winter exercises..do you change your routine...?

[amstony]

Pete: You clearly don't live or work in or near Boston! If I tried to commute to work on a bike, I'd end up getting killed.

Good thoughts Alpinista! I have seen a few bikers piled up on the roads the last few years. Whenever possible I'll drive to the Commuter rail station, take the train into Boston from there and walk the remaining 2 miles to work. In warmer weather it makes for an excellent walk to and from.

There is an excellent website devoted to biking in MA- www.massbike.org

They have an excellent study on bike crashes in the Boston area.

 

[yardsale]

Backwards on a treadmill/stairmaster dosen't sound real safe to me. IMO combining any of the aerobic activitys already mentioned with lunges indoors or hill bounding down hill outdoors will cross over to hiking well. Hiking down hill requires the bounding or lunges as it requires a different type of muscle contraction called an eccentric contraction. Normally when you activate a muscle it becomes shorter. In an eccentric contraction, the muscle is activated yet it lengthens. You have to train a muscle in this fashion improve it's abillity to contract eccentrically. Eccentic contraction occurs just after foot strike while going down hill. Your knee bends slightly to soak up the jolt before you extend it again while bringing the other foot forward. (Important training for tele turns for the same reason!)

 

[Snohm Eizer]

There's an abandoned ski slope near Binghamton with a great sustained steep incline (Innsbrook USA, now called Aqua Tera Park) that I like to go to before work with a backpack full of sand and ankle weights. I really don't like gyms so try to do as much as I can making up wierd things to do to improve strength. I run, but I don't enjoy it much. I enjoy cycling also.

I like Pete's approach with the bike. My commute to work is ~25 miles one way.....so due to the time involved I don't do it as much as I'd like. If we get some snow I like to ski in the am.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Trying to stay on-topic

I have a PT appointment on Tuesday. The orthopedic office says "we cut, we inject, we medicate -- you're not a candidate for any of these yet." So off to PT. We'll see what that brings. At a minimum, it's a prerequisite for an MRI.

I have the concentric contractions working great for vastus lateralis, vastus medialis, apparently, from cycling. One theory for my problematic knees is an imbalance in the strength compared to the vastus intermedius and rectus femoris (again, as I understand this, hopefully the PT will have more time for explanations.) Or, it's a bio-mechanical failure (alignment, etc.) That is the point of the PT -- since my x-ray showed clear, and they can't cut, medicate or inject at this point (and thus they shoved me out the door.)

To bring this back to on-topic (and not start a conversation about bad knees...) I had not considered yoga until reading this thread and now perhaps I will. Or, to keep it on topic, I guess, what else do people do to beef up the knees for hiking? The down-hill on the tread mill would be one thing, especially gentle during what hopefully is a rehab (short, please) period.

Tim

 

[arghman]

Or, to keep it on topic, I guess, what else do people do to beef up the knees for hiking?

my PT had me do stepups, you can stand on a step with one foot, always keep that foot planted, and use that knee to step the other foot up & back down again. (why is this so hard to describe?!) I do both sides, both directions (upwards, downwards), 20 reps each... used to be religious about doing it twice a day, but now I do it a few times a week and it seems to help keep me in shape even if I'm not out hiking.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

my PT had me do stepups, you can stand on a step with one foot, always keep that foot planted, and use that knee to step the other foot up & back down again. (why is this so hard to describe?!) I do both sides, both directions (upwards, downwards), 20 reps each... used to be religious about doing it twice a day, but now I do it a few times a week and it seems to help keep me in shape even if I'm not out hiking.

One stair higher and one stair lower with the other leg? Facing upstairs, downstairs or both (obviously not at the same time...)

Tim

 

[Lawn Sale]

Does the stair master run backwards? Or are you really simulated walking up hill backwards? I'm not convinced the latter really simulates going down hill. In that case you would be landing on the front of your foot rather then the heel. I ask because I've had knee problems of late, and actually walking down the stairs on stair master was a suggested technique for resolving imbalances in the quad muscle group and alleviating petellar femoral syndrome (mis-tracking of the knee cap).

