peura, That is very true of most people's skiing. Last year many of our group didn't bother with any exercise at all before going On the slopes they didn't do anything too strenuous, but didn't have any problems either.
There is a sea of difference between what world class sportsmen do and what most of us do. Mr Miller needs massive explosive strength and needs to use it for approx 2mins. We need a different fitness, something less explosive and more stamina inspired. Of course his stamina levels will also be way, way above ours too but if you had to chose between either stamina or strength for recreational skiing...
I play golf occasionally. I was amazed (although I shouldn't have been) to read that Tiger Woods works out in his gym for at least 3 hours a day, when he isn't in a tournament. And have you seen Lewis Hamilton's neck muscles?
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I think that whatever level you're skiing at, being fit can help you lift the level of your skiing to help you keep up with people who are better skiers than you, but not as fit. With inexperienced skiers this can mean using strength to force the skis round on fairly easy terrain, with more experienced skiers, it can either mean using jump turns and upweighting on difficult terrain, or if racing on pisted terrain, using your strength to pressure the skis, helping you to turn quicker and maintain more speed.
So if you're not finding a days skiing tiring, then it probably means IMO that you're not pushing yourself.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Kramer wrote:
I think that whatever level you're skiing at, being fit can help you lift the level of your skiing to help you keep up with people who are better skiers than you, but not as fit.
I agree with that...
Quote:
With inexperienced skiers this can mean using strength to force the skis round on fairly easy terrain, with more experienced skiers, it can either mean using jump turns and upweighting on difficult terrain, or if racing on pisted terrain, using your strength to pressure the skis, helping you to turn quicker and maintain more speed.
... but not so much with this. I think the main effect is that a slightly better but unfit skier is reduced to your level when he becomes tired - particularly off-piste. But if there is a big difference in technical ability, no amount of fitness will make up for it.
Kramer has hit the nail on the head from what I experienced last season. I was still very shaky post-treatment and went on a skiing holiday with no physical preparation and wearing a wrist support as I'd broken my wrist (falling off mountain bike!) 3 months before. I managed and it felt really good to be on the slopes again. However, I couldn't really keep up with the group I was skiing with, needed regular breaks and my legs were swollen to almost twice their size at the end of each day...
I could do that again this year quite easily, after all, working a 60 hour week doesn't leave much time for getting fitter. But I'm determined to do better this season as I'm sure I'll enjoy it more. I don't want to be marathon-fit or even close. It's pointless at my age when I spend most days sat at a computer or drawing board and my health/body is never going to be the same again. But I do want to feel the thrill of skiing I once enjoyed. Hence the reason for my original post. Glad it's become such a 'healthy' topic of discussion on here...
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Kramer wrote:
So if you're not finding a days skiing tiring, then it probably means IMO that you're not pushing yourself.
"Pushing yourself" to do what tho? Not ski at speed. Not ski with efficiency. What exactly are we supposed to push ourselves into?
Skiing more of the mountain?
Skill acquisition?
Doing the same things in new (more strenuous) ways so we can get tired by the end of the day?
Doing more of the same things over again?
As I'm reading easiski's posts at this point in the Dominance thread, 'proper' technique has been defined to be the technique that actually is most efficient, or least demanding of effort (two non-equivalent statements). Where to after that?
laundryman wrote:
... but not so much with this. I think the main effect is that a slightly better but unfit skier is reduced to your level when he becomes tired - particularly off-piste. But if there is a big difference in technical ability, no amount of fitness will make up for it.
You have not seen the fitness freaks I have. Imagine someone who skis maybe 4-5 ski days per year with zero lessons ever taking mediocre early telemark gear and hurling themselves down STH at Snowbird, making maybe 100-300 linked recoveries at 30-40mph before reaching bottom, then returning to do it for another 20 runs.
I think that whatever level you're skiing at, being fit can help you lift the level of your skiing to help you keep up with people who are better skiers than you, but not as fit.
Maybe in some cases. But in others (from what other posters seem to be saying) being fitter can mean you're more likely to be be skiing "wrongly" and can be an impediment to skiing properly. Having said that I think that the O/P's has or had the good technique and is now finding lack of fitness the issue. For me it's the opposite.
Kramer wrote:
So if you're not finding a days skiing tiring, then it probably means IMO that you're not pushing yourself.
I don't often find a day's hillwalking especially tiring (certainly not the point I couldn't do another the next day) but that doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed it. Cross country skiing I find harder work, but a few minutes of downhill sliding followed by a long rest on the drag back up no problem.
I'm not intending to suggest that one can be "completely unfit" and do skiing. Simply that it's a balance between fitness and technique. Some people will be limited by one, some by the other and some by both.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
20 minutes vigorous CV (enough to raise a sweat or 200 calories+) 60 kneelling crunches using the cables and extra weights targeting the lower abs,,,superset of 20 wood chops( Both sides) pulling 27k stood on the bosu followed by 25 side dips using a 20kg weight ( Both sides)also stood on a bosu (last 2 repeated),,then 3 sets of 12 squat pulses on the bosu followed by 1 minute stood one legged each leg on the bosu finally finally 70 45 degree crunches on the floor,,,do these at the gym at least 5 days a week ...I feel this targets core strength and balance as well as leg strength.
