Jesus....i'm dying.

Dave, are these 1/2 squats against wall or free standing?

Agree on the mobility, guys especially have to work on this one. Can't help but feeling that was a contributing factor to my incident (although not fully sure of logic behind it :-)).

Ranchero_1979 wrote:Dave, are these 1/2 squats against wall or free standing?

Agree on the mobility, guys especially have to work on this one. Can't help but feeling that was a contributing factor to my incident (although not fully sure of logic behind it :-)).

Half squats are free standing, just touching the back of a chair for balance. I usually put the morning news on TV, so I'm not taking up any additional time!

My sports scientist lady included the bodyweight half squats in the exercise routines. It made sense to me, since it is pretty well replicating the ski routine, (well for the way I ski anyway!)

Re the fitness, if the muscle strength is built up, ie strong quads, then leg exercise is more efficient, and there should be less demand on the cardio vascula system.

Having a mixed and elongated strength routine ~ more than an hour a day, will extend the muscles towards achieving strength endurance. Basic strength decays during skiing, but the endurance element sees us through the ski day.

A benefit of basic strength is the avoidance of accidents ~ someone does the unexpected in front of you, you need to throw in a strong avoidance turn.

A benefit of strength endurance is the avoidance of end of day injuries.

My summer fitness is pricipally down to 10~12 hours tennis a week, including one night a week, when I play for the mens team ~ we each have to play six sets! Plus some hill walks.

Think I will go and lie down now.......

I have a cross trainer in the bathroom gathering dust. I usually try to use it every other day in the run up to the ski season (i'm too lazy the rest of the year). Just a 20 min session on that with a program that warms up and cools down i.e. the hardest part is in the middle, is usually enough to get some strength back into my legs. It worked well for me last season.

Just back from ACL physio and we got onto how injury happened. As is common basically muscle miss timing i.e quads contracting (as I was try to bring yourself back up, was stopping on uphill slope). However this relaxes hamstrings allowing shooting forward of lower leg and hence broken ACL.

We then got onto how to prevent and importance on neuro muscular training and proprioception exercises. Whilst essentially unlucky seems to me no coincidence that incident happened to me this year. I was fit but all through gym exercises on stable ground, no other sports like football, tennis to really test full body co-ordination and no plyometrics. Perhaps this is where we should all do a little pre-season focus to help keep injury free. Plenty of simple exercises on You tube, running on beach and or uneven ground should also work well. Interestingly you see this quality in many guides who are like mountain goats going up and downhill whilst clients slip etc. Yes they are generally fitter/stronger but their body is acutely aware of where it is in space and hence excellent balance. Anyone who tries to kick a ball after even few weeks will realize how fast these skills can be diminished.

As the resident athlete would be interested to see what Dave felt about this one.

When I went skiing in February I was 12 weeks into an 18 week marathon training programme. It made a HUGE difference to my skiing on all levels. I was fitter, my legs didn't ache at all, my strength and stability was much improved.

I do a fair bit of strength training as I have weak hip flexors. I realise this is only anecdotal but my fitness last season was significantly higher than it was the year before and the result of that was obvious for all to see. Even my 11 year old was impressed.

kateshaw wrote:When I went skiing in February I was 12 weeks into an 18 week marathon training programme. It made a HUGE difference to my skiing on all levels. I was fitter, my legs didn't ache at all, my strength and stability was much improved.

I do a fair bit of strength training as I have weak hip flexors. I realise this is only anecdotal but my fitness last season was significantly higher than it was the year before and the result of that was obvious for all to see. Even my 11 year old was impressed.

Everything about skiing is better when you are fitter. I know from the variations in my fitness over the years that I definitely don't have as much fun and overall satisfaction is way down in unfit seasons.

As the resident ex-athlete, (I ran my last sub 3 hour fun marathon a long time ago), yes, multi-activities are, in general. beneficial. Trencher does inline skating.
Interesting point on sand work, running in the water at the beach edge is terrific. Repetition sand hill work is also good for basic strength, without unduly stressing the joints. I would not agree with rough ground work ~ too easy to twist an ankle.
I still do some occasional running on grass ~ very forgiving for knee injuries.

Kate, I agree with you, I too skied during my marathon years. But marathon training is VERY time consuming ~ I was running 60~ 80 miles a week. My point now is that we can extend our ski capabilities by concentrating mainly on strength and mobility work.

Dave Mac wrote:As the resident ex-athlete, (I ran my last sub 3 hour fun marathon a long time ago), yes, multi-activities are, in general. beneficial. Trencher does inline skating.
Interesting point on sand work, running in the water at the beach edge is terrific. Repetition sand hill work is also good for basic strength, without unduly stressing the joints. I would not agree with rough ground work ~ too easy to twist an ankle.
I still do some occasional running on grass ~ very forgiving for knee injuries.

Kate, I agree with you, I too skied during my marathon years. But marathon training is VERY time consuming ~ I was running 60~ 80 miles a week. My point now is that we can extend our ski capabilities by concentrating mainly on strength and mobility work.

Dave have you done or thought about doing the Ironman over here in Lanzarote.