Conquering Peaks: Crafting Your Pre-Season Triumph
As autumn blankets the mountains, a resounding call echoes through the northern hemisphere—a summons answered eagerly by trail runners. It marks the juncture where seasons shift, and the foundation for a new sporting year is laid.
Welcome to a profound exploration led by Fernando Armisén, the Head Coach at Arduua, as he delves into the intricacies of pre-season mastery.
Decoding the Art of Pre-Season Brilliance
In the realm of mountain running, the allure extends beyond the immediate thrill; it’s an enduring joy derived from a sustainable, long-term journey. Fernando’s wisdom transcends the conventional, offering more than training advice—it’s a blueprint for crafting a foundation resonating across seasons.
Pre-Season: The Crucible of Champions
Enhancing an athlete’s fitness in the short term is a straightforward endeavor. However, envisioning a holistic training plan that threads through the tapestry of seasons—minimizing injuries, enhancing performance, and amplifying the joy of running—that’s the real challenge.
As autumn blankets the mountains, our focus shifts to the pre-season, the bedrock of the sporting year. Fernando urges us to move from the general to the specific, from the diverse to the tailored—a journey from health to peak performance.
Pre-Season Objectives: Charting the Course
- Foot/Ankle Mastery:
- Elevate foot-ankle mobility-stability and cultivate foundational strength.
- Adaptive Mountain Running:
- Foster adaptability to the mountain’s varied stimuli, enriching motor patterns for year-round challenges.
- Cardiovascular Citadel:
- Lay the groundwork for a robust cardiovascular base, the cornerstone for future physiological enhancements.
- Weakness Assessment:
- Delve into the athlete’s weaknesses—arthro-muscular, physiological, and psychological—crafting a strategy for improvement.
- Running Mechanics Insight:
- Unveil the nuances of running mechanics, identifying areas primed for refinement.
- Goal Setting and Competition Blueprint:
- Establish the main competitions (A competitions) and delineate the intensity-duration levels for peak performance.
Navigating the Two Phases of Pre-Season Brilliance
1. Basic Period:
- Initiate a broad phase focusing on overall physical conditioning and cardiovascular rejuvenation. Address arthromuscular weaknesses, enhance general strength, and refine diverse movement patterns.
2. Base-Specific Period:
- Transition into a phase directed at cardiovascular development, pushing thresholds, and elevating oxygen consumption. Increase training volume progressively, fortify tissue tolerance, and delve into maximum strength and core training.
Keys to Pre-Season Triumph: Valuable Insights
- Diversify Your Pursuits:
- Embrace the joy, intertwine activities you love—this isn’t solely about running. Cross-training becomes a formidable ally, offering both metabolic diversity and lifelong motor richness.
- Foot-Ankle Fortification:
- Recognize the pivotal role of feet in mountain running. Strengthen and stabilize through varied activities, diverse shoes, and controlled barefoot exercises for an adaptive and versatile foundation.
- Functional Strength Elevation:
- Immerse yourself in functional strength training—a symphony of free-weight, polyarticular movements. Cultivate stability and strength in tandem, sculpting the essence of a future mountain virtuoso.
- Goal Setting Extravaganza:
- Seize the pre-season to chart your racing calendar with clarity. Define main races (A’s) and strategically sprinkle secondary B competitions for a well-paced journey toward peak performance.
- Embrace the Journey, Focus on Details:
- Revel in the process, build gradually, and save the peaks for later. The magic lies in the daily rituals, the small yet consistent efforts that shape the entire year.
- Stress Test for Confidence:
- What better time than the pre-season to assess your heart’s resilience? A stress test becomes more than a health check; it’s a declaration of readiness for the sporting year.
In Essence: The Symphony of Pre-Season Joy
A pre-season isn’t just training; it’s a celebration. Dive into versatility, explore new disciplines, enrich your motor repertoire, nurture your feet, set bold objectives, and relish the camaraderie of group training sessions.
As you embark on this pre-season odyssey, remember—it’s not just a phase; it’s the overture to a symphony of triumphs.
Connect with Us!
For more details or to kickstart your trail transformation, sprint over to this webpage. Questions? Excitement to share? Reach out to Katinka Nyberg at katinka.nyberg@arduua.com.
Arduua Coaching — Because Your Trail Adventure Deserves a Bespoke Path!
Blog by, Katinka Nyberg, Arduua Founder and Fernando Armisén, Arduua Head Coach.