What do I need to do to get fit?

Iceman wrote:50 push ups....now that will be fun!! Can I do 5?

I am 34 by the way, getting old! )

He must mean spread over the whole day - one every 20 minutes.

Ok, apologies if this post is like teaching your granny to suck eggs (why oh why would anyone do that??) but for all the other beginners who havent got a clue (like me :-) )

I tried skiing for the first time last year & didnt have any problems with leg-strength / flexibillity and was in a lot better condition after skiing all day than my regular skiing counterparts...

I used to do Taekwondo (martial arts) for about 7 years and it does have some very great benefits for skiing.

The warm up stretches are brilliant for skiing, namely stretching quads & hip rotations, knee rotations.

Stretching quads: stand up straight with your legs together & grab your right ankle in your right hand. Keep your knees together and try to touch your foot to yoru bum - you shoudl feel teh front of your thigh pull.
Do the other leg etc.

Open your stance so you're legs are shoulder-width then hold your right knee in your right hand & lift your knee straight up - keep your foot at right angles (i.e. opposite of pointing your toes).

Put both legs & feet together & bend at the knees with your feet FLAT on the floor, go as low as you can without your feet lifting, then straighten up etc.
After doing a few of the above, keep your knees slightly bent then rotate your knees in a circle one way then the other way. Try to keep your hips still so your knees do all teh work.

Take a very wide stance with legs locked out,then lean down to the right & touch your toes with BOTH hands (or get close to them), then to the left & touch your toes then down to the centre & touch the floor. Pause for a few secs one each full stretch.


Hips: feet together standing, legs locked, lean out your hips to the left then back & to eth right & back. Keep your shoulders & heads ine the same place if possible so that your hips are bouncing against their limit (you will look a bit silly but its' good honest :-)

If you did about 10 of each side for every exercise then you're probably minimising the probably of overstretching your legs when crashing or skidding etc etc


In terms of leg power, shallow squats are great for building legs strength, also holdig your leg out (imagine a slow motion kick) and tryign to hold your own leg weight uysing just your thigh muscle.

The other killer is to stand with yoru back flat against a wall (or door etc) and feet flat on eth floor, lower yourself into a 'sitting' position until your thighs are almost parallel with the floor (you look liek you're sitting on an invisible chair). Hold this position for 20 secs then stand up & repeat 5 - 10 times. Good for strengthening thighs!

These should be used alongside cardio like swimming or running or cycling.


Again sorry if all this is old-hat but you cant beat a bit of enthusiasm for a new sport eh :lol:


Cheers,
Lee

Can one cycle rather than doing the 5K run? My knees and ankles arent very good on tarmac! - what would be equivilant distance be on a bike since I'm guessing it will be a longer stint?

hi, as you mainly need leg fitness and strength you can't go wrong with squats. you can start with simple count of 1 down and 1 up and build up to count of 2 down and 2 up and then on to 4 down hold for 8 and up for 4. then for an extra challenge you can lift one heel at a time during your hold of 8. if you need an extra challenge you can add a barbell over your shoulders.

What I need to do to stay the athlete that I am ????

1. Lose 10 kilos

2. Have two knees replaced

3. Laser surgery on both eyes so I can read a piste map without getting the specs out.

4. Stop driving to the piste.

5. Cut out the numerous mountain fuel stops.

6. Carry my skis home instead of renting on the piste lockers.

If you wish to add to this non exhaustive list, please feel free........ :mrgreen:

Arms just not long enough to read the piste map anymore eh? :wink:

RossF wrote:Arms just not long enough to read the piste map anymore eh? :wink:

Ross, Its the biggest pain in the a*rse about getting old, I lasted till 47 before the need for reading specs, and at times for things like piste maps is a complete pain. :evil:

Hah,little wickham will soon be setting the pace,"COME ON DAD"