 Poster: A snowHead
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I have looked elsewhere on this forum, and can't see the answer to this. When is the right time to begin fitness training for skiing next winter? No matter how much I seem to do, I always get tired.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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chocoholic, welcome to 
Best time to start is now. Track down posts by Stocky - they may give you more specific advice.
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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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chocoholic, welcome to snowHeads!
I agree with WTFH: best to maintain a general level of fitness at all times.
Getting tired on the slopes may be more to do with technique than fitness though, especially common faults like leaning back. What kind of tiredness do you get?
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Wed 20-06-07 11:03; edited 1 time in total
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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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chocoholic, welcome to
I had wondered if a dedicated fitness forum on snowheads would be a good idea. Being a newbie myself Im not sure if its been discussed before but we are all snowsports obsessed and fitness geared towards skiing is what I would be interested in. I got some great ideas from another thread for knee strength exercises and good inspiration form a thread in the apres zone.
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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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chocoholic, I agree - start now.
Changing your username to gymoholic could help too 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Nothing wrong with being a gymaholic! It's healthy enthusiasm I tell you not obsession.....
chocoholic, The bike is great in the summer..... providing you don't get one of those wierd mountain bike things with the big fat wheels...... nice tri bars is where it's at. 
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Let's see, it takes 3-6 months for any kind of fitness program to yield noticable results. So that makes the best time...counting back from X'mas...is NOW! 
On a more serious note, a "ski specific" fitness program need to build on top of good general fitness. You can't get good general fitness by doing short burst of couple weeks gym time. Keeping a good general fitness is a year round thing. Then up it a notch with more ski specific exercise 4-6 weeks before your first trip.
You said you're "getting tired", that sounds more like a general fitness issue than a ski specific thing. You'll do better start NOW and carrying it on all summer long.
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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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Kramer, have you met Chocoholic before? I don't think she's in to wearing lycra...
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Get yourself a book called Sking Fitness by Mark Hines, it has a few programmes in it:
The full one (9 months)
The shorter one (3 months)
A refresher
But I would definitely not wait - get started today!
... are you still here? What did I just tell you 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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chocoholic, Welcome to snowheads
I usually start my fitness programme the week before my ski trip. I always have the most fantastic fun when skiing. If it aint broke........ 
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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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chocoholic, I agree with the above. You need good general fitness which can come from a balanced fitness programme, and then add ski-specific exercises starting at least 4 to 6 weeks before you go. That is what I do. I'm an aerobics instructor, and do a lot of aerobics, conditioning and also Step and BodyPUMP (about 8 to 10 hours training a week), which gives me good general fitness, together with a lot of cycling and walking (not strolling). My aerobic/CV fitness is taken care of by this, but what I do before I go skiing is add in some specific stuff that improves my isometric leg strength and also crank up the weights on Pump particularly on the leg exercises, and do specific adductor/abductor exercises. My core strength is excellent (I modestly confess I have a six-pack and I'm a girlie), but no harm in working on that a bit more either, and I also increase my core exercises before going skiing.
Another one people forget is triceps - all that poling around uses a lot of triceps.
This year I'm keen to try nordic walking as a preparation for skiing, but Mr Docsquid says I'll look silly.
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Frosty the Snowman, yes, gradually upping the booze intake is vital before a trip!
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You know it makes sense.
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Wear The Fox Hat, Interesting assumption that chocoholic, is female
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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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docsquid, I'm impressed, 'specially with your awareness of the adductor/abductor muscle group. Have you considered starting your own ski specific programme in addition to all your other exercise programmes. Please do, you'll be a great asset in helping skiers to get ski fit.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Blade, I've only recently become an aerobics and Step instructor, so I'm not sure I'm up to developing a sports-specific programme yet. I'm busy choreographing various classes that I teach or may be asked to cover. My long term plan is to do gym instructor/personal trainer/Level 3 qualification and work with specific groups and exercise referral, but that will take a year or two to achieve. The gym I teach at is very basic "spit and sawdust" - full of large bikers with body piercings and ZZ Top style beards  There are a core of ladies who go to aerobics, but it isn't one of those swish places where a lot of yuppie skier types would go. I like it, but many wouldn't.
I know what I do to get fit for skiing, but I'm not entirely sure that would be appropriate for everybody, as I am working from a particular level of base fitness that not everybody has. Plus a lot of the base fitness is built from going to and teaching Step classes, Body STEP, Body PUMP, Body JAM and so on. The problem with these classes is that they vary, even BodySTEP, in their emphasis from release to release, and they aren't available everywhere.
I'm aware of the adductor/abductor thing because you don't really work adductors when cycling - they get missed out a bit unless you make a particular effort to work them.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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docsquid, no need to do specific adductor/abductor exercises if you take up inline skating or rock climbing.  The poling about is thereby taken care of as well- no arm strength needed as arms not used.
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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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should never stop working on fitness, its essential to getting the most from sport.
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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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Oh dear, I went on a bike ride today and realised just how much "fitness" I have lost in the last 6 weeks 
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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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| docsquid wrote: |
| I'm aware of the adductor/abductor thing because you don't really work adductors when cycling - they get missed out a bit unless you make a particular effort to work them. |
Too right. I'm aware of them because during an off piste course last year the abductors were the hurty bit. I added in weights machines to strengthen both and had no problems this season.
(The season before, it was calves, so the stepper and some calf raises are part of my pre-ski build-up)
(The season before that, it was quads.... you get the idea)
I'm an aerobics/spinning instructor too, but hardly ever teach these days, just go to the fantastic conventions!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| geri wrote: |
| Wear The Fox Hat, Interesting assumption that chocoholic, is female |
Well, I know a Chocoholic, and I suspect that this is her.
