.
I read recently that the French national track cycling team has started doing weight lifting w/ the weight area in the middle of the track & then they immediately get on the bike for additional training. Apparently the combination is producing additional power gains.
So maybe we should be going from power lifting to roller skiing immediately?!?!
Posted 1 year ago # -
Love kettlebells too. I've been using them for about a year and a half, more for general strength training than ski-specific, but I've seen a number of ski-related benefits. Many of the exercises target the posterior chain, which I think helps to address some of the imbalances that can result from ski training. As Tradesmith noted, the movements are dynamic and emphasize power over "slow strength" - more specific to most sports, including skiing. There's also an emphasis on eliminating "energy leakages" and integrating upper and lower body movements through a powerful core.
Movements like the basic swing, the clean and the snatch mimic the recovery phase of the poling motion to a degree. Others, like the single-leg Romanian deadlift and lunges target balance as well as strength. The Turkish get-up adds a rotational component (with no energy leakages allowed!).
Also, they can be used outdoors, and don't require much space or a huge investment.Posted 1 year ago #
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