They trained on their own in the summer and September consisted of captains' practices. October 1 marked the first day of dry-land training with the coaches. The training is structured and intense. The skiers keep individual logs in which they record daily their morning and evening workout. The number of hours spent in training, the number of hours of sleep, and the intensity level is recorded each day.
Intensity level ranges on a scale from one to five, one being the easiest.
Most skiers are training at an intensity level of 1-2 during the summer, but in the fall they train at level 4. This is to ensure that the level of lactic acid coincides with the level of training. Lactic acid levels are graphed and can be used to determine whether the workout is too easy or too difficult. In the absence of snow, workouts consist of endless hours of running with and without poles, classic roller skiing, dips, pushups, pull-ups, and ski imitation. Ski imitation consists of imitating the motion of skiing on a hill while running and using roller boards to build upper-body strength.