Last week an entry level speed skater asked me how many hours per week I
devote to training. He was interested because he wanted to know how much time
a skater had to train in order to be able to skate in the elite field. Notice
I said, skate with the elite field. Winning in the elite field is another
level entirely! I told him the time required and he said, "Well, how much time
do you think an entry level speed skater needs to train to do well in local
events."
There are many different factors involved in setting up a training schedule that fits your needs as a first-time speedster. First, you need to establish how much time you have. You also have to ask yourself 'How much of this time am I willing to give-up in order to train for racing?' It's true, the better shape you’re in, the more fun the race. Let’s look at scheduling a training program that:
- Gets you in shape to race in your category, and
- Does not make you miss other important things in life
So you've been skating for 5 years and recently met some local speedsters who reeled you into their club and now you’re hooked on racing in local events. You even hope to travel to a few larger events to test your self in your new sport. Since you just purchased your 5-wheel skates, and the rest of the group have more time under their belt, you feel you need to start working right away on training and fitness in order to keep up with them on training night.
How much time do you have? Most people work at least 40 hours and sleep 50 hours per week. You also have things to do like laundry and eating. The point is, that unless you don't have a job, you really cannot train enough to be able to hang in the elite or even semi-pro field. You can however, train enough to race with your category and have fun.
Train smart. Set up your training to be different every evening and to be on a different course as well. Endurance skating on the road one night, intervals on the track the next, followed by recovery training the third and then back to endurance skating. You cannot do intervals 2 days in a row unless you have built yourself up to it. In the same instance you shouldn't do long, easy distance skating every night because you will only prepare your body for just that. It's easy to train on what you're good at and that's a common mistake that many skaters make. If you like long, road-type events, you might think you don't need to do track skating. Track skating a few times per week will make your road skating better. You will find that moving around in a pack on the road is a piece of cake after you have done it in the close quarters of a track. The key is, vary your training, keep it simple and don't try to squeeze more training hours than you have in a day. If you have 1 hour a night 4 days a week and 2 hours on each day of the weekend, you can do this or a similar plan (see box).
This sample plan is one that any working person with 1 hour per evening and 2 hours on weekends free can do. It is also plenty of varied training to get you in good shape. If you only have 6 hours to devote to training per week then remove 1 of the weekend workouts or 2 of the week day ones. If your daily career schedule is different every week, (mine is) plan a training schedule anyway and move days around to fit your time. Just be sure to do a different workout every evening.
Keep the intensity high to minimize the duration. If you are going to do intervals; make it intense enough so that you are getting the most out of a 1 hour session. Do each interval like it is the last one and you'll find that 10 is enough to make you cry uncle! Six hours of intense, good quality training is better than 20 hours of half-hearted training so keep the quality up and save yourself time to go the the movies with your friends.
Remember, racing is the best training, so get yourself out to every event in your area. If you are lucky enough to be able to compete (either on skates, bike or foot) twice per week, that's 2 days you don't need to train. In the Netherlands for example, it is possible to race 3-4 days per week in the height of the season. The Dutch skaters do a lot of base training before the season begins but as soon as the season is in full swing they only do recovery sessions between events. Since we are on the subject of base training, let's look at how you can plan your training from the early months of the year.
A solid base of endurance is essential to become fast in the height of the season. It starts in the winter with endurance cross training. I like the bicycle. Again, 6 or 8 hours of total time is enough.
Keep the sessions long and steady state. During this time you are still skating (hopefully indoors) but your focus is on that solid base. As the winter progresses you might switch from cross-training endurance to specific endurance (skating) a few days a week. Eventually, you will be performing the above sample schedule or something similar but not until you have done your winter work.
A great way to get in skate shape without all the planing is to join your local indoor speed club. The coach does all the work in planning and progression of your fitness. If you are not into indoor racing then just do the coach's program for the technique and speed training and add your own endurance bike or skate rides on other days. Tell the coach your goal of summer road events and your focus on base training. They will understand.
The focus of this article is to give you an idea of basic training principals and how they fit into your already busy work schedule. The sample workout is just an idea and the explanation of the training is too vague for actually planning your own training schedule. To further understand a training plan that works for you, I suggest picking up a copy of Speed on Skates by Barry Publow or reading his many articles on training application.
There are a few racers that work full time and still find time to train enough hours to hang with a pretty fast pack. They really are the exception. I've heard of some elite skaters that train up to 25 hours per week. I would say that most train at least 15 hours. Do your best to schedule time for skating but don't beat yourself up. If you can't compete on the level of these skaters. You may have more things going on in your life.