Submittted by Stefan Overgaard, SXS FITNESS

Now that the competitive season is coming to an end, it’s time to look at preparing for next season. While I encourage all athletes to take some down time to recharge I also think now is the time to begin accessing the off-season fitness plan. The logical time and place to start their training is at the AOA Fitness Testing,  hosted this weekend by SOD at York University.

I realize that perhaps many athletes are thinking that they haven’t really spent much time in the gym this winter, so their scores won’t be as good as they could be. This might lead some to think “why bother”, or families to decide their kids can wait until the Fall for fitness testing. Testing in the spring can be intimidating and even humbling  when you are ‘out of shape’. However, spring testing is valuable for several reasons. First it provides athletes with a baseline for their current fitness level. Second this ‘baseline of scores’ (i.e. strengths and weaknesses) can be used to build a fitness program to be completed throughout the entire summer so that athletes are ready for the fall testing event. Of course, the real goal here is not Fitness Testing scores but rather, improved performance on the hill for next season and reducing risk of injury.

The spring training block is relatively short, so I encourage athletes to complete their testing sooner than later.  If athletes wait until the Fall, we find that there isn’t a clear understanding of what needs to be worked on between now and then, which can lead to sub-par results and weakness’ not addressed (i.e. injuries).  Furthermore, a great exercise is to set goals from one testing to the next which can’t properly be done without an initial test.  The likelihood of achieving fitness test goals go up dramatically when we go through the process of a spring test.  Together we can develop a program based on results, goals for the next test and finally, retesting.  This process keeps athletes on track.

In an ideal situation, athletes should get tested multiple times per year; typically spring and fall, but it can be more frequently.

Online registration for the Testing has now closed, the cost is now $40. If you missed the deadline of Sunday at 5pm please call Suki, SOD Program Manager, before 5pm this Wednesday at 705-444-5111 x133.