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Aerobics & Cardio Information |
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3 Keys To Finding Your Natural Running Stride
When I think back to when I was at school, my worst nightmare was running. I hated it, even more than football and rugy which I don't like even today. So I never thought that I'd be any good at running... until I found out the trick that I'm about to share with you now. I realised that running was an important part of my cardio-vascular exercise, and that I needed to find a way to make it a little bit easier for me. When I used the treadmill, I was getting way out of breath way too quickly (less than 10 minutes, and that included 3 minutes fast walk to warm up). And yet I could go on the rowing machine for 20 minutes and hardly even notice it. So something was wrong with my running technique. Not knowing what to try, I just varied everything I could: speed, incline, the length of my stride, the height of my stride, and so on. And these are the three tricks to running that made the difference for me: 1. Don't be afraid to INCREASE your speed! I realised that I was actually running too slow! I've naturally got a long stride (I'm just over 6 foot tall), but when on the treadmill I was taking tiny little strides. Why? Because if I'd run at my normal stride, I would have run into the front of the machine. By increasing the speed of the machine, I was able to stretch my stride out to a better length for me, which made my whole running style much more fluid, and therefore easier on me. 2. Don't be afraid to INCREASE your incline! If you aren't using an incline when running, then you are effectively running downhill. This is because the tread itself is helping your legs' motion, rather than you actually pushing yourself forward. Similarly, if you run downhill, it's much easier because you don't have to push yourself up in the air as much to gain the forward distance you need. So add a little incline to you run - not much, just enough that you can feel the extra push. Not only does this simulate running on flat ground, it also makes your motion more natural. Running downhill and running on the flat produce variations in your stride that make you more or less efficient. So by increasing your incline, you induce a more natural style to you movements. 3. Remember to focus on your breathing. The final key is related to the other two. As my stride increased, and my effort increased, I found that my rate and depth of breathing changed so that I took one full breath cycle for every 3 steps. And that felt more natural than previously. Sorry that's not a very scientific explanation, but "feeling natural" is about as best as it gets :-) So there you go. Three keys to more efficient running, which you can experiment with. Some of this advice might sound odd (if you're running out of breath quickly, why make the running harder?). But with the principle of finding a more efficient pace for your body, it makes sense. And by the way, almost overnight I doubled my running from 10 minutes to 20, with no real problem, and over time I increased to 45 minutes with a couple of 1 minute breaks to stretch and drink water. I can go more, but I start to get bored and also run out of time at the gym! For more fitness advice, tips, and resources, visit FitnessEquipmentLinks.com
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Skiing Exercises for Recreational Skiers 01/06/09
by: Jim Safianuk
If you exercise often, you'll begin to build your strength and enhance your endurance in the muscle groups used in downhill skiing. You'll be preparing yourself for the rigors of skiing in the expert zones where both staying power and explosive power are of the utmost importance. First, we’ll get into the why and when you need to exercise, before moving onto the five essential elements of ski-specific exercising.
The ultimate body for an expert skier is powerful, from strong ankles to strong shoulders, and every finely-tuned muscle in between. Remember the last time you watched someone effortlessly weave through a mogul field and wondered, "How does he do that?" It's partly due to practice, and partly to the body awareness and balance that strength training provides. The expert skier, who is physically strong, instinctively cues every part of his or her body. A fit body is like a well-tuned sports car. It handles effortlessly, acting on subtle intuitions.
Skiing requires a number of athletic abilities including technical, physical, and mental skills. This article is all about the physical requirements of expert skiing. Future articles will deal with the technical aspects of all-terrain skiing, as well as establishing the right mind set. But first, to ski strong you need to be strong.
Why do ski exercises?
If you think skiing exercises are just for serious skiers, think again. Strong muscles improve every skier's performance, whether he or she is a beginner, intermediate, advanced, or expert skier. For those who feel they’ve reached a plateau in their skiing ability, ski exercises may provide the boost you need to reach the next level.
Few sports are as physically demanding as downhill skiing, especially skiing on moguls, in trees, and down steeps. Yet, many skiers hit the slopes after little or no training in the preseason. They pay for it with sore muscles, but that's only the beginning. The lack of good physical fitness also increases the chances of injury. The most common ski injuries are joint related, and the best way to protect joints is by building muscle. Strong muscles stabilize your joints and, in turn, enable you to control your skis.
In light of the above, this article focuses on building the muscle groups around the joints that skiing taxes the most, including the knees, hips, and ankles. For the knee and ankle joints, we’ll be dealing with the upper leg muscles, including the quads and hamstrings, as well as the lower leg muscles, most noticeably the calves and Achilles tendons. For the hip joints, we’ll be concerned with the core, namely, the hip flexors, glutes, abdominals, groin, and lower back muscles.
