Hunter-Olympian Todd Lodwick on the Mental Aspects of Nordic Skiing and Hunting
John E. Phillips 02.06.14
Todd Lodwick of Steamboat Springs, Colorado loves to hunt and holds three world skiing titles in Nordic combined skiing. He won the silver medal in Nordic combined skiing in the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada, and is the only person to qualify six times for the US Winter Olympic team. Lodwick’s passion for the outdoors also includes hunting, and he is a member of Mossy Oak’s Pro Staff. OutdoorHub’s John Phillips will be profiling this exceptional athlete over the next several days in the lead-up to the 2014 Winter Olympics. The following is an excerpt from an interview with Lodwick.
Nordic skiing involves cross-country skiing, telemark skiing, and ski jumping. My race is 10 kilometers, which is basically 6.2 miles. In our race, we do four laps of 2.5 kilometers, which makes this race very spectator-friendly. In most races, there are usually 50 to 60 competitors. The two secrets to winning the race are jumping far and landing standing-up.
Nordic skiing is one of the few sports that combine two different activities: cross country skiing and ski jumping. We jump on two different hills—an HS100 and an HS140—about the length of 1-1/2-football fields. The feeling is much like you’ll have if you jump out of a 60-story building, and your body is moving at 55 mph. Luckily, I have not had too many wrecks in my career. I plan to retire after this year’s Olympics. I feel that right now I can compete with the best skiers in the world. If I didn’t think I was competitive and had a chance to do well, I wouldn’t compete.
Here’s the way the race is conducted. The ski jumping is first. The person who jumps the farthest gets to start first on the cross-country skiing [portion]. The race is an interval start. At the end of the race, the first person to cross the finish line wins the gold in Nordic combined skiing.
I think there are a lot of parallels between Nordic skiing and hunting. Both Nordic skiing and hunting are mental games. You have to believe in yourself, and you have to believe in your ability to find and take the animals you are hunting. In Nordic combined skiing, you also must believe in your skills. Nordic skiing keeps me in very good shape. I feel that because I train all year long for Nordic skiing, I have an edge over other hunters who don’t stay in shape. They don’t push themselves to get to the altitude or terrain that they need to obtain to take the better animals. I train six days per week: lifting weights, doing endurance runs, hiking, and riding a bicycle. I start off eating a highly-nutritious breakfast, push myself through an endurance session in the morning, and refuel my body at lunch. After lunch, I do isometric training and/or weight training and mental training before eating dinner and going to bed.
We have a sports psychologist who works with us and teaches us to believe that we can win. If you are mentally and physically strong and believe you can achieve, then, you can make those dreams come true. Mental training doesn’t work without physical training. You have to have both to be successful at hunting and at Nordic combined skiing.
You can learn more at http://www.toddlodwick.pro and http://nordic.usskiteam.com/athletes/todd-lodwick.
Join us tomorrow to learn how Todd Lodwick gives back to charities and other causes.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
