 Poster: A snowHead
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Great intentions soon fade. Started the gym work a couple of months ago, but here I am, in the office on a Saturday afternoon, and probably shall be here, for the most part, until we depart for Lech just after Christmas.
However, all may not be lost; the building is 9 storeys tall and, in between intense pieces of work, I treat myself to a walk, up and down, twice every two hours. It won't help my upper body strength, but my legs are getting a beating. Since I'm showing a few signs of puff at the end of each climb, I suppose I'm getting some aerobic benefit too, in short bursts. For an early intermediate, is it enough to counter the expected thigh burn and enable me to keep up with my twenty-year old kids? Does anyone recommend any supplementary excercise, please?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Colin Bell, Do you spring up the stairs? That's the best, and should be sufficient. If your legs are burning your weight is too far back - no other reason for it!
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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?
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| easiski wrote: |
| If your legs are burning your weight is too far back - no other reason for it! |
Um, I hate to say that you are WRONG, but you are! There are several other possible reasons:
1. He's spilled his coffee while climbing the stairs, and the scalding hot water is running down his trousers.
2. He's standing too close to a radiator.
3. He's been telling lies, and his pants are on fire.
4. He works in hell.
(I could go on)
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easiski, thanks for the advice. I wasn't but I have been springing down which gets the calves and probably doesn't do the knees any good; it may not be a relevant excercise anyway. Could run up, I suppose?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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easiski, have just been up and down again. A gentle trot, rather than walk, seems to work best on the up. Difficult to avoid the spring on the way down unless I take the lift!!
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Not to be obtuse, but what exactly do you mean by "springing"?
Taking each step while remaining on the balls of your feet, not flat footed? Two stairs at a time? Jumping up one stair at a time with both feet & legs essentially locked together or something else?
TIA,
Tom / PM
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Physicsman, I think I mean a push up beyond that which is needed for a simple assent and a flex on the way down which acts more as a cushion which despite what easiski, says may protect rather than harm the knees. Either way, its not hurting.....yet!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Take em 3 at a time  ... slowly!!!
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Physicsman, I mean springing or jumping or running or jogging! Rather than walk up by just putting one foot on the next step while the first is still on the step below, you spring off the first foot. similar to running but not fast.
Colin Bell, Spot on, but you should definitely not "jump" in any way shape or form onto the lower step while descending. I once saw a very slow motion film of the knee when you walk downstairs and that was scary - imagine with extra impact! 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Jumping up one stair at a time with both feet & legs essentially locked together
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that would be a good workout over 9 storeys Physicsman! Inspired by all this, I might just pop out for a gentle bike ride, as the sun is shining and there's no excuse, the tide is high and the brent geese gathering.
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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.
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Colin Bell, it takes twenty minutes of continuous exercise to start to get some aerobic benefit, so unfortunately, you probably aren't.
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But it should help the thigh burn, which was the idea?
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You know it makes sense.
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Sit down against a wall, imagining the wall is the back of the chair ... great for improving upper leg strength and endurance.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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BrightonSki, Saw that on some ski site - they had the time ratings. From holding position for 30 secs for recreational skier to full 5 mins for Olympian hehehe. Wish I could hold it for 5 mins.... the pain... the pain 
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Poster: A snowHead
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Elsewhere I have read that that exercise is now frowned upon - it's better to do something dynamic (like ski-ing, or springing upstairs, or squats and lunges). When I used to do that exercise, a few years ago, I could hold the position for 3 minutes at one point, not bad for an elderly lady. But in line with the advice, have given it up.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Scarpa, I managed once nearly 1.5 mins on one leg...I'd be glad if I could do that using both now!
(After that minute and a half, I stood up using the other leg and tried to take a step, whereupon I promptly fell over - there was no feeling or strength left in my right thigh... )
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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?
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pam w, cheers for the info. Yeah - sounds like dead hanging for climbing training - static pressured positions tend not to be good for the joints. I'll stick with doing squatting turns on stability cushions
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with wall sits I think its helpful to try to build to (say) 5 mins by breaking it into sets and then gradually recuding the number of longer sits as you get stronger - e.g., this year I started at 3 x 1'40 and am now 2 x 2'00 + 1 x 1'00 and should be on 2 x 2'30 soon.
Generally though I think a mixture of cycling and the occasional run is pretty good.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Wall squats are also quite hard on the lower back.
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So are good mornings with 30kg hehehe
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| Kramer wrote: |
| Colin Bell, it takes twenty minutes of continuous exercise to start to get some aerobic benefit, so unfortunately, you probably aren't. |
could you elaborate on this a little? i've been doing interval training recently and have found that very beneficial in some ways - but the whole session lasts less than 20mins
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Arno, likewise. A stair climb for me, round trip, is between 3 and 4 minutes. I normally do 2 at a time, say 3 or 4 times a day. Depending on how fast I climb my pulse at the top will vary from 140 to 170. Cool down or 'after burn' will add further minutes, but do they count? Is it a case of strength v. stamina although presumably they are interelated?
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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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Arno,
20 mins including warm up and warm down? If you're not doing those bits you are a very naughty boy!
