Presented by Mike Janyk (Canadian National Ski Team racer)


Clara Hughes, a six time Olympic medal winner, once told me that her best piece of advice was from her old coach that said, “When you get in the start gate, there is only you... you better well know yourself.” This statement can be scary or is the most powerful place in the world. What does this message mean? It means that it is up to you to know why you ski, why you compete in racing, why you love this sport, to know why you choose it all. If you do not “know” yourself you may stand in the start gate feeling very alone and mentally unprepared to which you will find ways to be “mentally tough” and block out your negative thoughts. On the other side of this, if you take the time to learn and connect to that place within you of why you compete, why you love ski racing, you discover a place of power and creativity. From this place of “knowing yourself” your nerves turn to excitement and joy because you see an opportunity of full expression out on the course. 

Mental training
Close your eyes and picture yourself at the top of your favourite mountain, you are the only one there. When you look down the run there is nothing but untouched powder or a fresh groomer waiting for you to ski it. Go ahead, visualize yourself standing there, I can wait :) How does this feel, how stoked are you to ski this run any way you want? If this excites you, if this makes you a little nervous but also gives you tingles, then this is you coming to know yourself. This is you, this is you starting a conversation with yourself, about why you ski, what excites you in life, this is your heart speaking to you. You are now the most powerful person alive and from this place there is no need for mental preparation because you are already there, you already know. From here you simply can go rip it up and have fun!

Mike Janyk

Mike Janyk has been a ski racer since he was little and has been on the Canadian National Ski Team since 2000. He won bronze in slalom at the 2009 world championships. Mike Janyk and Manny Osborne-Paradis organize the  Mike & Manny Cowboy Ski Camps. Check out Mike's website http://www.mikejanyk.com

Provided by Montana Molyneux

Nutrition Preparation for Competition

"I wasn't feeling well in the first half. I felt down, man. I had three slices of pizza before the game and the food took me down." 
- Leroy Loggins, basketballer with the Brisbane Bullets after 1986 semi-final

Does a car run well when it is low on fuel? Nope, just like Leroy Loggins didn’t play basketball well when he ate pizza before his game.

FOOD for THOUGHT

There are a number of factors contributing to an athlete’s success in competition. Keep in mind that every athlete is different and the proper food prescription may vary. Before we layout pre-comp nutrition methods it is important that YOU - the athlete- have developed a balanced diet with positive eating habits. These methods will not be useful, if basic nutrition and diet principles are not followed. The dietary caloric intake for an athlete should follow these guidelines:

• 55-70% Carbohydrates (CHO)
  
  
• 20% Protein (PRO)
  
  
• Rest can be Fats
  
  

Food is energy and energy allows our bodies to perform in the activities we decide upon. Ski racing is quick and requires maximal exertion, and a pre-race nutrition should be prescribed with that in mind, while a training day typically lasts longer, with multiple runs. Pre-race nutrition guidelines should be tried out in practice before they are used for competition.

Here are a few pre-comp guidelines:

• Pre-race meal should be taken at least 2 hours before competition
  
  • High CHO % (complex vs simple CHO) and low PRO and FATs
    
• Pre-race shake should have 3:1 CHO to PRO ratio (reverse after competition)
• Simple CHOs are suggested closer to competition
  
• Proper hydration is important
  
  

Examples of some pre-comp meals could include(3CHO:1PRO):

• 12-17oz Fruit Smoothie with milk or almond mylk
• Large bowl of cereal with milk or yogurt and fruit
  
  

Montana Molyneux ski raced in Ontario.sSe has a Masters degree in Kinesiology , and will work as the U14 Head coach for Sun Peaks Ski Club in 2013-14. She is also  strength and conditioning coach for the BC para alpine team.

Presented by Britt Janyk

After 15 years on the National Ski Team I’ve learned a lot about training, one key component of an athlete’s overall fitness is their ‘strength’. Strength varies from individual to individual, if you take a quick look around some of the World Cup winners you’ll see that they come in all different shapes and sizes.
A few examples, Lara Gut, Lindsey Vonn, Maria Riesch, Anna Fenninger. On the guys side, Marcel Hirscher, Jens Byggsmark, Aksel Lund Svindal, Bode Miller.

What they all have in common is they are very strong in proportion to their size and body frames. You don’t need to be big to be strong, but to be fast on your skis, you need strength.

Here is a quote from Bode Miller in a recent New York Times article where he is saying that in Alpine Skiing size and mass doesn’t matter, it’s a balance of overall fitness.

“It’s an equation,” Miller said. “You can’t just say mass helps, because it has to do with friction and air resistance. We’re not going in a straight line. We’re not speed skiing. If we were just speed skiing, then being heavier would definitely help. But you’re changing directions the whole way down, and I think in Sochi, fitness is going to be a huge component.”

You can break the body down into three main strength areas to build, your upper body strength, your lower body strength and your core strength. All three of these areas are very important in skiing.

Let’s start with your upper body. Your strength here is what propels you out of the start gate; a strong start can win you a run. Here are a list of a few exercise to help build upper body strength: (in all of these no weights are needed)

1. Push-ups
   
2. Tricep dips: Find the end of a chair or a low table
   
3. Arm curls: load up some water bottles with rocks or water and do curls.
   
4. Chin ups: If you can find a bar, this is a great upper body exercise. You can find these in parks sometimes.
   

These are very simple upper body exercises and they can be done anywhere.

Moving onto our mid-section, our core strength. This area is very important in skiing because with a strong core you will be able to resist all the forces created in the turn and at speed. A strong core equals a stable upper body position and more speed on your skis. Here are a couple of great core exercises to get things started:

1. Front Plank: Elbows on the ground, a nice straight ‘planked’ body, on your toes and hold for 30 seconds, eventually increasing your holding time to 60 sec.
   
2. Side Plank: Either on your elbow, or up on your hand, a straight body, resting on the outside of your foot. Do each side and hold the same time as above.
   
3. Crunches: Important when doing these to really focus on how your core is working. Really feel the lower part of your stomach(core) contracting.
   

 Ask a coach about your transverse abs, this is a really great muscle to start to learn how to control and strengthen.

Lastly we have our lower body strength, the skier legs! To start to gain some strength in your legs here are a couple of exercises. Strength here will help you recover on your skis, put power into your turns and also help you in dealing with the forces created in the turns.

1. Squats: Technique is really important here, even if you are just doing body weight. Ask a coach to show you how to do a proper squat an then start working on your body weight squats.
   
2. Walking lunges: Doing these properly will strengthen some very important muscles around your knees in throughout your quads. Doing lunges with the squats helps to work in a little balance
   
3. Hamstring curls with the swiss ball: Also, technique is very important with this one. If you don’t have a ball you can put your heel up on a ledge, couch height and lift your bum up

Before you do any of the exercises that I listed, talk to a coach and get your technique right. It is VERY important to do all of your strength exercises with good technique. This will keep your joints and your muscles happy and healthy and injury free.

Ski fast and have fun!
Britt