provided by: Jordan Williams  U14 Head Coach WMSC

Coordination:
”The
harmonious functioning of parts for effective results”             
(Webster’s)


To develop coordination in your actions you must first realize that it will take a whole lot of patience throughout the practicing of the skills that you are targeting. To acquire ability and maintain or enhance the skills involved you must be prepared to constantly practice and continually challenge
the desired actions. Evolving the skill will come through constantly challenging it! You will be most successful in your coordination acquisition through establishing the skill, and then enhancing it through adaptability.

In Alpine Ski Racing it is essential that you have the control of your actions. Coordinating your movements and maintaining a forward focus are the assets that all successful race runs are built apon. At the rate of speed that you are travelling you do not have the relative time to consider all of the options available. It needs to be an instinct that has been trained into you for you to be able to trust it and adapt from it.

To begin with start with one simple task and work on it for as long as it takes until you feel that you have mastered it. Once you feel that your skill is very good challenge it… for example: to enhance eye/Hand coordination. Begin with one ball and throw and catch. To evolve you could take several paths:

1) Add one more ball.
 2) Stand on a balance device or have a footwork pattern.
3) Throw ball against a wall and/or  change ball weights and sizes.
4) Use your weaker hand only.

So, at the basic  level of coordination training, it sounds quite easy.

As in most training, isolating action is a great way of learning that aspect of training. Coordination training is the area that helps tie all of your skills and assets together. This expresses the importance of being able to coordinate your actions.

Some essentials that you will need to be training so you will be able to coordinate your actions:

-Core strength and stability.
-Thorough warm-up of all joints, muscles and organs
-The 3 most important words in effective training: (Preparation, Perseverance, Diligence)

Beyond the simple needs of having a ready and able body, there are many ways to increase or enhance your coordination. Attached are three very good websites that have some excellent direction and opportunity for you to change your ability to coordinate your athletic actions toward precision. Please NOTE that you should not worry about wasting training time with coordination work. It will always enhance your training if you are focused on your intent.

The First clip has a great explanation and demo by Kyle Sandsmark on Hand/Eye Coordination http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcuLUevhQKI

Elizabeth Quinn has some excellent direction towards applying your Coordination directly to your strength and power training. There is a fair amount of strength training involved so please start with the slow and simple drills and then expand your knowledge and abilities. http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/tp/AgilityDrills.htm

Tony Ingram gives a great explanation of why, what and how you will benefit from appling coordination training to your daily routine. http://www.bboyscience.com/coordination/

Provided by: Carl Petersen BPE, BSc(PT) Director High Performance Training at City Sport and Physiotherapy Clinics  

Provided by: Shannon Smith
BKin
CSEP – Certified Exercise Physiologist

Nutrition for  Recovery

Proper nutrition is a key component of an effective training program. What you eat after a workout compliments the hard work you’ve just put in. It’s important to address these areas after a training session so that your body can
recover and you come back stronger and healthier for the next session. Knowing what, when and how much to eat can be confusing so I’m going to break it down for you.

Nutrition for recovery has three main goals Refuel,
Rebuild, and Rehydrate. The combination of carbohydrates, protein, fluid and electrolytes allows the body to achieve those three goals. Of course training varies from day to day and a recovery routine will be different based on the demands of the specific day.
Here are some guidelines to follow that will help you to determine what your needs are when it comes to training and competition recovery.

Refuel

When it comes to fuel for short term, vigorous exercise, carbohydrates are the body’s go to source because they are easily accessible. If the carbohydrates we eat aren’t used up as fuel right away, they get converted into glycogen and stored in our muscles for later use. Once glycogen stores are full,
excess carbohydrate will then be stored as fat.  Glycogen gets used up in the first few  minutes of short intense bouts of exercise such as sprinting and weight  lifting. Fat gets used in slower endurance type activities such as long slow  jogs or hikes. As these stores get depleted during a training session its  important to replenish them so that the next time your body demands energy the
  stores are loaded up and ready to fuel the muscles.

