Junior Nationals PRep Plan
Similar to the general Birkie Prep plan we posted, we will now shift our focus to the Juniors preparing for JN's. Junior Nationals are taking place at Donner Summit March 9th - 14th.
When looking at a general Junior plan it's important to realize that these recommendations are not a one size fits all. Pay attention to the total hours and adjust accordingly for a junior skier's age, gender, and development. There is a big difference between what a 15-16 year old can handle vs. a 18 year old. The plans posted will be geared toward a 17 - 19 year old junior but weekly hours and interval on-time should be greatly decreased for younger athletes.
The JN prep plan will be different than the Birkie plan in a few ways. First, most juniors have been steadily competing in qualifiers and weekend races throughout January and February. In a sense this was the 'intensity block' that we featured in the Birkie plan. From here we will recommend a slight increase in volume followed by a short taper phase.
The first week on the JN prep plan will focus on higher volume workouts for the first 3/4 of this week before beginning to cut hours back and focus on speed and intervals. Next week we will post more information on strategies for traveling to and racing at very high altitudes such as Donner.
Please feel free to email us with any questions!
* For younger junior athletes cut at 2 - 3 hours out of each week.