Ph.D., Pro-rector for Research V.N. Chumakov
Associate professor, Ph.D. S.M. Pogudin
Associate professor, Dr.Hab. D.V. Fonarev
Tchaikovsky State Institute of Physical Culture, Tchaikovsky

Keywords: skilled Nordic Combined athletes, shortcomings of training, methodical peculiarities of planning of training sessions, training session algorithms.

Introduction. The analysis of Soviet and Russian Nordic Combined athletes' performances over the period from the 90s of the XX century and up to this day, as well as the study of the scientific and methodological literature regarding training of Nordic Combined athletes has revealed that, due to the objective and subjective factors, the current system of long-term training of athletes lacks analytic database on the training system for skilled Nordic Combined athletes.

The purpose of the research was to analyze the causes of poor training of domestic skilled Nordic Combined athletes and develop recommendations regarding planning and optimizing of the areas of their training and competitive activities.

Organization of research. Analytical work was conducted and methodological recommendations were elaborated using the data obtained at the premises of the Federal Winter Sports Training Center "Snezhinka" from 2012 till 2014.

Results and discussion. To the objective reasons we should refer little attention to the study of the training system of Nordic Combined athletes and lack of suitable conditions for the organization of their training and competitive activities in our country. The subjectivity of contradictions lies in the unwillingness of the coaching staff to make a display of the aspects of training and lack of available methodical and practical data on training of highly-skilled Nordic Combined athletes from the countries that hold leading positions in the world championships.

The analysis of the perspective plans of training of Russian Nordic Combined athletes (macro- and meso-planning of training of athletes) has revealed that the planning of training sessions does not often correlate with available organizational and pedagogical conditions that have a determining effect on the process of training and competitive activities. In our opinion, when making perspective plans for a season, the coaching staff should specify the leading aspects of the long-term planning of the training process as the basic organizational and administrative element of training; consider the methodical principles, regulating the planning of training of Nordic Combined athletes; optimize orientation of training and competitive activities of skilled Nordic Combined athletes in view of training for major competitions of the season [1, 2].

It should be noted that the analysis of the existing training plans of training of skilled Nordic Combined athletes enabled us to detect a number of shortcomings:

- insufficient relative share of special training aimed at development of motor qualities, first and foremost, in the area of races;

- the dominance of the quantitative volume of special jumping training - ski jumping towards special preparatory exercises and exercises involving training simulators.

Due to the shortcomings in the development of special race skills in the examined students, most athletes move along the distance using mainly the V1 skate technique, while the V2 skate technique, which requires excellent functional and physical fitness, is rarely used. It should be emphasized that the majority of skilled Nordic Combined athletes are generally characterized by a lower level of development of their functional fitness - aerobic and anaerobic performance, manifesting itself primarily as the dynamics of covering of the competitive distance sections, which is of negative nature. In fact, all Nordic Combined athletes (Russian national competition, Russian championship of 2013, 2014) were observed to have forward reduction of distance speed (as a rule, 10 km race is divided into sections - 5 х 2 km or 4 х 2.5 km). The absolute reduction of speed of movement along the succeeding distance sections amounted to 1-3%; with that, the difference between the speed of covering of the first and the last distance laps can reach 10%.

Given that most skilled Nordic Combined athletes are athletes who, for various reasons, have a relatively limited level of development of motor qualities and functional capabilities, it is necessary to make adjustments to the existing training system at the initial stages of sports training. Lack of basic fitness training is one of the problems of training of skilled Nordic Combined athletes, that impedes effective development of special motor qualities and abilities at the stages of improvement of sports skills. In order to increase the significance of conditioning and special racing training in the training process of junior Nordic Combined athletes the system of children's sports competitions needs to be partially changed, particularly fitness competitions at summer stages of competitive training (within the framework of Russian championship) should be put into practice, along with different types of Nordic combined (ski jumping and cross country discipline), as well as roller ski race - for boys of the senior and middle age groups; at winter stages - as a separate competitive discipline - "smooth" ski race. Perhaps, these measures will help involve perspective young Nordic Combined athletes in the sport.

Individualization of the training process is essential in training of skilled Nordic Combined athletes. Individualization of training programs for Nordic Combined athletes is based on the real-time consideration and correction of shortcomings in those phases of motor actions which largely determine the level of competitive results.

