Fitness

A snowHead

Prior to me skiing last week in Tignes, I hadn't skied for 5 years, in that time, I had 2 operations on my foot and 2 on my left knee and one on my right (thanks to cricket, not skiing!!). As a result of the 5 year gap, I lost a lot of fitness and gained a lot of weight. Embarassed

in the 6 weeks before the Atomic Boot Camp, I did a mile a day on the cross trainer at home and also did thigh exercises, but soon realised once I was actually on the slopes, my fitness was well below what it should have been.

I am going back at the end of the season and I WILL be a lot fitter, but I am now wondering what is the best way to gain an allround fitness for skiing. I am not a member of a gym, but could easily join one, would the classes be better or the guidance of a personal trainer ? would cycling help ?. I have asked at my local gym and they have suggested a range of classes including pilates and yoga, but I would rather just concentrate on getting the body fit, the mind can then follow later !!!

A snowHead

If you've got the will power forget the gym and save your money, the roads are free and you can get exercise tips from watching Chemmy on Sunday mornings wink

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

i do swimming every day for 30 mins plus I do 3 classes a week but I prefer step/rpm to pilates/yoga but thats just a personal preference. On top of that I have 2 small children and a labrador to walk every day.
I have never found the cross trainer to my liking I always think it should be good but never feel like I get an overall workout from it (probabaly as I dont use it right!) but to be honest you could get a lot worse than running.

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halfhand, I'm not sure that lying in your bed on a Sunday morning watching a scantily clad Chemmy Alcott rolling an exercise ball up and down a mirror for 2 minutes really constitutes exercise now does it Laughing

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Depends on what you wish to exercise

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Hugh Jarse, it does when you have to get out of bed to ask her to move out of the way so you can see the TV, then chase her down stairs to get your breakfast on...

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Wear The Fox Hat, then back into bed I assume Laughing

After all it is free

Hugh Jarse, normally at that stage Nells starts thumping me and shouting "you're having that dream again, aren't you"

pippivixen, cycling certainly would work, especially if you find some hills to ride UP repeatedly. Wink

Swimming is, from what I understand, great exercise for the heart and lung also.

Personal trainers are more hit and miss. If you can find a good one and tell him what you want to achieve, a trainer can help put together a good exercise program. You still have to follow it though.

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Thanks for the suggestions, running is out of the question unfortunatly, because neither knee has much cartilidge left, but I find cycling easier, there are a few hills near me, hopefully when my friends horse moves near me, I will be able to cycle to the yard, then ride and cycle back. I will also start swimming again. I will continue with the cross trainer but possibly on the days I don't cycle or swim.

I have tried following TV work outs before, but find it too easy to have a break !!! Embarassed

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pippivixen, is there a sports hall near you with a gym. Some light circuit work would combine well with swimming and cycling.

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I find a combination of body pump and spinning classes are really good for fitness and skiing last year I was really fit from doing both of these and have just added body combat into the equation so hopefully that will help too

pippivixen, you need a combination of cardiovascular work, particularly interval training that pushes your lactate threshold (because you will be at altitude, you will start to fatigue and accumulate lactic acid earlier due to the lack of oxygen) plus muscular endurance work for your legs and core.

I think BodyPUMP is good, but it isn't ski specific and doesn't necessarily work your core unless your technique is excellent.

For CV, cycling is fine, but you need to be systematic about training. Start off at low intensities and build up mileage, and then start doing interval training, either on the road or a turbo-trainer at home. Eventually, you should be doing lactate intervals around 90% of your max HR, but to start with you may find 70% is enough.

Another good exercise if you have bad knees is Nordic Walking (I would say this, I'm an instructor) - all walking, but I can push my HR to 90% max just by walking, particularly if you go up hill. This will work most of the muscles you use skiing, including the triceps (good for poling around).

Core work - pilates is good, but you could also work on a stability ball at home.

Remember adductors and abductors of the hip - not worked much in any fitness class but definitely needed for skiing. Do lunges on or off a step, or tie a fitness band round your ankles and walk sideways - gread for adductors.

Cross trainer does not really replicate the muscles you need for skiing to any great extent - cycling or Nordic Walking are much closer, particularly if you include hill work. With bad knees you may want when cycling to use lower gears and spin a higher cadence rather than using a high gear and slogging up hills. Get your bike properly set up or your knee will suffer, particularly get your saddle in the right position (a rough guide is with your heel on the pedal your leg should be straight at the bottom of the pedal stroke).

