The Summer Training Thread

[XXX-er]

I have found nothing as hard as running a saw for an 8hr shift cutting ski runs ...great conditioning

you wana get faster do speed work, go hard as you can for 1 hr

[Dantheman]

Get a half bike, although weird looking, it looks like it could be good training for skiing

That looks fun, but not $600 worth of fun.

[raisingarizona13]

Mostly tacos and PBR's.

[Angle Parking]

Just be active all the time, you'll feel worlds better anyway. Start rock climbing, someone else suggested kayaking which is a load of fun. Run if you can deal with running. Hike. Walk everywhere conceivably possible.

I like the first part of this, just be active. Daily exercise is key. So is having fun. Keep it fun. If it's fun, you'll get out there. Like most people I go through fitness troughs and crests. What always gets me out of the troughs however, is a focus on fun. 'Training' is tough at times. Fun...well, that's always...fun. Ergo, easy to do.

[swissiphic]

Figured I'd report on a beneficial addition to my usual summer uphill/downhill hiking routine to gain/maintain fitness for ski season and if yer into it, really bolster the body for summer non snow gravel skiing runs.

The usual long term program was to hike a 1400 vert foot trail that's steep for about 1000 feet then connects to a lower angle logging road and ascends another 400 or so feet. I use a heart rate monitor and try to maintain some discipline in keeping heart rate in target zones depending on the day's goal for effort. Generally tried to hit the trail 4 to 5 days a week with a mix of two hard days and two or three easy days.

Last summer I add a 'rock workout' circuit/weight training routine for the downhill portion of the hikes. There's a bunch of rocks in the 7-12 pound range available at both the bottom and top of the hike so raw materials were plentiful. Just kinda went by eyeball and feel to choose a rock of which size/weight seemed most suitable for the day.

The goal was to condense separate aerobic conditioning and weight lifting workouts into one...save general time and up the quality of the hiking workout. I found that by performing bicep curls, shoulder presses, hammer curls, lateral raises, bent over rows and tricep extensions, my average heart rate was bumped up by 10-15 bpm and this brought it into the aerobic training range for the 30ish minutes of downhilling...so this extended the quantity of total time spent in good cardio training while getting a half decent upperbody light weight lifting, strength building workout.

At first I could only 'walk and chew gum at the same time' but as the multifacted simultaneous movements became a natural feeling, i was able to resume slow jogging downhill while emulating skiing movements. It's a pretty cool to reach a flow state with the different parts of the body working separate tasks.

It took a while before the simultaneous activities became intuitive but it seems like there were some palpable transferable benefits to both day to day functional strength and fitness and skiing performance. The rock exercises were performed one arm at a time and i think the assymetrical aspect to performing the motions improved body core strength for more effective power for skiing technical terrain on snow and more notably during gravel skiing runs which generally torch the whole body. Leg strength and body balance on feet seem to be improved and grip strength for general life stuff notably increased.

This year, experimented with a few hikes doing the same rock workout while hiking uphill. Full pain locker experience and hard to keep heart rate below anaerobic threshold and still keep moving uphill. Although it's only been a few weeks, already feeling improvements in ability to sustain speed on steeper pitches. Given that little bump in performance, added a few uphill sprints on non rock days...something i could not perform in years past.

Just thought I'd mention it in case anyone was looking to try something different.

[swissiphic]

Bump the thread, report on progress.

The rock workout during up/downhill hiking system/summer gravel pit skiing paid dividends on the first full day of real on snow ski touring last week. Can't recall ever feeling better for that big first day. Balance on teetery talus on the approach was improved, average heart rate was lower, effort was more effortless, skiing felt like there was a seamless transition from end of last season to beginning of this one, and body wasn't torched at end of day. Pretty stoked about the coming ski season; body seems ready.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I made a few changes this summer:

More lifting (for injury prevention more than adding strength)
Fewer miles
More vert

Last October I ran a flat 50k with a buddy in PA. Training for that wasn't great prep for ski season. Plus I tore my quad a bit during the race which didn't help.

After nearly a decade of trying various approaches to caring for my arthritic lower spine I'm closing in on as-good-as-it gets. I have the right combo of lifts, and the right volume of running, plus a short slow recovery hike with my almost 5 year old the day after a long run that is just the ticket for loosening up tight calves and hips.

The extra lifting makes me heavier, and a bit slower but it is worth it. Haven't exercised this hard with so little pain in a long time.




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