It's been a while since I've been on the stair master but since they are built to go up hill, I recall the stairs aren't very deep (less so then real stairs) making it more difficult to actually descend them.

An alternative might be an inclined treadmill that runs in reverse.

(I seem to recall, while searching for chondromalacia and other knee afflictions on this site, that your name (Lawn Sale) showed up in several threads, so I'd be curious how things worked out for you.)

Thanks,
Tim

The stairmaster does not run in reverse, only one direction, you just use it backwards. Sorry if I was unclear about that.

I have been doing the stairmaster for awhile, and it was not only suggested by the owner of the gym, who has helped a few older guys (late 50's) train for Denali, but also the physical therapist I see occasionally. If there is any doubt as to its effectiveness, try it for a few minutes and you'll see it does use the muscles differently. Most of the stairmasters I have seen (and use) enable the user to do deep bends, which I do. Some people get on them and do the "baby steps", but I try to use the full range of motion of the machine to get the most out of it.

As to the heel striking, you're right, but then I use it to build muscle tone, so my legs get used to the motion. Often times people complain about their leg muscles hurting from going downhill. Mine used to until I started getting on the stairmaster backwards, now it's no longer an issue. It's not an end-all, but it does help with hiking downhill. I have found the treadmills tend to max out at a 15° incline (or decline if on it backwards), which isn't that steep.

My legs are better than ever thanks to the PT last spring (finally, a great physical therapist!) and a healthy dose of running and cycling this summer. No aches, pains, or problems anymore, which I am enjoying.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

Thanks for the clarification.

Running was the straw that broke the camels back, in my case. Or maybe it caused the entire problem, but somehow I doubt it. Every fall/winter I'd pick up running to some degree, starting slow (10-15 minutes) and on the grass (usually training for and racing cyclocross.) When I got to 30 minute on the pavement I had pain laterally atop both tibia (Outside and below the knee cap in that little depression.) Then I developed a most raucous knee, and a variety of aches, pains, and twinges, clicks and clunks.

Given how hard it is to find a good sports doctors/therapist around here, I'll give the recommended folks a try, but I'll be quick to find someone else if I don't think they're putting me on the road back to hiking.

Tim

 

[dvbl]

...Recently, I asked one of the 20+ mile day hikers who post here what he does during the week to maintain this phenomenal abilty. "Nothing" Lets hear it for genetics! I am sooo jealous...

There's a good possibility that when he says he does "nothing" during the week, he is actually doing something very important...namely, recovering. I know several people who over-train. They think if they take a day or two off they'll be losing ground. In fact, days off are vital for those who do high-intensity training. Never under-estimate the need for the body to recover.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

There's a good possibility that when he says he does "nothing" during the week, he is actually doing something very important...namely, recovering. I know several people who over-train. They think if they take a day or two off they'll be losing ground. In fact, days off are vital for those who do high-intensity training. Never under-estimate the need for the body to recover.

The older you (I) get, the longer you (I) need to recover. I've been racing bicycles for 12 years now, and boy is it ever true! So, it may be more then genetics and recovery -- it may be a big age difference, depends on who "he" is, and both your ages. Genetics is but one part of it.

Lots of cyclists make the mistake of training harder when they "slow down" when in fact they should train easier / less (mostly it's a volume thing.) The same is true for any sport.


Tim

 

[WhiteMTHike]

Do you change your exersise/workouts to reflect the winters cold weather activities??
Many folks here exercise regulary...so I'm wondering if others change their exercises from season to season depending on their anticipated activities.

For example, in the winter my main focus is snowshoeing... for me I need to remember to stretch my legs...lots of step exercises... more stretches etc.
Snowshoeing for me means often my heels will be well lower than normal as I work my way up the steep stuff...things like that. Plus my legs need to be at their best for those times your feet weigh a ton and you have to pick them waaay up around your head (so it seems) to plod along.
In summer it's kayaking for me and all upper body stuff...

What about other folks...do those sking have special exercisies they like for winter time etc.