While planning training sessions for skilled Nordic Combined athletes it is necessary to take into account a number of methodical peculiarities:

• When eliminating individual errors in the techniques of motor actions the focus is on the determination of the causes of occurrence of these errors and understanding of the current tasks by an athlete.
• Individual shortcomings in the technique are corrected in a state of high working capacity at the first part of the training session. The rest of the time, athletes are meant to fulfill class assignments intended to increase the level of general and special physical fitness.
• In order to form flexible and variative skills, the following methodological means and non-standard conditions are used among the components of competitive activity when fulfilling class assignments: limitation of visual control when performing competitive and lead-up exercises; performance of these exercises with changing of speed characteristics of movements and under different weather conditions; while improving the ski-skating technique: the use of outdoor games, covering of distances with different landscape, reproduction of exercise technique in a state of fatigue, etc.
• Upon performance of competitive exercises, individual errors are defined by means of the comparative analysis of the technique in terms of athlete's self-evaluation, trainer's assessment and video-record playback.
• Nordic Combined athletes are to use ideomotor training not only during their training sessions, but also in their free time. Each microcycle is intended to eliminate individual, not more than 3-4, erroneous actions that could lower the competitive activity results.
• During the second training session, an athlete is given time to take individual physical training using the means and methods of development of physical qualities that do not have an adequate level of conformity required for skilled Nordic Combined athletes.
• Individual approach to athletes, when affected by training, is implemented with due regard to their subjective psychophysical status by such indicators as state of health, level of motivation to train, sleep, appetite, emotional state. In case of deterioration in the subjective condition and traces of fatigue cumulation, it is decided to reduce the volume and intensity of training loads. We believe that in these instances Nordic Combined athletes are to switch to individual programs of sports training.

Individualization of the training process of skilled Nordic Combined athletes is reflected in the ways special training sessions are conducted:

– training session algorithm aimed at the elimination of typical and individual errors in jumping technique:

a) the use of simulation and lead-up exercises during jumper's warming up;

b) ski jumping of different intensity (K-40 – К-120) with the analysis of both the technique at separate phases and jumping technique on the whole;

c) the analysis of athletes' typical and individual errors in jumping and causes of their occurrence;

d) the determination of the methods of individual correction of jumping technique with due regard to the model characteristics at different phases (the development of physical qualities, the use of ideomotor training, etc.);

– training session algorithm aimed at the formation of spatial self-assessment and proper positioning of the body during the take-off phase:

a) general and special warming up with the use of acrobatic jumping exercises;

b) ski jumping of different power (K-40 – К-120), during rest intervals the following measures are taken:

c) correction of direction of the take-off from the edge in subsequent jumps;                     

– training session algorithm aimed at the development of strength qualities by means of special training:

a) simulation of the V1 skate technique using weights and external resistance;

b) performance of simulator exercises developing strength endurance of the upper and lower limbs, with fixation in positions similar to the skating step elements;

c) simulation of jumping from the edge with external weights. During jump the body position is fixated, and lunge landing is performed;

d) self-assessment of take-off direction when simulating jumping from the edge, determination of erroneous actions together with a trainer;

e) correction of the take-off direction from the edge from different preparatory positions;

f) trampoline tumbling with the simulation of the push off of the trampoline and landing.

Conclusion. The major purposes of improvement of sports and technical skills of skilled Nordic Combined athletes are to correct individual shortcomings in the ski jumping technique and ski-skating techniques in ski race, as well as to uplevel the development of physical qualities. Moreover, individual programs of training sessions are being developed using the means of immediate information about exercise techniques, discussion of self-assessment of the components of technique, comparative analysis of individual and model biomechanical characteristics of motor actions, as well as using ideomotor training aimed at the formation of a logical pattern and ideal performance.

References

1. Metodicheskie rekomendatsii po organizatsii sportivnoy podgotovki v Rossiyskoy Federatsii / Prikaz Minsporta Rossii ot 12.05.2014 g. № 2554 (Guidelines on organization of sports training in the Russian Federation) / The Order of Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation dated 12.05.2014 № 2554), Ministry of Sport of the Russian Federation – 115 P.
2. Slavskiy, V.F. Kompleksnaya tselevaya programma podgotovki sbornoy komandy Rossii po lyzhnomu dvoebor'yu na chetyrekhletniy tsikl 2010–2014 gg. (Complex target program of training of the Russian Nordic combined team in the four-year cycle of 2010-2014). / V.F. Slavskiy [et al.]. - Moscow: Russian Ski jumping and Nordic combined Federation, 2010. – 93  P.

Corresponding author: tchaik.nauka@mail.ru