I change the cv and cable exercises to target slightly different muscle sets and alleviate boredom
I am not young but I want to be fit for my skiing... as well as slimmer
After all it is free
After all it is free
Dave, put a plank in there too. Start at 2 minutes and build up to 7+ minutes by adding 30 seconds a week. Try some 'stars' too. Simply lay on a mat on your front, arms and legs out and hold them off the mat. Start at 1.5 minutes and build up the time each week. Excellent for the lower back muscles.
One of the main reasons for getting fit for the slopes, for me, is I think there is a dramatically reduced likelihood of getting injured. You can take higher loads, can function properly all day and will be able to focus on your skills, without getting nagged by aching muscle sets. I should add that I am now 45, so injury for me is much more likely than for some of the whipper snappers.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
bar shaker...tried the plank on the swiss ball but I have found it puts a strain on my lower back( i have had sacroiliac probs) but will try it again and also the "star" anything for a change !!!
totally agree with your reasons ...but how I wish I was 45!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Hurtle wrote:
RandomSkier, I've always done lots on the rowing machine and now I've just started a course of lessons on the water (the Thames, in Barnes) for the first time. Fantastic exercise. So looking forward to getting out on the river - just had a couple of lessons so far, confined to the tank. Just hope the weather starts to behave itself a bit.
Hope it goes well. And if it rains, just remember it is probably snowing in the mountains
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
queen bodecia wrote:
I couldn't really keep up with the group I was skiing with, needed regular breaks and my legs were swollen to almost twice their size at the end of each day...
You must wear very baggy pants Queeny
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
queen bodecia wrote:
legs were swollen to almost twice their size at the end of each day...
You had mentioned the need for compression socks elsewhere. Are you going to give compression thermals a go as well?
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
That was a bit of an exaggeration! Maybe my legs didn't actually get that big. But I do suffer a bit with mild swelling, aching and numbness since my treatment...
P.S. The exercising regime still going strong...
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
queen bodecia wrote:
I do suffer a bit with mild swelling, aching and numbness since my treatment...
I get that too, but for different reasons, and not as often as I used to
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
queen bodecia, How about a Yoga dvd which you can do in your own home ?
Last year I started Pilates and Yoga a couple of months before I went skiing in addition to my body pump & body combat regime - both of these classes are fab and fun !
but anyway I really felt the pilates & yoga helped with my balance for skiing and need to start the yoga again
I think the dvd's I have have got a bloke called Rodney Yee ? on them and he has a amazing body to drool at
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
That sounds like a good idea. The only pilates class I've found near me is too early in the evening or mid-afternoon on Sunday. I'd probably prefer to do this sort of stuff at home too. Far less embarassing...
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
queen bodecia, If you can manage it go a couple of times to the sunday pilates class ? the thing with pilates is that it is really focused on posture and alignment and small movements and there are quite a few ways to cheat it is not a sweaty activity but it should be painful in a nice way .............
Also how about wearing MBT trainers for your every day activities ? I know they are expensive but I believe they make you walk correctly, improve your posture and do have an effect on your legs ? and you wouldnt even notice you wear fitting in exercise............
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
queen bodecia, to do Pilates properly you really need an experienced teacher to start with. When I did a class, the instructor insisted on a "one to one" at home at the outset, to teach me the basics. It was very valuable - I'm quite accustomed to fitness classes but this was something very different. Sometime later I went to a Sunday afternoon class at a leisure centre where the instructor dashed through the whole of the introductory bit in about 5 minutes, went on to some quite advanced moves then apologized at the end that the pace had been "so slow, it'll be quicker now you all know what you're doing". She was a nice enough girl but frankly it was rubbish, and certainly wasn't Pilates.
However, none of the exercise classes I have done have ever been "embarassing". OK, one was. On a business trip in downtown Sydney I went to a step class in a local gym. I'd done years of step....but this was nothing like Havant Leisure Centre. The class was 75% gay men, all beautifully built and attired, the leader was a black dancer built like a god. The moves were long and complex. It was more like an audition for the Royal Ballet than the step classes in our local gym and I felt like an idiot. However, in yer average class, everyone is concentrating on what they're trying to do and not worrying about what others are up to. If the instructor makes people feel embarassed, they don't go back.
However, I've also done plenty of things at home in my time, and if you get the right video it can be fine. But in my own view you need a really good teacher to get the best out of Pilates. I never mastered it, in the limited times I went, and because I can never go to a class at a regular time each week I gave up.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
pam w, if you are interested in taking Pilates up again, I really do recommend Lesley Ackland (mentioned above). I'm sure it would be better to learn from her in person but, failing that, her books are exceptionally lucidly written.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
[/quote]
RandomSkier will correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that, if you do it correctly, it should be just about equal. My quads, hamstrings and bum certainly feel it after I've been rowing for a while - especially with the 'real thing', as I'm discovering!
[quote]
Dead right, if your arms hurt, you are doing it wrong. Aching legs means you are working hard enough. Builds up the pain tolerance for a hard day on the slopes
After all it is free
After all it is free
RandomSkier, Yippee, just what I wanted to hear, thank you. Off to do some rowing at the gym right now - full of enthusiasm, as I've definitely acquired a better technique on the river.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Poster: A snowHead
