Article
The purpose: to determine average training loads of various types of highly qualified ski cross athletes in a one-year training cycle.
Methods and organization of the research. A retrospective analysis of the self-monitoring diaries of athletes of the Russian ski cross national team (n=15, 10 men and 5 women) for the period from 2022/2023 to 2025/2026 was carried out to calculate mean monthly training loads of different intensities and training emphases within the annual training cycle.
Results and discussion. The distribution of loads by intensity zones (as a percentage) of highly qualified ski cross athletes in the annual cycle turned out to be as follows: low-intensity – 86,8%, medium–intensity – 8,7%, high-intensity – 4,5%, in the preparatory period – 85,3/9,6/5,1, during the competitive period – 88,6/7,5/3,9. Modeling of monthly load volumes showed that the athletes had the maximum amount of training time in May (76,4 h) and November (85,6 h). In the competitive period, there was a decrease in training time in February (42,3 h), followed by an increase in March (52,1 h). A comparative analysis of the load distribution in the preparatory and competitive periods allowed us to establish significant changes in the training direction. In the preparatory period, aerobic (35%, 154,5±72,7 h, p<0,05, moderate effect size) and strength training (25%, 109,3±17,7 h, p<0,001, very large effect size) predominate. In the competitive period, technical and tactical training is of dominant importance (43%, 174,2±40 h, p<0.001, very large effect size), while the proportion of aerobic loads remains significant (29,7%, 120,3±53,5 hours, p<0,05, moderate effect size).
Conclusion. The established patterns of distribution of training loads reflect the specifics of building a one-year cycle of elite-level ski cross athletes, which consists in the predominant use of low-intensity training work, uneven changes and marked redistribution of physical, technical and tactical training in the preparatory and competitive periods.
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