 Poster: A snowHead
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Three months to go (and counting!!!) - any fitness training programmes that anyone can recommend for a 45year old mum of average fitness (but not up to a week's worth of skiing just yet!!!). I do a bit of cycling but that's about it - any specific targets would be great to motivate me!
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Do a bit more cycling.
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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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have a look at this recent thread
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=56919
lots of good ideas there - one specific target would be to aim to do a minute on each leg of the "bridge" exercise illustrated.
Otherwise, the usual - squats and lunges, plus a bit of cardio. Cycling is great but the weather isn't!
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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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to go with a bit more cycling, do some strength/agility circuits 2-3 x per week. Include exercises for your core (eg, planks, side planks, glute bridges) and your legs (1 leg dips/squats, lunges etc), and gradually progress the exercises to more dynamic ones. A good target is to build to doing lateral jumps (jumping side to side in a ski posture), while keeping leg symmetry and a nice strong core, and doing multiple sets of these.
Then, replace a cycling session every week or two with an hour or so of walking up and down hills, with a rucsac on, if you have anything suitable where you live. Uphill is great for cardio fitness, downhill great for ski specific leg strength, especially if you zig zag a bit. If you don't have any hills, just walk up and down a few flights of stairs for 20-30 mins, for a similar effect.
And work your balance constantly - stand on 1 leg to brush your teeth and in the shower, see how long you can stand with your eyes shut, etc.
Theres loads of stuff on the net you can find. heres a few links to get you started: http://www.tdcski.com/about_tdc/other_stuff/fitnessCore.shtml, http://www.skiclub.co.uk/skiclub/guides/page.aspx?intGuideID=12 (skicliub members only), http://www.warrensmith-skiacademy.com/ski-biomechanics-physiology/strength-conditioning.htm
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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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Go Skiing every weekend , its great excercise.. and its helpful for your skiing.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Buy a new pair of running shoes and a flourescent yellow jacket, you'll need it with these dark nights. Just go out for a run, start by running as far as you can without stopping, then walk for then same distance then run/walk back. Just keep doing this till you can run non-stop for 20 minutes covering about 2 miles on the way out, then you'll be doing just fine running 4 miles a few times a week.
That's about as fit as you need and you'll be able to ski down most pistes without stopping for breath.
Weightlifting only helps if you need to carry your ski's between lifts. 
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Brookside, follow Gra's advice. That covers stamina, strength and balance.
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| Quote: |
work your balance constantly
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Agreed... Get hold of a wobble board. (Your kids will love playing on it too!)
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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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| Burnsy wrote: |
Buy a new pair of running shoes and a flourescent yellow jacket, you'll need it with these dark nights. Just go out for a run, start by running as far as you can without stopping, then walk for then same distance then run/walk back. Just keep doing this till you can run non-stop for 20 minutes covering about 2 miles on the way out, then you'll be doing just fine running 4 miles a few times a week.
That's about as fit as you need and you'll be able to ski down most pistes without stopping for breath.
Weightlifting only helps if you need to carry your ski's between lifts. |
Distance running only helps improve your heart and lung capacity, unless you ski with straight legs. Sprinting is better (Usian Bolts legs v Paula Radcliffe's?) but go cycling and climb lots of stairs to get slope fit.
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Drink a bottle of red and eat 4lbs of cheese a night
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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A wobble board has helped me a lot. Take care not to do too much repetition of any one specific motion - build up to things. I made the mistake of being overenthusiastic about getting fit and ended up worse off as I got bursitis 
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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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| bar shaker wrote: |
| Distance running only helps improve your heart and lung capacity |
Thus improving stamina.
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You know it makes sense.
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So is this the right kind of balance board?
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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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DaddyLouLou, looks like it - mine was cheaper than that, from Decathlon.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Brookside, some of the posters above haven't read the "busy mum" part of your post. Leave the kids to sort themselves out, get a rucksack and get out in them hills!! 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
Weightlifting only helps if you need to carry your ski's between lifts.
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...and if you want to reduce injury risk, and improve your skiing performance, your core stability, balance and your agility.
