Leg extensions. Worth it or worthless

[Toadman]

the problem with living close to work is when it requires you to give up things you like living with, like space, a yard, parks to go play at, and not getting shot or robbed.

Don't forget affordable housing...

[XavierD]

Don't forget affordable housing...

The housing near where I currently work is a little too affordable.

[criscam]

It'll pretty much work everything from the neck down. Start by just trying to hold onto it zercher-style (https://www.t-nation.com/system/publ...?ts=1511397173). You'll be lucky to make it 30 seconds at first. Hell, at first just getting it off the floor is a task. Wide feet help. The longest I've ever held it was a little over 3 minutes, and I was grunting, huffing and puffing like a madman the final minute. When you can hold it for over a minute without too much trouble start trying to walk with it, squat it, or do lateral lunges. I tried to do regular lunges once and failed miserably, just too hard to stabilize laterally. Overhead stuff (overhead hold, overhead press, overhead squat) is great, too.



Buy a 10 ft piece of 4-inch ABS pipe (ABS is preferable to PVC since it's stronger and UV resistant), two 4-inch end caps and ABS cement if don't already have some. Mark the middle with a strip of tape or whatever, glue on one of the caps and let it cure for a few hours. For a 40-lb pipe add 3.5 gallons of water. Glue on the other end, wait a few more hours and you're set for some ass-kicking.

40 lbs is plenty for mortals, but if you want to go heavier each additional gallon of water is 8.3 lbs. Realistically the heaviest you can go with a 4" pipe is about 50 lbs. Beyond that the pipe is too full to get the proper slosh effect.

just happened to be in the Depot yesterday and bought the few items needed for this.
Holeee Fvck! So how long until i'm able to lift it off the floor without putting a hole in my ceiling? (yea I tried it indoors) got a good 3 minute hiit workout if nothing else.

[fool]

I feel like I've found my people. I'm not normally in tech talk lately, but definitely glad I found this thread. Good insights!

Getting over a running injury and currently working on cardio via biking and eliptical + core strength. Have previously done leg blasters, but excited to add them back into my workouts after being reminded/excited by them in this thread.

Also, Training for the Uphill Athlete (https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asi..._JosTDb7VAT3T2) will likely interest many of you. It's a follow up to Training for the New Alpinism, but more focusing on skimo, trail running, and backcountry.

[Dantheman]

Training thread bump. I need some cardio equipment input.

It's time to replace my ancient Lemond Revmaster spin bike. I've narrowed the choices down to either:

MaxKare Magnetic: https://www.amazon.com/MaxKare-Magne...dp/B07RKFMB59/

or, this sweet used classic Airdyne: https://classifieds.ksl.com/listing/58733752

In terms of raw ass-kicking potential I think the Airdyne wins hands-down, and saves me a decent amount of money. The self-fanning aspect is also nice. On the other hand, workouts on the MaxKare will probably have better direct transfer to mountain biking. Also, a spin bike would probably work better for really low-intensity work (think HRs <120 bpm) which I'm doing a lot of right now for my TBI rehab and would probably be better for AC's upcoming knee replacement rehab. I've never used an Airdyne at anything less than "I hope I don't puke" intensities; is it even possible to keep the RPMs low enough to maintain a sub-120 HR?

Cheap spin bikes, especially magnetic ones, seem like one of those things you could end up regretting. But, the MaxKare seems to be universally well-reviewed and holds its own with bikes that cost twice as much. The main complaint seems to be the computer, which I don't care about anyway. Otherwise, it's a belt-driven 45-lb flywheel, five big magnets, and has 4-way adjustable saddle and bars. One reviewer on Amazon claims to squat 300 and said the magnets were strong enough for hard out-of-the-saddle mashing.

just happened to be in the Depot yesterday and bought the few items needed for this.
Holeee Fvck! So how long until i'm able to lift it off the floor without putting a hole in my ceiling? (yea I tried it indoors) got a good 3 minute hiit workout if nothing else.

Hah! I missed this. How's it going now?

[STLHD]

I had an airdyne for a couple of seasons and found it to be very uncomfortable for long/slow training. I have seen a few DIY mods that add a real bike seat, but never went down that road.

[robnow]

Do you own a road bike...or even a hardtail (just not your dirt jumper? I would think for less than the price of the stationary bike you could find a used fluid trainer like a Kurt Kinetic (I think these are more highly regarded) or Cycleops as everyone wants a Smart trainer. It should have a smoother operation than what the stationary can offer.

[Dantheman]

I had an airdyne for a couple of seasons and found it to be very uncomfortable for long/slow training. I have seen a few DIY mods that add a real bike seat, but never went down that road.

