getting in shape for the ski season

[Danaxxmiller]

OK besides wild sex how does everyone gear up for the ski season?

 

[PomfretPlunge]

Dryland mogul practice:
- Jog in park with skipoles - perfect to dial in quiet hands for bump turns
- Ballet bar - lean fwd at 30deg angle and practice A&E motions slowly. Dials in forward lean and hip position forward of feet
- Picnic table - line up 3 crossways and walk over them one after the other while maintaining head & shoulders at same level. Tables are about same height as moguls on Stein's Run. Builds muscle memory for half-absorbed position (on bench), fully absorbed position as you duckwalk across the top of the table. Then step down to backside bench, extend back halfway; step down back to ground (full extension -- don't lock knees) -- then climb up on Table 2; etc. . Gives practice in moving at full absorption and doing knee roll at start of turn.
- Mini-trampoline (36" model from walmart, $20) - practice stance, knee angulation, lead change, opposite lean, hip drive, A&E, learn rhythm for fast check-turns. Great anaerobic cardio
- Swimming pool shallow end - wade back & forth doing mogul turns. Gives zero-gee feeling, just like in bumps. Focus especially on fast-fast-fast extension (water holds up upper body but gives resistance to feet like backside of mogul, much lighter but at least the resisting force is the same direction, i.e. upwards)
- Swimming pool deep end - submerge & do mogul turns underwater -- closest experience to actual skiing. Builds muscle memory for bump turns & especially again for fast extension

 

[Trekchick]

Mt biking, walking the dog, some agility ladder, jump rope.
I know I should do more, but that's pretty much it for me

 

[snowmonster]

Stationary bike, squats, leg presses, leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises, back extension and crunches. At least that's the plan.

 

[RootDKJ]

Inverted leg press, leg extension, leg curls, calf extension/press, upper back pull down, abdominal crunches, triceps press, mountain biking and swimming.

 

[Warp Daddy]

statioery bike , stair machine , eliptical machine , rowing machine , treadmill , universal all 3 days a week for an hr , 3 mile walks 1/2 day on off days , 20 min daily stretching , and eating low fat with serious portion control

 

[bigbog]

All the above....plus some glucosamine/condroitin combo...and a good dosage of daily 2x4_balancing.

$.01

 

[tjf67]

OK besides wild sex how does everyone gear up for the ski season?

I gear up by never gearing down. Tommy my tomato plan bit the dust Sat night. It wont be long now

 

[Sparky]

I've been doing this stuff for 12 years and it still seems to be the best I've found.


http://www.topiaroad.com/sports/ski...ingforSkersTopiaRoadaninteractiveMagazine.htm

 

[sLoPeS]

mountain biking (with lots of vert), hiking, wall sits, planks, etc.....and of course boozing!

 

[Greg]

mountain biking.....and of course boozing!

+1

 

[gmcunni]

i'm getting off my ass starting today to get in shape for skiing. i figure i have about 2 months before i hit the slopes for day 1 of 30 (i hope). i'm in horrible shape compared to last year.. actually just horrible shape period, no comparison needed.

one of the few benefits of being old is i've accumulated a lot of crap over the years and i'm not one to throw stuff away. i've got a treadmill, stair climber and a bunch of free weights sitting in the basement and today the dusts gets cleared off:

Get back to running - build up cardio endurance + overall conditioning, try to drop some much needed weight.
Stair Climber - build up leg strength + endurance
free weights- general conditioning, mostly upper body, to help with weight loss + to look good in my tight fitting base layers
MTB - try to get back to riding for the fall season for legs, wind + fun.


not really a ski specific regime but i not so hard core and i think the general conditioniong program will be enough.

 

[tarponhead]

running.

There is a local 18 m race down at the shore that is a ton of fun. But no more marathons. My right knee told me so this morning......

 

[speden]

I was reading a book on skiing fitness a couple weeks ago, and the author said that for skiing, your anaerobic fitness is more important than your aerobic fitness. I suppose that's assuming you're skiing fairly hard and not just cruising. He also said lower body strength is more important for skiing than upper body conditioning. That's kind of how I've been training this summer, with an emphasis on weight lifting rather than a lot of cardio work.

Mostly I've been doing squats, leg extensions, calf raises, leg curls, back extensions, and crunches. I'm also quite fond of leg abduction and leg adduction exercises to strengthen the side of the legs and hips, since I don't use those muscles much in daily life, and making them stronger makes me feel a lot more stable on my feet.

Overall I'd say I'm doing about 70% anaerobic work (weights), and 30% aerobic (stationary bike). I'm also trying to do more stretching exercises, since my hamstrings are ridiculously tight. Can't even get close to touching my toes. I feel like I'm also lacking in explosiveness type exercises, so I might trying adding in something like simulated hop turns.

Lately I've been wearing a heart monitor during my workouts, and I was surprised to see that when I'm on the exercise bike, my heart rate doesn't go much above 130, but after a set of something like squats, it shoots up into the 170's for a while. The monitor is nice during weight work since I can then keep my pulse rate up in my target zone and space my sets correctly. The monitor came with a weight scale that has two metal strips on it, which passes a current through your body to measure stuff like body fat percentage and muscle mass percentage. I think I'm going to start recording those values once a week and see if my workouts are moving the numbers or not.

I'm curious to see if any of this will help me on the slopes this season. I sure hope it does.

 

[bvibert]

I just wing it and hope for the best. I'm not much of a workout routine kind of guy. For now I'm just trying to get in as much mountain biking as I can.

 

[severine]

I'm struggling to balance the kids, the house, school, and exercise right now. Getting up at 5:30AM is harder and harder. And I have a cold that's still lingering nearly a month later.

I'm trying to get in my running program 3x a week. I'd like to find time to do more than that but I'm having enough difficulties finding time for that. Sigh. I guess it doesn't matter as I won't be skiing much anyway this winter, but it sucks knowing last summer I was in the best shape of my adult life and now I'm FAR from that....

 

[tarponhead]

I was reading a book on skiing fitness a couple weeks ago, and the author said that for skiing, your anaerobic fitness is more important than your aerobic fitness.

sprinting is about 97% anearobic (40 - 100 yd repeats)

 

[ZYDECORICH]

other than the usual circuit training with a little more on the legs,i swim 2 miles or more 4 to 5 times a week. you won't lose your wind and you'll find you legs burn less.

 

[BackLoafRiver]

I just wing it and hope for the best. I'm not much of a workout routine kind of guy. For now I'm just trying to get in as much mountain biking as I can.

Same here. I used to be a gym rat. 5 or 6x a week doing 2 hours of workout. (when I could) It worked but then I discovered how much I like being out when it is nice. Yesterday is a perfect case in point. It was too gorgeous for me to go to the gym. The afternoon was in the low 70's and not a cloud to be had. I could have sweat it out for 1.5 hours in the gym but really wanted to get out and ride so I said screw it. Had an amazing time.

When the weather is gross, I'll do 45 minutes of cardio and 45 - 60 worth of strength training. I'll do circuits and intervals of steps in between each exercise. It kicks my butt pretty badly but I am sure will pay off come October.

 

[thorski]

I don a fall protection harness and connect it to a clark electric forklift with a chain forged in asgard. I then put my arms thru a pair of hanging ab straps also connected to the forks on the forklift and click into an old pair of twins. (mike nick pros to be exact)
Once in a comfortable position I have my beautiful assistant lift me into the air with the forklift. Once in the air I practice Iron crosses, backscratches, and other misc. tricks.
Praise ULLR.