12-Week Novice Level Skimo Training Plan:
Start Progressing With 12-Weeks of Skimo Specific Training

This training plan serves as a first step towards training for ski mountaineering races for novice and beginner level athletes. Besides guiding you through daily workouts it can be used as your training log book as well.

The goal of this novice plan is to help develop sound base conditioning for your first season of skimo racing through twelve weeks of specific skimo preparation, with usual weekly training volume of 6-8 hours.

The plan is designed to make you reach your best at the end of the twelve weeks – for your goal race or skimo adventure. There are another two “test” races in this plan as well.

Who is this plan for and what is the difference between the Intermediate and Novice 12-week training plans?

Both of our 12-week plans, Novice and Intermediate, will help you maximize your improvement by providing you with sport specific guidance in your daily workouts. Well thought out structured training schedule is easy to follow and is the next best thing to hiring a personal coach.

There are three main differences between the two plans we offer:

1. The number of high-intensity sessions over the 12 weeks is greater in the Intermediate plan (15 sessions) than in the Novice plan (9 sessions). Such workouts are highly demanding physically and mentally, therefore, the Intermediate plan is more suitable for athletes that already have a few competitive seasons behind them and would like to experiment with more high-intensity training.
2. The total training volume in hours is about 15% less for the Novice plan (5.5 to 8.5 h weekly) vs the Intermediate (6 to 9.5 h weekly). While that is not a huge difference, the Intermediate plan is much more demanding when considering overall training load compared to the Novice plan due to the greater number of high-intensity training sessions.
3. The Novice plan was designed for people new to skimo or structured training but not necessarily new to being active. The Intermediate plan is for athletes that have prior racing experience (in skimo or in another sport) and are not new to more intense training programs.

What if I can’t ski every day?

We are aware that not everyone that can benefit from this plan can ski every day (us included). Therefore, we defined the most critical workouts that should be completed on skis and clearly marked them in the plan. These are usually three workouts each week. All other sessions can be easily completed running, cycling or xc skiing.

How flexible is this plan?

This training plan is adaptable to your needs while still remaining very effective if you stick to three key principles outlined in the notes section of the document.
The plan is designed around the fact that majority of races happen on Saturdays. The daily and weekly training loads increase and decrease in a progression to have the greatest effect towards the goal race at the end.

How is this different from the Manual For Ski Mountaineering Racing e-book?

This 12-week plan is a highly specialized and structured training schedule providing you with daily guidance. Basically, it is the closest thing to hiring a coach – you want to know what to do and when while you don’t want to spend time on the why.
The Skimo Manual e-book is a small “bible” about the sport of skimo racing. It contains a lot of resources and tips that will help you improve your technique, transitions and racing strategy. It explains in great detail the physiology of endurance training in relation to skimo, and also discusses gear.
While the training plan is a stand alone resource, many people seeking to improve other aspects of their racing aside from just their engine will greatly benefit combining the two at a special price for the package!