Hmmm, this is good info, thanks. I've been doing daily 45-60 minute sessions at a nose-breathing pace. Sounds like the Airdyne won't be ideal for that.

Do you own a road bike...or even a hardtail (just not your dirt jumper? I would think for less than the price of the stationary bike you could find a used fluid trainer like a Kurt Kinetic (I think these are more highly regarded) or Cycleops as everyone wants a Smart trainer. It should have a smoother operation than what the stationary can offer.

I thought about a fluid trainer. The only road bike I own is my commuter, which gets ridden so often that I'm not sure I want to deal with taking it in and out of a trainer all the time. It would take up way less space than a spin bike when not in use, which would be nice. The going rate for used Kurts seems to be about $200 so there's not enough savings to make a big difference. As far as smoothness, I've never used a Kurt but magnetic resistance spin bikes are very, very smooth. No desire to get a smart trainer and do Zwift-type stuff.

[RootSkier]

Concept 2 rower stands up in a corner when not in use. Just sayin'.

[Dantheman]

C2s are definitely nice, but there's none used locally and new they're not in the budget. Also, my basement ceilings are 90" so I won't be standing one up down there.

[Dantheman]

In true TGR style, I bought both of them

[bamboocoreONLY]

I found them useful after coming off a bad bone bruise knee injury, just to strengthen all my upper leg muscles to even then then out with the non injured side.

[Dantheman]

Very, very impressed with the MaxKare bike for the price. More than enough resistance. Ghostly silent. The pedals did suck, but I just threw on a pair of cheap plastic flats I had in the parts bin. Swapped the saddle out for a spare mtb saddle I also already had.

The Airdyne is pure retro awesomeness. So glad I bought it. The seat sucked. Bought a $8 adapter off Amazon then threw on the stock seat from the MaxKare which was perfect.

[fool]

Training thread bump!

Thoughts on the Mountain Tactical "30 MINUTES PER DAY DRYLAND SKI TRAINING PLAN" (https://mtntactical.com/shop/30-minu...aining-plan/)? I know this thread discussed Leg Blasters from MTI, etc., but I figure this 4 days/week, 4 week plan might be a good prep for ski season that wouldn't require too much thinking (and therefore not executing). Currently running 40-50 miles per week with a little core but thinking I need more to get ready for sliding on snow.

I've also had thoughts of a good strength gym/routine of deadlifts, squats, presses, etc. but don't currently have a good gym and my form is definitely out of practice. If anyone has Denver gyms recs or updated ski season prep routines, I'm all ears. For gyms, I generally want to avoid metcon-crazed gyms and would rather focus on quality, form, and strength to supplement my running. I've recently run across Colfax Strong (https://colfaxstrong.com/)...anyone know anything about it?

[::: :::]

If you’re running 40-50 mi/wk, your legs are fine for ski season & 4 wks of leg strength isn’t going to do much for you. It’s not worthless, but it’s not much of a bump either.
Look at a longer term (12-16 wks) plan that peaks deeper into winter.

[rod9301]

If you’re running 40-50 mi/wk, your legs are fine for ski season & 4 wks of leg strength isn’t going to do much for you. It’s not worthless, but it’s not much of a bump either.
Look at a longer term (12-16 wks) plan that peaks deeper into winter.

Running does nothing for they kind of leg strength you need for skiing. Unless you're only doing 100m sprints.

Depending on your size, you should be able to do 12 reps on an incline leg press with 500-600 lbs.

I guarantee that your legs won't get tired skiing.

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[jorion]

This article isn’t exactly a prescriptive training plan, but it specifically describes how to transition from a summer of trail running to ski season, assuming you are like me and want to be in shape for both touring and downhill skiing.

https://uphillathlete.com/preseason-...ring-training/

Once I wrap up my running season in a few weeks I’ll start focusing on building max strength with things like squats and Romanian deadlifts for a month, and then do a month of muscle endurance training (less weight, more reps).

All while continuing cardio training.

I’ve used a few of the paid uphill athlete training plans to good effect as well. The steep skiing one is good for downhill strength but requires a power rack and weights. Last year I didn’t do a great job of executing it but I still came into ski season very much ready for downhill skiing. (It isn’t really designed for building an aerobic base for the uphill but you should be set with that already).

The grand traverse plan was great for staying in shape all season and prepping for a weeklong spring ski camping trip.

I didn’t appreciate when I started getting serious about training how individual everyone is so it really pays to understand the purpose of everything so that you can observe how your body is responding and adjust accordingly. It’s frustrating if you just want to be fit, but I’ve come to really enjoy the process. It’s a kind of self-knowledge/discovery that I find very rewarding.

[::: :::]

Running does nothing for they kind of leg strength you need for skiing. Unless you're only doing 100m sprints.

