Biathlon – what does it take?

Okay, so Biathlon involves skiing and shooting, so does that mean that one should simply strive to be the best at both of these disciplines?  Alas, it is not that easy!  More specifically, the sport of Biathlon requires:

·      Muscular strength (upper and lower body)

·      Muscular endurance

·      Cardiovascular fortitude

·      An awareness of one’s own abilities

·      Solid skate skiing technique

·      A working knowledge of ski base preparation for varying conditions

·      An ability to shoot, both lying down and standing, in varying environmental conditions

·      An understanding of environmental conditions as they affect shooting

·      An ability to switch one’s mind from the frantic mood of the race to a calm state in which one can successfully take aim and hit targets

Ah, the list seems to go on and on!  Seriously, there really is so much to take into account, and when you are first starting out it can be really overwhelming.  There is only so much time in the day or week – how is one to learn about shooting, skiing, ski waxing, and the myriad of fine points in between?

When you start thinking like this it’s time to flip your mood around.  Instead of thinking, good grief!  I’ll never digest all of this information!  Think instead that this sport will offer you a lifetime of exciting things to discover!  You can’t learn everything all at once, and this is a good thing because I promise you that you won’t grow bored of this sport anytime soon.  Rest assured, with each passing year, you will learn more and you will improve. 

Thankfully, the most important thing to develop in this sport is also one of the easiest – cardiovascular endurance.  If you want an easy place to start out, take any cardiovascular sport you enjoy and start doing it regularly: running, cycling, rowing, swimming, etc.  Really, it doesn’t matter how well you can shoot or wax your skis if you’re fitness will not even allow you to ascend the challenging hills one finds during a race.  Therefore, take my advice – attend to developing your cardiovascular fitness above everything else!

I know what you’re thinking: this is pretty vague advice, but fear not!  Stay tuned for my next blog post and I’ll give you exactly what you need to know in hard numbers and structure.