Those ice climbing, do you work on your upper body strentgh..or legs for front pointing etc..
and of couse those hauling sleds do you work out to build up for it...?

I like to do cardio no matter what. During the winter I take Spinning classes which is a good kickbutt workout. It helps a great deal with any biking I do in the spring and summer. I always do strength training. Free weights and Hammer Strength machines are primarily what I use. I can't say I change my workout routine that much as far as the year goes. It's just that in the winter I spend more time in the gym while the other times of the year I like to get out and do my hiking, biking and kayaking.

Of course 12 oz. curls are also a year round workout for me.

 

[DougPaul]

...Recently, I asked one of the 20+ mile day hikers who post here what he does during the week to maintain this phenomenal abilty. "Nothing" Lets hear it for genetics! I am sooo jealous...

There's a good possibility that when he says he does "nothing" during the week, he is actually doing something very important...namely, recovering. I know several people who over-train. They think if they take a day or two off they'll be losing ground. In fact, days off are vital for those who do high-intensity training. Never under-estimate the need for the body to recover.

However, too long a gap also results in losing ground. A standard rule-of-thumb for power building exercises is every other day.* Endurance exercise needs less rest time--many long distance (eg AT) hikers take about 1 day a week off for rest and recovery. A current style in bicycle training is 1 or 2 hard days a week, 5 or 4 days of long, slow, distance (LSD), and 1 day of rest. This combines power building and endurance exercise in one program.

If I am hiking every weekend, I find that I do best if I get some hiking-like exercise (eg put 40lb on my back and walk up and down a nearby 200ft hill) once or twice during the week. No exercise during the week definitely results in poorer performance on the weekend hikes.

On the other hand, I have developed overtraining of the quadriceps from hiking on successive weekends when out of shape (or am just bicycle trained). My theory is that the descents (untrained eccentric muscle contractions) are the cause. I have also read that eccentric contractions (absorbing energy) is more damaging to the muscles than are concentric contractions (producing energy). Age might also be a factor--I am in my upper 50s.

* Power building exercises work by damaging the muscles. The repair process overcompensates which results in stronger muscles. If you do not allow adequate rest and repair time, damage will accumulate faster than it can be repaired resulting in overtraining. In my case, overtraining resulted in a dramatic reduction in the strength of my quads (I had to be careful just stepping off a curb...) and it took about a month to recover.

Doug

 

[spider solo]

spinning

[QUOTE
Spider,I keep a similar schedule to you,... Truth is,particularly if you have good technique,kayaking just isn't all that much work!
[/QUOTE]

Ahhhh... yes, if life were so simple, but somewhere I've read that most the injuries are loading and unloading the boats and generally just falling over oneself on shore...or something to that affect.
Thinking it through, if my wife and I load and unload each boat (approx 50lbs ea) we are lifting (overhead press) a min of 400lbs for per outing... even if we just go out for an hr or two... sometimes it does make the actual paddling seem like the easy part.

.... back to winter exercising...
I did add a spinning class for the 1st time yesterday...very nice. I did learn one important thing...there's no coasting on those bikes......!!
I'll be looking to add some yoga also for the 1st time.
I see it often recommended here and elsewhere. Right now my flexibility would probably be rated as somewhere around pitiful...

I do tend to think that those like Pete, and others, who take their winter exercising outdoors have an advantage to those of us who exercise indoors.
It would just seem to make sense that they would be better acclimated for the conditions we find in winter hiking.

 

[spider solo]

basic exercise question

I've been taking some spinning classes and just tried a Pilates (sp?) class.
In each class it was stressed to pull in your stomach in good and tight while you do certain moves...
Yet I was always taught to push out with the diaphram while working hard or lifting etc.
Is one school of thought from people who lift and the other from the world of gymnastics...something like that?

 

[focusonbalance]

In each class it was stressed to pull in your stomach in good and tight while you do certain moves...

No difference. When lifting or doing Pilates, one should always keep the core (abs, butt and back) nice and strong before doing any stress motion. THis assures safety as well as isolating the mucsle group(s) targeted. Your workout goes to new levels when you can isolate your core first. Strict lifting, no help.