Dryland Training: Shaping the Modern Alpine Ski Racer

When a World Cup skier explodes out of the start gate, months of unseen work come into play. Every powerful turn, every recovery after a compression and every split-second adjustment is built on countless hours spent away from the snow.

While skiing remains the ultimate test, dryland training has become one of the most important foundations of alpine performance. It is where athletes build the strength, resilience and physical capacity required to handle the high demands that ski racing places on the body. Being in good physical shape doesn't only mean performing well, but also preventing the injuries that unfortunately occur too often in this sport.

Although training philosophies and approaches could vary between coaches and national teams, a common philosophy emerges: dryland training has evolved from simply improving fitness into an integrated performance system designed to prepare athletes for the physical and mental demands of elite ski racing. Despite different methodologies, coaches share the same goal: creating athletes who are physically prepared to perform, adapt and thrive on snow.

Training philosophy and structure: Building the foundations

The first question in any dryland programme is simple: what is the purpose of training away from the snow?

For many years, dryland preparation was mainly basic training aimed at getting athletes stronger and fitter. Today, as coaching knowledge and expertise have advanced considerably, coaches place greater emphasis on developing, in a more individualized way, the physical qualities that allow each athlete to express themselves on skis.

Italian strength and conditioning coach Luca Scarian – who counts skiers like Federica Brignone and Marta Bassino among his athletes – believes physical preparation should complement skiing, but remain a distinct area of development.

His philosophy is based around developing strength, oxygen consumption, core stability and efficient movement patterns. Above all, the first step is ensuring the athlete is physically healthy and moves efficiently from a biomechanical perspective, creating the foundation needed for high performance on snow.

Spaniard Alejo Hervas – who coaches, among others, Marco Odermatt, Gino Caviezel and Justin Murisier – structures his dryland system around two main pillars: structural work and metabolic work.

Alejo's structural work focuses on muscles, connective tissue, joints and soft tissues, while metabolic work develops aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Over a 24-week preparation period, the core block where the bulk of physical training takes place, his programme progresses through different phases, beginning with aerobic development before moving into structured strength blocks involving concentric, eccentric and isometric contractions. Training intensity and volume are then adjusted in waves, with recovery weeks integrated throughout the process to support adaptation and progression. Beyond this period, training shifts to a mix of skiing and maintenance work, aimed at preserving the physical qualities that have been built.

Although the terminology differs, both approaches share the same goal: creating athletes who are physically prepared to perform on snow.

Priorities and performance focus: what qualities matter most?

Alpine skiing requires a unique combination of physical qualities. Athletes must produce large forces, absorb extreme loads and maintain control while performing at high speed.

Strength remains one of the central pillars of preparation, but it is viewed as a multi-dimensional quality rather than simply maximum force production.

For Scarian, strength development depends on managing three key elements: time under muscular tension, appropriate training volume and the rate at which force can be produced.

Alejo also emphasises the importance of combining strength with endurance, movement control and the ability to regulate intensity. Strength remains a central element of his approach, but always trained with careful control.

For him, when training time is limited, coaches must decide which qualities can have the greatest impact.

When injuries occur, priorities shift towards maintaining development where possible while respecting medical guidance and presereving the athlete's health.

Interestingly, neither coach identifies physical ability alone as the main limitation to progression. Instead, long-term development is shaped by a combination of mindset, a willingness to embrace challenges and the environment in which an athlete trains and grows.

Individualisation: the athlete behind the data

Although athletes often train together, elite preparation is highly individual and rarely identical.

Physical testing provides important information about strengths and weaknesses, but both coaches believe that successful individualisation requires a deeper understanding of the athlete.

Knowing how athletes move, communicate and respond to different training approaches becomes crucial. Having worked with many of his athletes for several years, the Italian strength and conditioning coach has developed a deep understanding of their individual characteristics, allowing him to design training that challenges them while respecting their limits.

Hervas also relies heavily on daily observation, explaining that while numbers provide valuable information, behaviour, movement patterns and training responses reveal just as much. One example is the way he analyses natural body asymmetries, looking at how athletes move differently from one side to the other and how these differences influence their training.

Individualisation within a group setting is often achieved through adjusting training volume, intensity, recovery or exercise selection rather than creating completely separate programmes.

For developing athletes, the focus is often on building consistent habits and managing progression carefully. More experienced athletes usually require a more refined approach, with greater attention to details and individual responses.

Periodisation and scheduling: adapting the plan to reality

Planning the year is one of the most complex aspects of alpine ski preparation.

During the preparation phase, coaches typically focus on building physical capacity through progressive increases in training volume and intensity. Recovery periods and changes in training emphasis are integrated to allow continued adaptation.

However, ski racing rarely follows a perfectly linear plan: international training camps, travel demands and changing competition schedules mean that coaches must constantly adjust their approach with the individual athletes.

During winter, the focus shifts from developing new physical qualities to maintaining performance. While training volume may decrease, intensity is carefully managed. For the Italian women’s team, the goal is to avoid reducing the workload too much, ensuring athletes continue to stimulate their muscles regularly and remain physically engaged throughout the season.

One of the greatest challenges for coaches is finding the balance between reducing training load and continuing to improve performance.

Training environment: creating the conditions for success

The environment around the athlete plays an important role in long-term development.

Training camps provide opportunities for athletes to work together, strengthen team culture and learn from each other. However, both coaches emphasise that the quality of the process matters more than the location itself.

For Scarian, periods of stable training at home are particularly valuable, allowing athletes to progress without constant disruption before the intensity of the ski season begins.

Alejo sees camps as important moments for building relationships within the team and observing how athletes support each other through challenges.

Avoiding stagnation over multiple seasons requires continuous evolution. Rather than making dramatic changes, both coaches prefer introducing small adjustments and new challenges while maintaining the principles that guide the programme.

Long-term athlete development: evolving through knowledge and feedback

Elite performance requires constant adaptation.

Coaches continue to develop their knowledge through research, conversations with other professionals and exchanges across different sports.

However, one of the most valuable tools remains direct communication with the athlete.

Athlete feedback is an integral and vital part of the process, particularly when athletes have a strong awareness of their own physical state and performance.

Honest communication allows coaches to adjust training loads, identify fatigue and develop more effective strategies over time.

Therefore, understanding the athlete as a complete individual – not simply through testing results – is what allows coaches to make better decisions.

More than off-season training

Dryland training has evolved far beyond traditional off-season conditioning.

Today, it represents a year-round performance system combining physical development, injury prevention, individualisation and collaboration.

The methods may differ from one coach to another, but the message is consistent: elite performances are not created only on race day. They are built through months of preparation, adaptation and work away from the snow.