PLUS, HOW TO KNOW IF YOU ARE OVER-TRAINING:
August 11, 2025.
When you get in a starting gate, only you can make your run go well. To do that, you need to gauge what your training needs are, so that when it’s go-time, you perform your best. This includes whether you should get on snow in the off-season, and if so, how much. By off-season, I mean from late April through early October. It’s the period after your last race of the winter until about two months before your first race of the next ski season.
Here are the pros and cons of on snow training in the off-season:
REASONS TO SKI IN THE OFF-SEASON
Needing volume. If you are trying to correct a flaw in your technique or tactics, summer is the best time to do it. You can habituate the new movement pattern without the pressure of a coming race.
Learning to ski race. If you are new to ski racing, the more free-skiing drills and gate training you get, the faster you’ll master the sport. There are no shortcuts when it comes to gaining experience. Getting on snow during the summer condenses the time frame. Instead of taking 10 years of winter-only skiing to literally get up to speed, it take might half that time, especially if you are generally an athletic person.
Changing skis or ski boots. If you are making a major gear change, particularly new skis or new ski boots, off-season skiing allows you to dial it in.
Fitting new boots is a process that can take several sessions on snow alternating with visits to your boot-fitter. If you can get in those new boots to feel good in the off-season, then you can concentrate on the gates when it counts, without pain or a new feel for the snow underfoot.
New skis might be stiffer or softer, and the tune should always be checked. Off-season time on snow is vital for getting used to new skis, especially if you are changing brand, length, model, tune, radius, or any other variable. If you get used to new skis during the summer, when your first races of the winter approach, you can think about line and tactics rather than what your feet are doing.
If you’re looking for gear, SkiYard.com has all of last summer’s demos from Mount Hood at great prices, plus you get another 10% off if you use the code: Ballard10. If you are interested any Atomic Redsters, you can get 15% off with the code: Ballard15.
Training giant slalom in South America in early September.
Returning to snow after an injury. If you had an injury during the prior season, or worse, you missed an entire winter due to an injury, off-season skiing allows you to test yourself, gradually returning to snow, rather than feeling the need to dive back in, full bore, because you’ve got a race coming up.
Gaining confidence. All of the reasons above contribute to your mental toughness on-snow during the winter. And if you are already an experienced competitor, who’s physically healthy without any key gear changes, off-season snow time tunes you up, perhaps to the point that when you put your skis on again at the beginning of the winter, your legs feel as if you never got off snow. You’re totally ready to go!
REASONS TO AVOID SKIING IN THE OFF-SEASON
Risking injury. Ski racing has inherent risk. Every time to you train or race, you might get hurt. This includes on-snow training in the off-season. Consider this risk versus the reward you’ll get from the time on-snow.
Skiing too soon after injury. Of course you want to ski, but be smart. If you return to snow too soon after an injury – before you have fully healed, are as strong or stronger than before, and have regained full range of motion – you risk aggravating the injury and a longer recovery. This goes for minor tweaks from the previous season, too. Let them heal fully in the off-season, or they might turn into nagging problems that affect your ability to ski your best, or worse, cause a season-ending setback.
Mental Fatigue. Everyone needs a break from skiing and training, even the most gung-ho racers. If you are mentally done with winter in April, think hard before returning to snow in June. Are you excited about it? If not, take a longer break.
Neglecting dryland training. The off-season is the time to get in shape for the next ski season. If you skiing for two weeks, it’s likely that you can’t build strength in the gym during that time. A possible scenario is skiing in the morning and then dryland training in the afternoon, but as a masters-level athlete, be careful. It’s easy to over-train. After skiing, you should focus on muscle recovery, for example spinning and stretching, rather than adding an intense afternoon workout on top of your ski training in the morning.
OVERTRAINING
In simple turns, overtraining occurs when you don’t rest enough between workouts. If you have additional stressors from work or in your personal life, overtraining can happen more quickly. Symptoms include the following:
- Oddly sore and/or weaker muscles when they normally wouldn’t feel that way at a given level of physical output.
- Unexplained decline in performance both on snow and off snow. Workouts or gate-training sessions seem harder than usual.
- An ongoing cycle of injury-recovery-training-injury again.
- More frequent colds or heightened reactions to allergies.
- Anxiety, irritability, mood swings, depression.
- Constantly feeling fatigued even after a good night’s sleep.
- Higher resting heartrate or higher than usual heartrate at a specific level of physical activity.
- Difficulty sleeping or restless sleeping even though you really need it.
- Loss of appetite despite a higher level of physical output and a need for more calories.
- Carbo or sugar cravings to compensate for your low energy level.
- Lack of enthusiasm or motivation to train and compete.
If you have any of these symptoms, take a day off, at most lightly stretching or going for a short walk. If you feel the same way the next day, take that one off, too, and maybe a third one. Listen to your body. Getting proper rest is as important as training.
As you age, you need more recovery time. It’s OK to push yourself, but if you push too hard, it’s counterproductive. At age 60, you might be able to keep up with the 30-somethings in the weight room or on the ski slopes, but you’ll need more recovery time than they do. According to the National Institutes of Health, as you age, your muscle mass and circulation rate decreases, and your tissues are slower to repair themselves. While you needed only one day to recover from a strenuous training session in your 30’s, it takes twice that or more in your 60’s.
Here are some things you can do to avoid overtraining:
- Warm up and cool down after training sessions, both on snow and off snow
- Monitor your heartrate so you know your baseline resting rate.
- Eat nutritious foods.
- Sleep enough.
- Take a day or two off every week.
- Vary your workouts, not only what you do, but also the intensity.
- Respect travel days. They are not rest days, even though you might sit most of the day.
To train on snow with Lisa, click here.