PhD, Associate Professor L.A. Onuchin^1
1St. Petersburg State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering, St. Petersburg

Keywords: special physical training, cross-country skiing, ski tunnel, skills sag in snowless season.

Background. Competitive success in modern cross-country skiing is known to largely depend on the training process design and management and how facilitating the conditions for the individual best qualities and skills to be mobilized and employed are. Analysis of the competitive performance of our leading athletes demonstrates the speed on distance being critical for success albeit annual training cycles were found virtually inefficient for the speed improvement purposes for the reason that the habitual invariable training workloads result in the progress being stalled and even followed by a regress at some point [1, 3, 6]. Special training models and tools applicable in the snowless period have also been found largely inefficient for the reason that the sensitive harmonic coordination qualities and sensations (commonly described as the feel of skies and snow) normally fade in the period and need at least half-a-season time to come back on snow.

In our previous studies we analyzed benefits of the set of special preparatory exercises [3, 4] geared to mimic as close as possible the classic ski strides in many aspects. The exercises were found beneficial by a few analysts who studied their dynamic/ kinematic parameters and effects on the coordination abilities and muscular tension patterns versus standard ski strides [2, 3, 7].

Objective of the study was to analyze benefits of the ski tunnel practices in a snowless season for elite cross-country skiers.

Methods and structure of the study. The study was designed to provide theoretical grounds for practical application of the ski tunnel practices in the training systems for Class I Athletes, Masters of Sports and World Class Athletes in snowless periods. Two Reference Groups (RGs) were trained as required by the traditional annual training system, whilst the Experimental Group (EG) training was designed to include a few ski tunnel training micro-cycles in the snowless season.

Study findings and discussion. The study found the roller skiing movement patterns having no major differences from classic ski strides [3, 6, 7]. A comparative analysis of the classic ski strides with the mimicking exercises showed the latter being fairly close to the classic movement patterns albeit different in a few minor aspects and elements; but still beneficial for progress in some elements of the sliding ski movements, rhythmic structure and bodily functionality. Roller skiing techniques were tested with significant differences from the classic ski strides in 6 of 20 parameters by the comparative analysis, with 12.8% of the differences related to elementary movement speeds; and 9% to the movement angles. The special roller practices closely mimicking the subject ski stride were tested to be of the highest boost for the technical and functional fitness indices of the elite cross-country skiers [2-5]. We recommend these sets of technical training tools as a basis for the training systems in the snowless periods.

Our analysis of the available study reports and the global practical experience accumulated by the sport community show that the ski tunnel training practices combined with roller skiing trainings give the means to step up the training process efficiency in a snowless season, conditional on the practices closely mimicking actual competitive performance.

It should be mentioned that presently the sport community faces a problematic situation when the modern competitive standards set the highest requirements to the special physical fitness of elite athletes whilst the potentially highly-efficient ski tunnel training practices still wait to be supported by sound theoretical grounds.

Given on Figures 1 and 2 hereunder are the structures of the training tools we applied in the new training model testing experiment. Please note that the group training process workloads (of 3450 km) and intensities were traditional [1, 6] and virtually the same for the groups.

Figure 1. Reference Group training system:

1 – jogging; 2 – mimicking practices; 3 – roller skiing

Figure 2. Experimental Group training system:

1 – snow skiing; 2 – jogging; 3 – mimicking practices; 4 – roller skiing

The training model was found beneficial as verified by the EG physical fitness progress in precompetitive period: see Table 1 hereunder. The EG mean test rate in the first precompetitive fitness test (76.04±2.9) was significantly (р≤0.05) better than the RG rate (81.5±3.9). The EG versus RG test rates in the mid-season (January) were virtually the same (73.7±2.6 versus 73.9±2.7) that means that the elite athletes tend to attain their best sport form by the mid-season time.

Table 1. EG versus RG physical fitness test rates, (

Conclusion. The special physical fitness training model dominated by the ski tunnel practices for the elite cross-country skiers was found beneficial versus the traditional training model in the snowless period as verified by the EG significant progress in the technical skills and precompetitive performance and, hence, the model effectively helps the athletes fast adapt to snow.

