Foto: Fischer Sports GmbH

When it comes to cross-country skiing, following a clear training plan is not everyone's thing – and it's not always motivating. But there are plenty of ways to mix up your training sessions with simple mind and numbers games.

Click into your bindings and get skiing! This is exactly what countless cross-country skiers want to do over the next few weeks, and on freshly groomed cross-country ski trails where possible.

Most of them ski based on feeling, they want to work out and achieve something. Cross-country ski training of around one and a half to two hours, usually in the medium-hard area, means that you are getting exercise and can keep going without having to take much of a break.

In terms of heart rate, this never drops too low, but also never reaches maximum levels and rarely exceeds the anaerobic threshold. Technically, training in the medium-hard area is usually characterised by doing what you can, for example, always placing your poles on your best side.

You don’t necessarily need a trainer, specific training plan or pulse watch to add a dose of inspiration to your cross-country ski training. All it takes is good ideas and the flexibility to integrate them fluently into the training session. Here are 8 training ideas for more fun and variety on the cross-country ski trail!

1. 100/100

The idea is simple: skate for a maximum of half the time as you normally would. So always alternating…

• …skate 100 steps however you like…
• …then skate 100 steps with a technical drill such as:
  > Pushing forward on one ski
  > During the gliding phase, hop on the gliding ski
  > Skate holding your poles horizontally behind your back
  > Bring your fists together in front of you after your arms have swung up
  > Skate holding your poles in the middle and swinging your arms as usual, but without inserting the poles
  > Double pole with skating skis in the classic track or with classic skis next to the track
  > For 1:2-step with poles, change the side of the leg kick for 100 steps

2. Heart rate yo-yo

Switch between very easy and sprint skating every 3-4 minutes.

• Skate the fast sections at a pace that can be kept up for the entire 3-4 minutes.
• If necessary, look at your watch as an aid, although the exact time for the individual sections isn't crucial. You can also simply count the steps you need for 3-4 minutes.
• It is important to make the greatest possible difference between the intensities, so skate as slowly and easily as possible in the slow sections and as fast as possible in the fast sections.
• Skate gently to warm up, then change the intensities 8 to 10 times, i.e. a total of around 30-40 minutes per intensity. To finish, skate gently to warm down.

3. Technique fartlek

For once, the technique fartlek isn’t about intensity, but more about a clean movement sequence in as many variants as possible with quick changes.

• Skating: Analyse the current terrain and adjust your pace quickly and often. Squat for fast descents, for slight downhills 1:2 skating changing the side of the pole insert after 10 steps. On flat and slightly uphill sections, switch to the 1:1 step, and if it gets steeper go back to 1:2 or diagonal skating.
• If the slope is inclined, use your dominant hand (uphill).
• Classic: Analyse the current terrain and adjust your pace dynamically and often. Squat for fast descents next to the track, for slight downhills use double poles in the track. On flat sections, alternate every 10 steps between double poles in the track to diagonal skating with a long gliding phase. If the slope gets steeper, increase the cadence of the diagonal step or – if it gets very steep – opt for a shuffling step.
• Try to make the step changes as fluid and dynamic as possible.

4. 50 steps

This training session is a simple numbers game, but not to be underestimated.

• You will always take 50 steps (or arm swings) following a specific plan that you must always follow, no matter the terrain.
  It doesn’t matter whether you choose an intensity setting (e.g. 50 steps at an intensity level of 7 out of 10), a step setting (e.g. 50 steps with double poles) or a technique setting (50 steps 2:1 dominant hand or 1:1-step dynamic).
• Important: Try to stick to the defined plan even if it becomes technically difficult (e.g. downhill 1:1 or double poles uphill). This exercise will help you to apply a step technique cleanly and in any terrain.
• Length of training session: about one hour.

5. Heart rate barrier training

During this training session, you must not exceed your maximum heart rate zone. Many people feel that it is not a proper workout if their heart rate is too low. However, such training is hugely important as a foundation and should not be neglected, especially by frequent skiers. Here's how it works:

• Set the alarm of your heart rate monitor to an upper limit of 65-70% of your maximum heart rate. Do you have a maximum heart rate of 180? Then your personal heart rate barrier is 126
• Once the value is defined and set, you can skate for around two hours with the intention of never exceeding the heart rate barrier and, on the other hand, of paying attention to as many technical details as possible. This relaxed training session is also ideal as intermediate workout during a holiday week if you’re a keen cross-country skier.
• Don't know how high your maximum heart rate is when cross-country skiing? Then, after skating for around 20–30 minutes at a medium-hard intensity, skate uphill continuously for around three minutes as fast as possible, increasing the speed and climbing intensity during the last minute. Measure your heart rate immediately after that last minute.

6. Pyramid of emotions

Skate on an emotional scale of 1 (practically stationary), 3 (gentle skating) and 7 (quite strenuous) to a 10 (maximum pace at the limit).

• Ease into the workout with around 10 minutes of gentle skating at level 3 of your personal intensity scale. Try to practise all step styles while staying in level 3, be sure to use a clean technique with a long gliding phase
• Now, switch to a perceived 5 with the same technique focus for about 5 minutes.
• Then change again for 5 minutes to a 7…
• …and then skate for another 2 minutes at intensity 10, so skating at maximum speed and sprinting the last 30–40 seconds.
• Then skate gently for around 5 minutes at level 2 until your heart rate has completely calmed down.
• You can go through the pyramid of emotions one to three times.
• Skating by feeling is a good exercise, and it is useful to measure your heart rate (without looking at it) and then analyse whether it actually matched how you felt.

7. Terrain fartlek

This training is equivalent to a fartlek in which the terrain determines the intensity.

• All slightly downhill sections are skated gently and technically as clean as possible.
• All flat sections are skated swiftly and at a perceived moderate intensity, preferably in all steps with a focus on clean movement technique.
• All uphill sections are skated rigorously and in such a way that you can barely cope with the incline at a constant pace. In other words: Skate short inclines very hard at maximum intensity, longer inclines in such a way that you can just about maintain the pace until the end of the incline.
• The hillier and more demanding the terrain, the harder the training.

8. Threshold training

You can set the duration of this training – after warming up – somewhere between 30 and 50 minutes.

• Once you've done this, it's about estimating the pace at which you can skate continuously for this length of time. At the end, you should be so exhausted that you couldn't have continued to skate at that pace.
• This exercise will give you a sense of how high your personal threshold speed is. It's also interesting when you measure your heart rate during this training and can then analyse whether it has actually behaved constantly in line with your perceived intensity.