Rebuild
Protein promotes muscle growth and repair as well as optimizes glycogen storage.
Combining carbohydrates and protein after exercise promotes recovery due to adequate carbohydrates to replenish energy stores while protein provides amino acids required for protein synthesis. Depending on the nature of the training session a carb to protein ratio of 4:1 – 2:1 has shown to promote  recovery. A ratio of 4:1 would be required for long duration aerobic endurance
  training, whereas a 2:1 ratio would be beneficial after training shorter, more  intense bursts of speed and power.

Rehydrate
Water is the most important nutrient for life. Some of waters many functions include regulating body temperature, lubricating joints and transporting nutrients and waste through the body. You need to make sure you restore fluids and electrolytes lost through sweat during a training session.
Dehydration is detrimental to performance, thus it’s important to monitor hydration levels before, during and after exercise. Monitoring urine output and colour can determine your hydration level. A large volume of light coloured urine usually means you are adequately hydrated. If urine is dark in colour it is a sign that you need to drink more water.

Fluid is not the only thing lost through sweat, potassium and sodium, electrolytes that are essential for muscle contraction are also lost from the body through sweat. To maintain efficient muscle function and avoid muscle cramping sodium and potassium levels must be replenished.

Now that you know the science behind nutrition and recovery you need to know the when, what and how much to eat after a training session.

When:
Begin recovery with a snack or meal 15 – 60 minutes post  exercise.
Fluids should be consumed continuously throughout the day as well as before, during and after a training session.

What:
A combination of carbs and protein such as:
·        Turkey sandwich
·        Chocolate milk
·        Yogurt, fruit and cereal
·        A cup of pasta and 3 ounces of protein

Potassium rich foods include:
·        Yogurt
·        Orange juice
·        Bananas
·        Raisins

How much:
A carb to protein ratio of 4:1 – 2:1, depending on the activity.
Everyday fluid needs of the human body are 0.5 – 1.0 ounces of fluid per pound of body weight, however athletes need to increase fluid consumption on training days. When training, athletes should drink 20 ounces an hour or two before a session, 6 ounces (4-6 gulps) every 15 minutes during the session, and 20 ounces for every pound of sweat lost during the session.


 

Provided by Rob Boyd Whistler Mountain Mountain Ski Club:

Did you know that many ski races can be won (or lost) in the last 10 seconds? Even with a one second lead out of the start, fatigue and loss of proper technique can lead to a costly mistake – or just slow skiing, which often means waving that podium goodbye. Conversely, having the stamina and strength to ski strong, maintain good technique and charge through the last part of a course can allow a racer to make up enough time to end up on the podium!

Endurance, stamina, aerobic capacity – keys to going the distance in races and in training, but they can also be divided into two categories – general endurance and specific endurance.

With improved general endurance or aerobic and cardiovascular capacity you can oxygenated blood better, circulate it through your system quicker, which in turn will help you to recover more quickly from fatigue and harder anaerobic or power work outs.

When it comes to specific endurance we might think of the length of a typical ski race, say 90 seconds long (or 145 seconds if you are preparing for the Wengen DH) and how we need to prepare ourselves so that we can maintain a high level of strength, coordination and focus all the way through to the finish.

So, starting your fitness season off with building up a good endurance/stamina/cardio can lead to a much more productive build up of the other areas you may need to build.

A word of caution for the younger athletes - too much endurance (specifically long slow distances) before Peak Height Velocity (growth spurt) can develop the slow twitch muscle fibres to the point of becoming difficult to speed them up or develop the fast twitch muscle fibres later on. I would recommend the endurance work outs are done on trails (bike or running) where there’s some agility and change of intensity involved with the hills, roots, rocks, etc.

Rob Boyd skied in the World Cup for 12 years, won several medals,  and is currently Sport Development Manager - athletics, coaching, DMNTC for Whistler Mountain Ski Club rob@wmsc.info