Ski 'fitness'

[tcharron]

Well, I've been having a blast over the last few weeks, but today I'm debating on what to do. Wed, Thu, and Friday/Sat (midnight madness, 9pm-2am or so) I skied. Now it's Sunday afternoon, and I'm considering going out, but my left calf is still sore.

Guess I'm just worried about putting my not-so-in-shape body to much, and ruining ski fun in the future. If calves are sore, is it smart to go out? Or should I wait till it's not sore before pushing it again? I'm considering going up and just sticking to some of the not so steep green areas just to have some fun, and not go up top at Crotched, ideas? Comments?

 

[AdironRider]

Soreness is nothing. After the first run youll warm up and be good to go.

 

[Skier75]

Yeah, just go for it! Just doing the greens can be just as much fun, that's where you can "show off" and work on form.

 

[tcharron]

Yeah, just go for it! Just doing the greens can be just as much fun, that's where you can "show off" and work on form.

That a fancy way of saying 'not faceplant'? :lol:

 

[bigbog]

....

Calves sore from...?...Back of cuffs? or just a little over-exertion/Fun;-)...

 

[tcharron]

Calves sore from...?...Back of cuffs? or just a little over-exertion/Fun;-)...

Not really sure, honestly. It's the outside 'side' of my calf. Still hurts a bit after 3 days of not skiing on it.

 

[Skibum_dan]

It's always good to get some pre-season activity in....hiking, biking and the like. I mention these because they are my pre-season activities of choice. I'd say perhaps one of the simplest ways to avoid soreness is to stretch before and after skiing. Drink lots of water too. You can sweat a ton of water out of you while skiing. Staying hydrated will help your muscles recover quicker.

 

[koreshot]

If it is your general muscle soreness, then you cares? Go for it! If it is tender or "i think I pulled something" kind of sore, then maybe give it a rest or have it looked at.

On a side note, I have had people swear by yogurt for getting rid of muscle soreness due to extended activity... something about the cultures in it, I don't know.

 

[hammer]

It's always good to get some pre-season activity in....hiking, biking and the like. I mention these because they are my pre-season activities of choice. I'd say perhaps one of the simplest ways to avoid soreness is to stretch before and after skiing. Drink lots of water too. You can sweat a ton of water out of you while skiing. Staying hydrated will help your muscles recover quicker.

Agree with everything here with one exception...wait on the first stretch until you have some activity, it's better to stretch when your muscles are warmed up a bit. Stretching afterwards is a very good idea.

 

[koreshot]

Real men don't stretch. :smile:



I learned the hard way that stretching is extremely important. A couple of years ago, I went through a "i love running" phase and spent 4 months running regularly and never stretched. Well, it finally hit when I started having all sorts of muslce and joint pains and got sidelined for a month.

 

[Edd]

I've got a simlilar story. I strained a hip flexor from sharply increased running with no stretching. That was painful. It took 2 months of stretching with little exercise to recover, just in time for ski season. I am now a stretcher for life.

 

[tcharron]

Real men don't stretch. :smile:



I learned the hard way that stretching is extremely important. A couple of years ago, I went through a "i love running" phase and spent 4 months running regularly and never stretched. Well, it finally hit when I started having all sorts of muslce and joint pains and got sidelined for a month.

This may have been it, really. I never really thought of stretching before skiing, but I went from doing nothing pretty much all summer and fall to having gone skiing maybee 8-10 times in December.. I never considered stretching, but each time my calves would get really tight by the end of the day. Not tired tight but 'WTF are you DOING to me??' tight.

 

[koreshot]

Yeah, stretching is definitely a big possibility though if you stretch and it continues, it might be worth having your boots looked at. I vaguely remember a ski buddy experiencing constant calf soreness and a boot fitter was able to help a bit by adjusting the boot. Not sure if this is possible but maybe the boot is too tight around your calf cutting off some circulation?

Semi off topic, but just 2 weeks ago on a week long trip to Utah another buddy was complaining that the outside of their foot was cramping up and feeling sore. A few days later he lost feeling on the outside of his foot, just constantly numb/tingly kind of feeling, he skied the trip out and went back to the bootfitter as soon as we got back. The guy told him its something with his nerve(s) and it may take up to a month to get the feeling back... not what you are suffering from I am sure, but just goes to show, boots can sometimes do weird things.

 

[NYDrew]

I'm always sore. during the past three seasons I skied an average of 3-5 times a week. Now I lift and run 5 days a week.

My solution - work even harder making a different body part sore so you cant feel the other sore parts. Then when you cant move anymore, rest on the weekend.

 

[Goblin84]

I'm always sore. during the past three seasons I skied an average of 3-5 times a week. Now I lift and run 5 days a week.

My solution - work even harder making a different body part sore so you cant feel the other sore parts. Then when you cant move anymore, rest on the weekend.

Drew, I like the way you think.....

...this is of course coming from a man who works out every day (even if he skis), does 100+ mile bike rides, triathlons, and is planning on biking from montreal to boston, or across NE (ME to NY) over the summer

 

[Skibum_dan]

Agree with everything here with one exception...wait on the first stretch until you have some activity, it's better to stretch when your muscles are warmed up a bit. Stretching afterwards is a very good idea.

Yup. Warm up first.

Bananas are famous as a good source of potassium, a mineral involved in proper muscle contraction. Insufficient potassium is one of the main causes of fatigue, muscle cramping and dehydration...... More info
http://www.turbana.com/produ_recipes/benefits.htm Ha. I know that this is all info coming off a banana company site...so they're gonna say good things about bananas but I'd say most of it is true... The real trick is finding out how to prevent them from freezing in the car while you are skiing.

 

[RISkier]

My thoughts are that if you're just a bit stiff and sore (but don't think you're injured) go for it. If you feel that you are so sore or weak that it's impairing your ability to ski safely, then it's time to get off the slopes. A lot of soreness and muscle weakness is technique, or even equipment related. When I ski terrain that I find quite challenging, especially stuff that's cruddy and heavy, I'll often get a sore calf. Basically I start let the terrain start throwing me back and I rely on calf and quad muscles to support me rather than being staked over my skeleton. I can feel it happening. My toes curl and my calves go into a death grip. I know I need to get my butt forward and stay staked, but that's sometimes easier said than done. I was also having lots of problems with quad pain at one time. Indeed, there were a couple of times my quads felt like they weren't goinig to support me any longer. I went up to visit Jeff Bokum in Concord. He built custom footbeds, put in some shin pads, and worked on some alignment issues. The changes just put me into a more natural, centered position over my skis and much of the burning quad problem has gone away. I'm an old fart who's not nearly in the kind of shape I'd like to be in, we just skied three days in a row and while I could definately feel my quads had a workout, but I could easily have skied day 4. So, in addition to getting in better ski shape (something that can't be bad for anyone) examine your technique, and possibly your equipment, especially your boots.

 

[koreshot]

The changes just put me into a more natural, centered position over my skis and much of the burning quad problem has gone away.

Good point. I think improper technique can definitely add to muscle fatigue and potentially injuries. I suffer from back seat quite a bit and can notice the quads get sore and tight much quicker when I get lazy and start leaning back. As one instructor put it, if you are centered on your skis, you are using your skeletal structure to support the weight of your body and your bones don't get tired, when you are back seat, you are using your muscles.