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Wear The Fox Hat, stop pretending that you are intimately acquainted with absolutely everyone. Admit it - you only have two friends and one of them is your mum.
Besides, she might be a completely different Cadbury-muncher for all you know.
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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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You need a total solution.
Fitness + diet.
Train all year round.
Slowly reduce sodium, refined sugar, sat fat and alcohol from your regimen.
Buy a set of electronic scales that measure bodyfat. Pay at least £50 for a set.
Get your bodyfat % below roughly 15%.
It may take up to 5 years to get fit if you are old (30+) or overweight.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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boredsurfin, you're lucky enough to ski for around 5 weeks each season and you say you are on a relaxing holiday!! 
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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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Lizzard, if it's the same Choco, surely she's a milka muncher not a cadbury cruncher!
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Whitegold, those scientific facts are as useful to chocoholic as cadbury schweppes declaring that chewing gum and bubble gum is going to be their main selling product.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Blade wrote: |
| Whitegold, those scientific facts are as useful to chocoholic as cadbury schweppes declaring that chewing gum and bubble gum is going to be their main selling product. |
Au contraire. They are highly insightful.
It recognizes that fitness and diet go hand in hand.
Too many people do one without the other.
The formula distills fitness into a single, easy-to-understand digit.
Get one's bodyfat below roughly 15% and a sixpack will appear and fitness levels will rocket.
An average Premiership soccer star has around 10% fat.
An average Prem player runs between 5 - 10km in every single game.
They are thin and fit.
They get there by tweaking their fitness and diet regimens.
One-nil to moi, as a footballer might say
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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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Whitegold, 15% fat is very difficult to achieve if you are female - this is realistic for a male, but a female would have to be extremely athletic to get this figure - some elite female athletes have body fat around 12%, but this is exceptional, for a female. Also, I've found that body fat scales are pretty error-prone when you are female because the equations from which they derive their measurements are derived from those for males, and then add a fudge factor that basically assumes that almost all weight gain is fat and most weight loss is muscle - this is obviously not the case if you are weight training and building up muscle at the same time as losing weight. You can track your progress, but the absolute figure is very prone to error and I take the readings with a pinch of salt. They are also very prone to error due to hydration status and therefore the reading can vary by 2% or more depending on time of day. I paid over £100 for my scales and I really don't trust them at all - the only way to get accurate readings is by use of calipers (or an MRI scan).
As it happens, my body fat % is 15% measured properly with calipers, and I'm very non-fat for a female. However I would say that for a female, a body fat below 22 to 25 % would be a more realistic goal - in general you need to add 8 to 10% to the male figure for body fat %. For general health and fitness 15% for a male would be very good, as would 25% for a female. I'm probably too thin, I train a lot and eat a phenomenal amount of food because of this. I try to be healthy, but ultimately I need calories!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Winter Fitness, When to start? . . . Last Winter . . . and the one before that and the one before that ...........
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I got on the exercise machine tonight! This place is quite inspirational at times 
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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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Whitegold, chocoholic began this thread by posting a question:
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I have looked elsewhere on this forum, and can't see the answer to this. When is the right time to begin fitness training for skiing next winter? No matter how much I seem to do, I always get tired.
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You're explanation is totally irrelevant to that particular question. It is too easy these days for anyone who is computer literate to extract scientific facts from the network. In your case, whitegold, you have extracted an obscure text paragraph to post on this thread, solely to sate your own ego and with the interests of choco far from your agenda. I know full well that you cannot substantiate or elaborate on your postings, if you could, you would have by now.
Your postings had no mention of ski specific exercises - in fact they had no mention of exercises, period. As far as getting fit for recreational skiing is concerned, your 15% body fat and six pack belly will be aptly at home in cloud cuckoo land!
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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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Well, once again the score stands at:
Whitewhatsit: 0
Everyone else: 2
One wonders why he bothers.
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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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| docsquid wrote: |
| I take the readings with a pinch of salt. |
You want to cut down on that, it'll cause water retention which will give you a higher fat reading!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
Well, once again the score stands at:
Whitewhatsit: 0
Everyone else: 2
One wonders why he bothers. |
That's a respectable loss if it's 7785 against 1!
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Hey, take Whitegold's posts with a pinch of salt instead. I find some of them quite amusing especially the reaction he/she gets to them - just don't take them too seriously! One of the better fishers I think
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| laundryman wrote: |
| That's a respectable loss if it's 7785 against 1! |
...and he's in skins.
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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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| Blade wrote: |
Your postings had no mention of ski specific exercises - in fact they had no mention of exercises, period. As far as getting fit for recreational skiing is concerned, your 15% body fat and six pack belly will be aptly at home in cloud cuckoo land! |
Well, yes, quite. You don't need 15% body fat to be fit for skiing and I know many very fit people, including ski instructors, who have considerably more fat than that.
The "whatever I do I get tired" thing is difficult to overcome. Yes, you can do a lot of base CV training, and some specific weights work for various leg muscle groups, but at the end of the day, you don't work all the ski muscles together unless you ski. There are some sports that come close - inline skating for example - but ultimately you will find that some ski specific muscles ache at the end of your first few days' skiing.
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docsquid, I still maintain that it doesn't matter how well-conditioned you are, poor technique will make you tired. If someone's tried lots of approaches to getting fit (which is what chocoholic says s/he's done), and still get's tired, lessons would be the most likely route to solving the problem.
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FAQ