You know it makes sense.

pippivixen, I sympathise. It is so tough to get back what you had.
I'm with halfhand and abc on this: forget those fancy machines. They just con you into thinking you are exercising.
You have to suffer.
The only certain sign the exercise is doing you any good, for general fitness, is you are puffed out and sweating profusely.
You can't run, so get on your bike and down the swimming pool.
If you have paid out a fortune on gym membership and want to get some value back, there are only 3 machines worth using: the bike, the step machine, and the rower.
And remember: "It is impossible to achieve the aim without suffering" J G Bennett

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A snowHead

abc,its also just incredibly boring!

A snowHead

Any more boring than step machine? Or for that matter, spin bikes? Puzzled

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

no you're, right, thats why i avoid gyms like the plague, i'd rather go out running in muddy fields with the dog!

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Me neither. Not a gym rat at all.

I was just making an idle observation regarding the effectiveness of all the fancy machines in all the gyms vs. the simple but boring rowing machine which you can keep under the bed and use conviniently, without having to drive to the gym.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

pippivixen, why not just try skiing for fitness? You probably have a slope quite close and you can always combine skiing with the other general fitness activities mentioned.

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As someone who's about eighteen months ahead of you in the quest to regain lost fitness pippivixen, I'd suggest the following things-

Avoid any machine that you can just sit/stand on and watch telly/read etc, this includes the solo static bike. It is likely that you won't push yourself hard enough.

You need to exercise at least five times a week, for between 30-45 minutes. As Jonpim says, you need to be hot, breathless, sweaty at the end, so much so that you need a shower.

If you can afford a personal trainer, then I think that it's worth it. Find a good one by asking all the other trainers who it is that they choose to work out with, he or she will be the absolute tyrant that you need. Paying for a trainer isn't cheap (I pay upwards of £200 a month on gym fees etc) but it is the best investment that I've ever made.

Make sure that you mix it up a bit. Don't stay on the same machines, and make sure that you don't neglect the weights. Try some classes, mix in some Yoga or Pilates, take up mountain biking wink

, it doesn't really matter, so long as you don't get stale doing the same old thing week in week out.

The rowing machine is the best machine that there is.

Keep a good record of what you've achieved week on week (but not your weight), so that you can see your progress. A naked picture taken at the start of your training, kept in a very safe place is also a good way of seeing how far you've come.

Diet is as important as your exercise regime. If you really want to get fit, eight portions of fruit and veg is the minimum daily amount, and if you're trying to lose weight, fruit juice doesn't count.

Hope this is helpful.

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"tie a fitness band round your ankles and walk sideways - gread for adductors."...but REALLY bad for knees!!! Trust me...don't do anything that puts unnatural lateral forces on your joints (ankle weights etc).

If your knees will take it, do some running, rowing and cycling to build some overall aerobic fitness. Tignes is over 2000m with the top of the glacier at 3600m...you will really feel the altitude up there! For muscle endurance and joint stability, some lunges and light squats and deadlifts (~20reps). Side lunges are great for adductors...but start very slowly and with no weight and make sure you're warmed up and stretched off the backs of your thighs.

Try to avoid machines...stepping up/down onto a block/step will provide much greater functional benefit. Don't forget your core (abdominals and lower back). And next year...start this process in August...you'll reap the rewards!

Happy skiing!

After all it is free

I second a personal trainer. I go to the local University Gym, it is about £200 A YEAR for non staff or student members and the personal trainer costs £22/hour. This is much cheaper than commercial gyms and they are usually really good as they cater for all the students who are competing for the various Universitity sports.

davidpratt15, I agree it's boring.
In the hotel gym I tend to take the Times in with me (or at least the T2 section) when on the bike - if you do the crosswords/sudoko you get mental and physical exercise. Drape the paper over the controls.
Recumbent (sp?) bikes are great for reading books while you use them.

Anything where your head is moving a lot, or you can't use your hands to hold a book/paper (e.g. rowing machine), then I'd use my iPod for entertainment, or watch TV.

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Jonpim,You first. Laughing

You know it makes sense.

WOW, so much advice ( & humour!) docsquid, I have googled Nordic Walking and have found there is a group just 9 miles away from me, they will lend me poles, so I won't have to buy any until I know if it suits me.

The Cross trainer will go back onto Freecycle which is where I got it from, it is kept in the garage as it is bulky and although I have used it, I have never got the feeling that I have done a good workout on it, my knees became sore a long time before I got hot and sweaty Blush

There is an advert in our village newsletter today about a local personal trainer who has all the equipment and is £15 per hour, I know her through a friend, so will phone her later and see what we can come up with together.

Kramer, the idea of a photo sounds a good one, but not having a timer on my camera and being on my own and not having someone to take one of me, I think I will just stick to taking measurments !!

