 Conner on the ice... |  |
Combining tough workouts, rest and cross-training, Bruce Conner skated faster than ever — at 49
When Bruce Conner returned to the speedskating rink some 30 years after his Olympic hopeful days, he had time on his side. Today he is better trained, more seasoned and experienced than the driven kid of 19 who ran himself into the ground overtraining.
“This year I finally got it,” he said of 2005. Conner picked up two world records for his age group in meets leading up to and including the U.S. Long Track Speedskating Olympic trials held in Salt Lake City last year. While he didn’t make the U.S. team, he skated faster than he did in 1975.
“Competing in the trials was a victory lap for me,” Conner said. “In fact, that was kind of my Olympics.” Skating a personal best (38:95 in the 500 meters; 1:15:78 in the 1,000 meters) was his goal.
“I compete against myself more than any- body else,” he says. “Speedskating is a solitary sport. We’re skating against the clock, and essentially we’re skating against ourselves.” His children, ages 15 and 21, wife and younger brother Bart — a 1984 Olympic gold medalist in gymnastics — supported him throughout the training and the trials.
...And as a pilot
Conner credits better ice, more aerodynamically advanced skinsuits and the biomechanically improved clap skates among the reasons for his faster performance. And his coach, four-time Olympian Dave Cruikshank, helped Conner build up his body and relearn how to skate. In the nine months of intensive training leading to the Olympic trials, Conner said he fell in love with speedskating all over again. “There’s something there that I need. I like to go fast and turn left,” he said, laughing.
Even without the Olympic trials in the near future, he continues racing on weekends and following a rigorous, twice daily workout schedule. When he didn’t make the 1976 Olympics, Conner rededicated himself to college and later, piloting airplanes. Today, he instructs other pilots and captains a United 747, flying between U.S. cities and the Far East.
How can an international pilot keep up a six-day-a-week training regimen? “I can’t skate, but I do other things,” he said. He uses hotel workout facilities and often cross-trains in tennis, running, bicycling and yoga.
He was worried whether his body could handle the training volume. He eats “every- thing,” he said, “but I eat more intelligently than I ever have.” His diet includes protein-filled foods and supplements to rebuild muscles. He bulks up on carbohydrates and makes sure he is properly fueled before, during and after workouts. His 5-foot-8-inch frame is now about 10 pounds lighter — 170 — and much leaner and more muscular than before his return to speedskating.
MONDAY
Conner’s workout schedule, customized by Cruikshank and his organization, DC Powerskating LLC, provides one day off — usually Sunday, unless it’s a racing day. A weekly workout starts tough and alternates with milder evening workouts.
Monday morning includes a tough weight workout, mostly on the legs and some core work, about 90 minutes altogether. Leg work includes repeats of front and back squats and step-ups. Conner uses a bench, with one leg on the bench and one leg on the floor, dumbbells in hand, he steps up and down. Leg work also frequently includes an exercise unique to skating called a “wooder,” named after a former skater. Conner stands three feet facing away from a weight-lifting bench and places the toe of his rear leg on the bench. He lowers himself to the skating position then straightens up – fast. He sometimes performs this exercise with another skater on his back. “You want some explosion,” he explained. “Wooders are not fun, but they work.”
Core work includes sit-ups and balance ball exercises. An especially tough core exercise involves putting your feet on the ball in the push-up position, then walking around the ball. Conner’s evening workout on Mondays might include 90 minutes of medium hard riding on his stationary bike, followed by 20 minutes of dry land skating, which mimics the push and back and forth techniques of ice skating on dry land. While he’d rather bike outside, the weather in his home outside Chicago often doesn’t allow it during winter months.
TUESDAY
Mornings are reserved for the 75-mile drive to an ice rink in Milwaukee and 90 minutes of long intervals and tempo work on the ice. The evening session back home involves about 50 minutes of bike sprints.
WEDNESDAY
Another day at the rink for Conner, who puts in 75 minutes of technical skating work. His evening workout is 90 minutes of leg work and some upper body weight work.
THURSDAY
While skating days are generally tough workouts, Conner uses Thursdays to cut back to 85 percent effort with some on-ice tempo work at the rink. The evening workout slows down to 30 minutes of stretching or yoga.
FRIDAY
Conner does his third weight workout of the week and also incorporates his traditional leg, upper body and core exercises for his usual 90 minute session. No evening workout as he rests to prepare for racing or a rink workout Saturday morning.
SATURDAY
About 75 minutes of speedskating sprints fill the morning, often it’s an organized race. These are tough, demanding workouts, and Conner always refuels within 10 minutes of finishing, using the protein powder mix Endurox R4. Hard morning ice sessions are followed by an easy, 30 minute bike spin on Saturday evening.
SUNDAY
Conner tries to take one full rest day a week — sometimes the same day he reports for another intercontinental flight schedule.