I think most interval sessions would be designed 10mins gentle aerobic warm up (jogging etc), then 15-20 mins interval work, then 10 mins gentle aerobic warm down - the entire 35-40 mins should elevate heart rate etc.
I'm no expert though
J
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Manda,
Oh I'd agree that leg press is better - don't have one at home or in hotel rooms though 
I don't know but I'm beginning to feel that cycling, including some intervals pushing in a high gear, may be the best thing of all.
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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.
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If you have dodgy knees take an exercise ball put it against a wall and the small of your back and do squats.
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Or get a balance/stability cushion and do squats, twists etc on that. Now that really does target skiing.
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You know it makes sense.
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newbie to all this snowhead stuff but from twopence worth....
before doing a week in Chamonix at the end of Jan i was doing the follwing:
30 min run with the first 11 or twelve minutes set at 13.5 k/hr. i read somewhere that you should be able to guage your skiing fitness prep by being able to run at 13.4 or .5 for 11 or 12 mins.
3 sets straight squats with bar increasing the weight each set upto 30 kg each side (i am 13.5 stones so adjust accordingly)
3 sets forward lunges with bar 13kg each side
3 sets diagonal lunges with bar 10 kg (neutral stance as above excercise but then lunge forward 45 degrees, left for left foot right for right...)
3 sets of reverse lunges with bar 10kg (upright stance then like a set backwards but all weight on supporting leg)
3 sets of box steps 10 kg with bar (neutral stance then you step on the box and raise the no supporting leg as high into a tuck as you can then lower it slowly - this is important as you can hurt yourself doing this exercise easily)
kneeling on a exercise ball for 1 min at a time.
3 sets of 20 pressups with one leg on medicine ball and hands on small medicae balls trying to move 'free' leg out as far from body as possible.
Its a hard leg workout but i did it about twice a week for 2 months before i went and i can honestly say i only got tired legs on the last two days and i was getting a full days skiing in all week. my technique wasnt brilliant before i went, as it was only my third week skiing, but doing this allowed me to progress beyond my latent physical limitations. It also allowed me to avoid the demobilising lactic acid build up suffered last year in Val d'isere (hot baths and stetching at 630 in morning!)
any way this worked for me but it is a struggle to get there but totally worth it.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| Manda wrote: |
| Better off on a leg-press machine, really. |
Personally I am not sure that any specific exercise fully imitates what you do when skiing? I would have thought that flexing at the ankles when skiing drives your knees (through a small degree of motion) in front of your toes? I have always been told that when doing squats/leg press etc. your knees should never go in front of your toes - which means that for a full range of motion in a press or squat, you are in a position more akin to 'back seat skiing'?
I do lots of different cardio exercises and weights (mixture of low reps/heavy weights for strength and high reps for stamina) for my legs, and always still experience some intitial fatigue when skiing for the first day or so - usually at the end of the 2nd day - and then from day 3 am fine.
However, my legs always feel stronger when I get back and those first few road runs have me feeling like I am powering my way along. I don't think anything can beat a full days dynamic contractions while maintaining slight tension on the quads over 7 days for making them incredibly strong!
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Poster: A snowHead
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For the PSB I did leg weights and a bit of running and found the skiing no problem.... Understandable ...
For my next trip, I did the same with a bit more emphasis on running and the legs stood up quite well, although the skiing itself was hard and not helpful OP stuff... Got a bit down about this ...
and then I went away for a few days with no prep at all, only carrying over fitness from the monthe before and it really told...
I certainly will not want to do that again......my skiing was crap.. Have my legs gone..???
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Colin Bell, Take the stairs 2 by 2, thus stretching out your Achilles too. Keep the heel below the toes. 
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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?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Arno, It's called the Krebs Cycle and (very simply put) is the way that muscle cells use fuel. The first 5 min uses free sugars (this is the very simple explanation) within the cell, then utilises fuel stores within the cell (lots of chemistry involved), all this take about 20 min. after that the body starts to break down stored fat to use as fuel for the muscles. If you want to lose weight, do not uses 'energy' drinks while or after exercise, sugar in the bloodstream kills the cycle and you never get to the fat breakdown stage.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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easiski,
Maybe I don't do enough for what I want to do..... Forget skiing with locals, they are so much fitter etc..and ski so much better anyway so are more economical
But we try and do a weeks worth of skiing in all sorts of crap...which the locals laugh at and we never have break...and then wonder why we are knackered half way through....!!
Or I've had it... 
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JT,
If you keep on, telling us how you're past it, we will start believing you. That is a slippery slope worth avoiding
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snowbunny,
P.S you are off to Nendaz soon, aren't you..?
There is a Stockli centre at Haute Nendaz,,,, Gaby sports, i believe....
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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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JT,
| Quote: |
snowbunny,
P.S you are off to Nendaz soon, aren't you..?
There is a Stockli centre at Haute Nendaz,,,, Gaby sports, i believe....
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Now that is very useful information. Thank you 
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snowbunny,
They might just be a Stockli stockist as opposed to a full blown centre... e-mail them..
I can't get that confirmed from the web as yet but I have acatalogue somewhere...and Grimentz has a stockist as well, don't they?
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FAQ
