Scott,

For me personally right now I am performing a lot of cardiac development to get my self prepared to XC ski this winter and will keep this up for the next 4-6 weeks or until the first good snow hits.

Yes I would prescribe power sport athletes; high school, college, and professional to do like wise. For power sport athletes I would recommend 20-30 minutes daily (some may need more it just depends on how developed the cardiac system) with HR ranging from 120-140 bpm. Different types of sports require different types of hypertrophy of the heart. With the higher HR (130-140)this will form a stronger/thicker ventricular wall. This can be accomplished through different means (sled dragging, walking, jogging, elliptical, weight training, extensive warm-ups).

The majority of this work should be done when the athlete is younger, grade school and junior high school and early high school years. From studying some of the top athletes training programs around the world the one reoccuring theme is lots of volume (up to 12-14 hours per week) of general base building activities.

I hope this answers your questions.

All the best,
Mark

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Thanks,
Mark McLaughlin

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Mark McLaughlin