Week 14
For some skiers last week was the biggest volume training week of the year. For some athletes a big week in August might still bring slightly more hours. Either way after a massive 24+ hour training week here in Bozeman the NTC training group will now have a much needed revery week.
This week will be a true 'D Load' week (short for decreased load) meaning a decrease in hours, intensity, and even strength. Things that everyone should incorporate into a true recovery week to help us absorb training.
The decreased hours are obvious, especially in the first two days of the week. Not a single workout is over 2 hours long. The intensity will be light with one L3 session bounding or ski walking later in the week. The d-load in strength comes with the new conversion to power routine. It's always a good idea when starting a new strength routine to start things easier and lighter. This is also a good way to decrease the total load in the gym during a true recovery week.
NOTES:
- After a HUGE volume block these weeks should feel much easier and the body should be feeling great by the weekend.
- As usual elite level skiers who have trained more will have a bigger variation between hard and easy weeks than a junior with lower volume. Even with this massive drop in hours we try to revery the body without dropping the total training volume by more than 50%. A general rule is that dropping volume more than 50% can elicit a 'peak' something we want to wait to do until the mid to late winter. So a drop in hours is crucial, but not such a big drop that we go under 50% of last week.