​ Adjusting your Training to Colder Weather

Adjusting your Training to Colder Weather 

Many ridge lines from New England to the Intermountain West are dusted with snow this week, and it's time to start thinking about transitioning back into colder weather. While the chill in the air is exciting and means that the ski season is just around the corner, it also means making some adjustments to our training to keep maximizing the benefits. As skiers, we know how to handle cold weather, but the transition from fall to winter can still require a bit of readjustment.

1. You still need to hydrate when it is cold. Staying on top of your hydration is important year round, although when we aren’t sweating buckets like we do in mid-August, we can easily forget to drink enough liquids. Try to stay as hydrated as possible before/after training by putting something exciting in your drink belt (nuun, drink mix, tea, etc.), and having a “fun bevvy” after like tea, hot cocoa, chai, smoothie etc.. to encourage you to get those liquids in!

1. You need to fuel more! Staying warm requires more calories, so you need to adjust your intake to account for that. This is different for everybody, but I usually try to eat a slightly larger breakfast before my workout, bring plenty of snacks so that I have enough energy for a high-quality session, and a good snack afterwards to help my muscles recover afterwards.

1. Wear enough clothes and warm up well. This time of year is tricky; the workout can start out frosty and end with the sun blazing and it's difficult to know what to wear. I always err on the side of caution and bring more clothes than I think I will need. Warm muscles perform much better than cold ones. As my wise grandfather always said “off you can take, but on you cannot put.” Basically layers are your friend, but getting cold and not having a layer to put on is less than ideal. So if you opt for shorts on a 38º morning, maybe wear some warmup pants over them. Also make sure to warm up well before intensity and strength sessions to prevent injury and make the workout more effective.

1. Sharpen those tips. If you are still rollerskiing later into the season, sharpening or even replacing your pole tips is a game changer. Cold pavement is really slippery and it can be hard to have a quality workout when you can’t fully plant your poles and transfer power through them. This is also a good time to start thinking about organizing your winter gear, and maybe putting a layer of wax into your skis, just in case that next snowfall is closer than we think!

All of these things are exceedingly simple, but as much as we want some big ‘secret’ to being successful, the truth is a lot more boring. Do the little things and do them consistently. If you lose 1% improvement gains every workout because you were too cold, not well fueled, not well rested, or didn’t have your gear dialed in, that adds up over time to be a huge loss in potential gains. There is doing the workout and there is optimizing the workout - so do the little things right and reap the rewards!