Depending on your size, you should be able to do 12 reps on an incline leg press with 500-600 lbs.

I guarantee that your legs won't get tired skiing.

while your guarantee re: power presses will likely hold up, the "running does nothing" statement doesn't ring clearly, esp for someone who is clearly not a "recreational" level runner [>20mi/wk]

[Dantheman]

Running does nothing for they kind of leg strength you need for skiing. Unless you're only doing 100m sprints.

This is highly dependent on terrain. Running downhill on steep technical trails is outstanding conditioning for the heavy eccentric loading in downhill skiing. It's fun as shit, too.

[rod9301]

All the research i read skied that endurance training diminishes muscle strength.

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[Dantheman]

All the research i read skied that endurance training diminishes muscle strength.

Most people will probably never squat 3x bodyweight while running 50 mi/wk.* But, being fit for skiing is less about raw strength than it is about muscular endurance (which is different from aerobic endurance) and being resistant to the muscle damage caused by the heavy eccentric loading that occurs skiing. Not that being strong isn't important, but it's not critical to be as strong as you can possibly be. If you can't squat 1x bodyweight you'll see huge performance gains from getting your squat up to 1.5-2x BW, but going up to 2.5-3x BW likely won't help at all or will be detrimental.

* - But, multiple people have proven that it's not impossible. Alex Viada has squatted >700, run a 4:15 mile, and put up very respectable times in ultras and Ironmans. Ryan Hall (former elite marathoner) recently deadlifted 500# then immediately ran a 5:28 mile.

[I've seen black diamonds!]

If you are running a lot, especially if you're bombing down hills, you don't need to do a full on muscle endurance cycle. But I still think a little helps right before ski season. The move that really helps, I think, is split jumps. You just don't get that deep into a lunge while trail running. I've tried different approaches each of the last 5 years. My favorite is this:

After I finish a set of weighted box steps (I do them with a barbell as part of a twice weekly workout) I go straight into split jumps without talking any rest. I still get surprisingly sore, but they don't any take time or prevent me from doing other workouts the way leg blasters do. I start with about 20 split jumps and then increase over a few weeks. I go for a good burn, but nothing shattering. It has an effect for sure, and makes me sore, but not so much that it impedes my running significantly.

I've also done sets of split jumps at the end of hill sprints. Sprint up hill- split jumps at the top, walk or jog back down, repeat. I'd recommend this if you're already in great shape, as it can destroy you. Don't do it too far from home or you may have a slow, embarrassing waddle home. Doing this feels pretty similar to a full leg blaster, but has the added bonus of coming with a free hill sprint workout, and is much less tedious. I wouldn't do this more than 2 or 3 times as part of your preseason training. A little goes a long way.

[Toadman]

If you are running a lot, especially if you're bombing down hills, you don't need to do a full on muscle endurance cycle. But I still think a little helps right before ski season. The move that really helps, I think, is split jumps. You just don't get that deep into a lunge while trail running. I've tried different approaches each of the last 5 years. My favorite is this:

After I finish a set of weighted box steps (I do them with a barbell as part of a twice weekly workout) I go straight into split jumps without talking any rest. I still get surprisingly sore, but they don't any take time or prevent me from doing other workouts the way leg blasters do. I start with about 20 split jumps and then increase over a few weeks. I go for a good burn, but nothing shattering. It has an effect for sure, and makes me sore, but not so much that it impedes my running significantly.

I've also done sets of split jumps at the end of hill sprints. Sprint up hill- split jumps at the top, walk or jog back down, repeat. I'd recommend this if you're already in great shape, as it can destroy you. Don't do it too far from home or you may have a slow, embarrassing waddle home. Doing this feels pretty similar to a full leg blaster, but has the added bonus of coming with a free hill sprint workout, and is much less tedious. I wouldn't do this more than 2 or 3 times as part of your preseason training. A little goes a long way.

I started doing the hill sprints about 15 years ago. I had to stop running for knee and hip joint issues, and just switched to cycling for my aerobic fitness. But I found I can do the hill sprints and not cause too much inflammation or joint pain. Just have to dial it back and work my way up in terms of intensity and volume.

My issue is with hamstrings Way out of balance with my quads. I haven't really found an exercise that works for my hamstrings that doesn't cause issues for my lower back.

So, I just do some very light dumbbell dead lifts and single leg RDL's for the hammy's

[lucknau]

Are leg blasters still the exercise of choice, if you’re not going to do much or anything else as a leg workout?

[Dantheman]

Are leg blasters still the exercise of choice, if you’re not going to do much or anything else as a leg workout?

Yes AFAIK, particularly if you want something you can do at home with no equipment.