I have always avoided the rowing machine because of the pain it generates in my knees, but I think I have now just got to work through that pain a bit, I know there is no "raw damage" in there at the moment so rowing will not actually cause any more damage, I suppose it is just knowing when to stop rather than when I am tired Embarassed

I start playing cricket again this weekend, batting for 4 overs and bowling for 2 certainly gets my lungs working if nothing else !!.

Thanks everyone for you input.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Don't forget stretching! Quads, Hams, Calves, Achilies, Feet (try rolling foot over a tennis ball to stretch muscles) Hip, Back, Butt, Shoulders etc, etc, I think it's really important you stretch as much as possible, if you can spare the time do 20 mins 3 or four times a day, don't over stretch or bounce though! Smile

Also, lie on the bed and draw imaginary letters of the alphabet (A-Z) in the air with your big toe, this will put your foot, lower leg and knee through a range of movements to keep various muscles moving Smile

A snowHead

Naked photos: you can do it in front of the mirror.

Cricket: I thought of suggesting that. But I thought you didn't want to go back to what did all that demage the first place. It's always good to go back to the activity you really enjoy a lot and have a habit of doing regularly. Chances are good you'll stick to it and do a lot.

A snowHead

the following link goes to a hidden page on our website with a couple of PDF files with useful core strengthening and stretching exercises http://www.solutions4feet.com/cp7.php

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

pippivixen, I think that you have had a lot of good advice here, but it seems to me that one of your chief blocks to undertaking exercise is your knee pain.

Might I suggest trying taking glucosamine sulphate 1500mg/day for the next three months - if it hasn't helped by then, stop. There is pretty good evidence of efficacy in pain from degenerate knees in a worthwhile percentage of people. I believe that the cheapest place to get hold of it is via an internet seller in Jersey

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abc, I love my Indoor Cricket, and despite the injury I got, I always go back to it, I had a spell running the Ipswich Ladies team, who I used to play for and then eventually started playing again prior to my last foot operation in July. I got the original injury during a National League match and I won't play at that standard again, so hopefully the ball will move slower and I will have more time to think about what I am going to do and if by chance the ball does land on my knee cap, I think I will stay put rather than even think about running like I did last time Crying or Very sad

Nick L, I will try Glucosamine, I did try a ginger joint supplement, but that didn't seem to make any difference.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

pippivixen, Make sure you take the Glucosamine every day for 3 months, before you decide whether it's helping or not. It really does take that length of time. It's not an instant relief - you may just notice that it hasn't been painful for a while - that's what happened to me. Then when I forget it for a few days I don't realise at first but will think - my hips a bit sore - then oh yeah, forgot my glucosamine.

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pippavixen et al, the thing about pain is that it is your body telling you that you are doing something it does not like! I am all for going through the pain barrier etc but that is for muscles, not things like joints! I know cos I used to run a lot and really damaged my knees by carrying on even though the concussion was really getting to my knees (and ankles). The result was that I had to give it up and take up cycling instead which is much more sensible. The problem is that when we all need to get fit (winter time) is not a brilliant time to cycle (look outside at the wind!). One point I have found is that saddle set up is really important to well being of knees - the advice given in one of your replies about the heel of the foot being on the pedal with the leg fully extended is good for most people but this leaves you with a slight bend in the knees at the bottom of the pedal stroke which can cause problems - adjust the saddle height very marginally up or down to find the height which gives you as little discomfort as possible; I agree wholeheartedly about cadence (the number of revolutions of the pedal per minute) get it as high as you need to to reduce the strain on your knees and that keeps the muscles working which is what you are after.

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Its very simple you have to find a form of exercise that makes you get hot and sweaty and breathing heavy that does not harm your joints etc. In the gym I go to about 20% of people seem to achieve this the rest seem to be wasting their time. I would not include in this the people who are there to do light work after a operation or illness.

After all it is free

Peter Smith, absolutely agree about saddle height and also forward/back alignment. If you can, get it professionally set up. You only want a slight bend in the knees at the bottom of the pedal stroke - too much bend will cause you problems, too little will cause you problems as you will start to move your hips side to side on the saddle to reach the bottom of the pedal stroke. Having your leg straight with your heel on the pedal at the bottom of the stroke is a ball-park figure and you will need to play around with it to get comfortable.

pippivixen, good luck. I think a personal trainer would be very helpful for you and it is really worth getting some advice.

for me cycling to work and back seems to be the best option, although last thursday nights weather was a nightmare, mudguards are a must, and keep your legs warm, if cold gets into your knees you will have problems.

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Rowing machine is a good excersize, but as a rower myself i cannot bear the sight of a gym's rowing machines... I so wish people would be instructed basic rowing technique... it makes the machine so much more effective.

Help!!

Fitness

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