Junior cross-country skiers ready for winter at AIS

The Australian Junior Cross-Country Ski Team last week swapped snowy slopes for roller-skis and treadmills during a pre-season testing camp at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS).

With the week-long camp a crucial part of preparing for the upcoming domestic winter season, the athletes took part in time trials, strength tests, coordination drills and physiology testing to gather baseline metrics on their fitness and performance.

In the AIS Physiology lab, athletes donned roller-skis for submaximal lactate and VO2 max tests on the large treadmills, two tests that AIS Senior Physiologist Edward Brooks said will greatly aid the athletes and coaches in both training and competition.

“The combination of these two lab tests cover numerous physiological variables and allow for a greater understanding of the athlete's physical capabilities,” Brooks said.

“It also allows for comprehensive monitoring of fitness changes and gives coaches and athletes actionable insights that can change training prescription and execution.”

For 19-year-old Sam Johnson, the camp was not only a step toward rebuilding his fitness to requalify for a second Junior World Championships, but also to further his studies.

“It’s really good to work with the AIS staff, especially as I’m studying exercise physiology at university and I could really learn from them,” Johnson said.

“They’re all super friendly and helpful and really supportive, especially when you’re pushing into that maximal effort zone.”

But as much as Johnson loves the AIS team, there was one other part of being on the Canberra campus that took top billing.

“The access to the recovery centre is probably the best part. A lot of places we go have high performance training facilities, but they don't really have that recovery centre that the AIS can provide, so that's always fun.”