References

1. Batalov A. G. Normirovanie intensivnosti trenirovochnykh nagruzok v lyzhnykh gonkakh: metod. razrabotki [Normalization of intensity of training loads in ski races: method. developments]. Moscow: Fizkultura i sport publ., 1991, 96 p.
2. Kondrashov A.V., Boyarinov A.A. Lyzherollernaya podgotovka: Vliyanie koeffitsienta treniya na skorost khoda [Roller skiing training: Friction coefficient versus stroke speed]. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury, 1992, no. 1, pp. 24-25.
3. Onuchin L.A. Kontsentrirovannoe raspredelenie spetsialnykh sredstv trenirovki lyzhnikov gonschikov starshikh razryadov na letne-osennem etape podgotovki [Concentrated distribution of special training tool for senior grade cross-country skiers at summer-autumn training stage]. Mater. mezhvuz. nauch.-prakt. konf. po fizicheskomu vospitaniyu studentov, posvyaschennaya 15 letiyu obrazovaniya SZAGS 'Sovremennye problemy teorii i praktiki fizicheskoy kultury i sporta akademiy gosudarstvennoy sluzhby Rossiyskoy Federatsii i vuzov Sankt-Peterburga' [Proc. interuniversity. res-pract. conf. on academic physical education, dedicated to the 15th anniversary of formation of NWAPA 'Modern problems of theory and practice of physical education and sports of public service academies of the Russian Federation and universities of St. Petersburg']. St. Petersburg: NWAPA publ., 2006, pp. 175-178.
4. Onuchin L.A. Vzaimosvyaz tekhnicheskoy i funktsionalnoy podgotovki lyzhnikov gonschikov starshih razryadov v bessnezhnoe vremya goda [Interrelation of technical and functional training of senior category cross-country skiers in snowless season]. Teoriya i praktika upravleniya obrazovaniem i uchebnym protsessom: pedagogicheskie, sotsialnyie i psikhologicheskie problemy. Sbornik nauch. trudov [Theory and practice of management of education and educational process: pedagogical, social and psychological problems. Collected research]. St. Petersburg: BPA publ., 2013, pp. 202-204.
5. Onuchin L.A. Issledovanie tekhnicheskoy podgotovlennosti po pokazatelyu garmonichnosti u lyzhnikov gonschikov v bessnezhnoe vremya goda [Study of technical skills by indicator of harmoniousness of cross-country skiers in snowless season]. Teoriya i praktika upravleniya obrazovaniem i uchebnym protsessom: pedagogicheskie, sotsialnye i psikhologicheskie problemy. Sbornik nauch. trudov [Theory and practice of management of education and educational process: pedagogical, social and psychological problems. Collected research]. St. Petersburg: BPA publ., 2014, pp. 183-186.
6. Ramenskaya T.I., Batalov A.G. Lyzhny sport. Ucheb. Posobie [Skiing sport. Study guide]. Moscow: Fizicheskaya kultura. publ., 2004, 224 p.
7. Timofeev M.Y. Postroenie trenirovochnogo protsessa kvalifitsirovannykh lyzhnikov gonschikov v bessnezhnom periode s primeneniem lyzherollerov. Dis. kand. ped. nauk [Design of training process of skilled cross-country skiers in snowless period using roller skis. PhD diss.]. St. Petersburg: Herzen RSPU publ., 2002, 151 p.

Corresponding author: onuchin.l@yandex.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to analyze benefits of the ski tunnel trainings dominated practices in a snowless season for the elite cross-country skiers, and to provide theoretical grounds for its practical application in the training systems for Class I Athletes, Masters of Sports and World Class Athletes. Two Reference Groups (RGs) were trained as required by the traditional yearly training system, whilst the Experimental Group (EG) training was designed to include a few ski tunnel micro-cycles in the snowless season. The training model was found beneficial as verified by the significant progress of the EG versus the RG in the physical and technical aspects in the precompetitive period. The study data and analyses show benefits of the special physical training micro-cycles including the ski tunnel practices in the snowless season for the elite cross-country skiers to keep up their physical fitness and motor skills.