Obviously, going to the gym and doing leg extensions on a machine won't help all these areas above, but doing functional strength training, ie training the movement patterns used in skiing with bodyweight or light dumbells, can massively help all the above. So, lunges, 1 -leg squats, various jumps such as lateral jumps, plus dynamic core work, can be considered as both functional and strength exercises. Once you've got a good base fitness from these, then weight training is an excellent progression, especially exercises like squats, romanian deadlifts & cleans
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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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can you walk to/from school every day (assuming your dropping the kids off....)
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Part of my fitness program involves walking up hills backwards pulling my son in a buggy - I've had some very funny looks!!
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Brookside, Whatever cardio you like doing the best do lots of it. If its cycling then great.
Get a training buddy to motivate you.
pam w, Do theses balance boards actually work?
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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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Go to a circuit training class at your local leisure centre - Generally include a good range of exercies for overall fitness. Good overall fitness should help
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
Do theses balance boards actually work?
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ph, I have no doubt that they improve your balance - I'm less convinced that for someone like me, not aiming for top level performance (to put it mildly) they are more effective than standing on one leg with your eyes closed!
There's a fantastic picture somewhere on snowheads of Chemmy Alcott balancing on top of a big exercise ball. Exceptionally impressive! I don't aspire to that, though Hurtle does the ironing on a wobble board, it seems. 
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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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pam w, here you go:
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hyweljenkins, that's good, but it's a different one!
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You know it makes sense.
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I've just started doing spinning classes. With an instructor shouting encouragement at you it keeps you working at a good rate where I know I would have packed up long before.
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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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Poster: A snowHead
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hyweljenkins, Chemmy has looked better than in your pic! To say the least. It's more Chavvy Alcott then Chemmy. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Brookside, Along with cycling, walking etc. I use home workout DVD's - my current preference is Davina McCall's Superbody Workout - choice of 2 x 40 minute workouts with the added bonus of an extra 10 minutes of abdominal, legs and upper body exercises. Even for us busy Mums, we can find 40-50 minutes at some point in the day. I have found these DVD's both enjoyable and beneficial. 
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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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hyweljenkins, pregnant? or does she look fat in that t-shirt?
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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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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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RobinS, exactly the point I was making above, when somebody suggested she should put on a rucksack and go hill walking. It's far easier for us 62 year old grannies to do that than it is for a mother with young children.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| RobinS wrote: |
Since the OP stated she was
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a 45year old mum of average fitness
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and hasn't returned, maybe all the things some people do to train have scared her off? I would suggest (as a 49 year old dad/grandad, who has a 42 year mum/granny as a wife) that what the OP really needs is not ski specific, balance specific, or strength specific, but just to get fitter! Going running will do it, circuit training would be better, spinning would do it - if you are at a low or moderate level of fitness it does not need to be complicated These will also have the side effect of making her look better, and feel better  |
Age has nothing to do with it.
I'm 46 and do approx 10 hours of spin classes (or my own spin sessions) each week, plus other core exercises and I go out on my mountain bike at weekends. My wife is 44 does 6 hours of spinning, 3 hours of kettle bells and 2 hours Nike Training/body pump a week. Two weeks ago she upgraded her road bike to a carbon fibre one, as she wants to get into some serious road racing this summer. We are both much fitter than those friends of ours who are lucky enough to still be in their twenties.
Maybe our posts just haven't inspired the OP. Maybe she is still at the gym or out on her bike.
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bar shaker, I've seen women in Spin classes not even break a sweat after 45 minutes, so the number of hours is irrelevant.
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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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bar shaker, but how many small kids do you look after? My daughter in law is struggling to fit in some exercise. She could push the pram up her local hill (possibly backwards) and does, when she can, but that has to be when she isn't also looking after the 3 year old (you try getting a 3 year old to go anywere in a straight line...). So that's two mornings a week, when he is in pre-school. Which is also her main opportunity to try to get some of the jobs like mopping the floor done - much more difficult when he's there with his train sets etc set out in the playroom. My son gets home around 7 pm - maximum exhaustion time of day for a mother of young kids. Usually in time to help with bath time, read stories to one child (whilst she breastfeeds the baby and listens to the 6 year old practice her spellings). After that, when the kids are asleep, and she's exhausted (breastfeeding and still sometimes having to get up in the night) her motivation to go out to some kind of exercise class, a minimum of 7 miles away, especially on a dark night, is pretty low.
It can be done, but it's not easy and takes both iron will and enormous powers of organisation.
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