Getting fit for skiing - again

Furthest I have run is 54 miles ~ but it was a loooong time ago! )

You ran 54 miles?? I'm not running I'm cycling. In training for a 100 mile sportive on Dartmoor next year. :shock:

EmmaEvs wrote:AllyG out of curiosity, what does it say in your Inghams book? I'm trying to work out some structure so I have goals and don't just give up when I get bored/tired!

EmmaEvs,
I have the book here. It gives you a progressive 8 week training program. It includes exercises for stamina, strength, stability (balance) and stretching.

The first year I used it I thought I was fairly fit, but the warm up routine totally knackered me! This consists of: one minute of jogging on the spot, one minute of star jumps, one minute of squats, one minute of rotating jumps (you jump turning your lower body one way and your upper body the other way), and lastly 5 X 5 jogging on the spot sprints. After that you do stretches - calf, back of thigh, front of thigh, back, chest, abdominals, and shoulder and upper back.

The exercises consist of things like lunges, squats, press ups (starting in the first week on your knees), triceps dips (with a chair behind you), the plank, and side shuffles.

As the weeks progress things get more difficult - like adding pulses to the squats, lifting small weights, crunches, and odd exercises like standing on one leg and rocking backwards and forwards.

I went running as well as doing these exercises.

After about 8 weeks I was amazingly fit. And last holiday it was great because I got into the 'advanced' ski-ing lesson group and I could keep up with the others. As Bandit says, being fit makes a huge difference, especially if it's with these special sort of exercises because they improve your balance and flexibility as well.

I am determined to get fit again. A couple of years ago someone got demoted into my ski group because he wasn't fit enough to ski with the higher group - how embarassing! I don't want that to happen to me. I have found that the higher up the groups you get the faster they ski and the less rests you get, so you really do have to be much fitter. Plus, you're expected to make much finer body movements to perform more complicated manouevres on skis so you've got to have really good balance and flexibility. And I also think you're less likely to be injured if you're fitter.

Best of luck everyone with starting your fitness training :D

Ally

I have mentioned before, fitness is only a part of the needs. Strength and mobility are more important, particularly for avoidance or reduction in injury potential, also, when needed, to move quickly, to avoid trouble.
Still maintaining 1000 single leg squats per day, plus clock lunges, +......

bandit wrote:My 2p's worth. If you don't want to improve, you don't need to be fit and flexible. If you want to up your game, being fitter and lighter will help make this easier and help to protect you from strains and sprains.

Maybe for someone who skis as much as you do, but for holiday harry - rubbish!
I have improved immensely year in year out and I am not particularly fit, and I dont do anything to get fit.

I must confess I had only been to the gym 4 or 5 times this year and realised a few weeks ago the partying had taken it's toll and needed to do something, I walked in the gym, asked for a plan to get me "ski fit" for 12th dec. Now I am committed to three times a week,eating healthy and cut right down on any falling down juice.

Its a hard routine but worth it.

Two weeks in and I feel that I could tackle any hill and I also mentally "fit" too. Still a long way to go.....

Also, no smoking.

Dave - hang on now. I liked you until you said that. :wink:

Seems like it's all a very personal choice. Whether to exercise or not, how often, doing what etc. I'll be really interested to see whether my efforts pay off this year. Or not :cry:

Thanks for the detail Ally. I'm really not surprised you were super fit in 8 weeks! Going to look back over it all again later today. Now I'm off for a short run while the roads are quiet :D

been doing lots of core stability stuff on the fit ball as well as 300 a day bounces on a bosu carrying 35kg....lots of quad stuff as well I found last year I was getting lactic burn in the quads when I got tired and was not in control ...mind you we were doing a fair bit every day