Doing the downhill skiing exercises on a regular basis will make your skiing a lot easier, as well as take your skill set to the next level, because you will:
When should you do ski exercises?
Exercising can be done any time you feel like it. However, in the context of the sport of downhill skiing, I recommend you begin exercising at home, two to three months prior to the start of the ski season. If your season kicks off in December, try to begin your preseason conditioning program in late September.
Exercising in the Preseason
However, if you’re already involved in a ski-related conditioning program during the summer months, you’ll be able to shorten you’re fall program from three months to about six weeks. In addition, you should do your ski exercises on three nonconsecutive days each week. This will allow 48 hours between successive work-outs. The muscle groups will have plenty of time to recover.
Does this seem like a lot of work? At first, it will be. But after your first runs of the season, you'll be amazed at how much easier it is to link smooth, short-radius turns from top-to-bottom, all day long. You’ll look back up the hill and smile, knowing that your exercise program in the fall was well worth the effort. You will have cleared the first hurdle on the road to expert skiing. Physically, you will now be much stronger!
Exercising during the Season
Strenuous activities like downhill skiing, especially at the expert level, promote tightness and inflexibility in the muscle groups. Therefore, stretching before and after skiing will keep you flexible and help prevent common injuries. Should you do the ski exercises after the season starts?
Yes, definitely. After the season starts you can catch up and get in sync by doing the exercises during the week when you’re not out skiing. If you ski on Saturday and/or Sunday, do the skiing exercises on Tuesdays and Thursdays. By exercising throughout the season, as well as skiing, you’ll accelerate the strength building process, and your performance will show a marked improvement.
Exercising in the Postseason
By exercising in the postseason you will maintain your fitness level that you worked hard to implement in the preseason. Aspiring expert skiers need to impart continuity in their conditioning programs throughout the year. Once you become strong, you need to stay strong.
In addition, by participating in a ski-related exercise program from June to September, you’ll be able to ramp up much more quickly in the fall. The summer is also a good time to improve your cardiovascular endurance.
The Five Essentials of Ski-Specific Exercising
Flexibility, cardio, strength, balance, and power are the five essential elements for the expert skier to master. Let’s consider each one of these requirements in turn.
Flexibility: Your range of motion or mobility is of prime importance. Stretching to maintain muscle elasticity, which decreases with age, is vital for skiing. Stretching for skiers will not be covered here, as we have already dealt with this subject in a previous article entitled Ski Fitness for Recreational Skiers.
Cardiovascular Endurance: Aerobic capacity is very important to skiers so they have the stamina to ski in the expert zones, and the endurance to ski all day long. If you wish to improve your cardiovascular fitness, try one of the following activities on three nonconsecutive days per week. Perhaps it would be best to do your cardiovascular routine on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and your strength, balance, and power exercises on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Strength and Endurance: Muscular strength improves the expert skier's ability to relax, yet still maintain control, and to handle the quick adjustments needed in all-terrain skiing. The movements in alpine skiing include all the major muscle groups, so total body muscular strength is of prime importance. You'll want to do exercises that strengthen your entire body.
With this in mind, target the following ski exercises and muscle groups:
Stability and Balance: Why should you care about balance? Well, for starters, it’s the basic skill needed in practically every sport. Changing your center of gravity to match your moves is the key to efficiency in sport. Good balance can help you keep your form when you encounter changing terrain and snow conditions. The result is better skiing and fewer spills.
Slight deviations in terrain often require subtle adjustments in your balance to avoid injury. To enhance your stability and balance, target the following muscle groups:
Fortunately, the exercises that help improve stability and balance work to build muscle strength and endurance in the core, all at the same time. This can be seen if you look back at the previous topic, Strength and Endurance.
Power and Quickness: To improve your reflexes and foot-to-foot quickness, you need dynamic, ski-specific drills from lateral training that simulate the actual movements you do on the ski hill. With this in mind, we’ve included five jumping exercises, which are also called plyometrics, as the essential exercises to improve your foot-to-foot quickness and explosive power.
Plyometrics are commonly referred to as explosive types of exercise drills, and are often used in conditioning programs for elite skiers because the combination of squatting with weights and lateral jumps, sprints, or quickness drills, develops the leg and hip power necessary for high performance skiing.
Before you Start
Caution must be exercised whenever beginning any conditioning program. Use an exercise regimen that’s appropriate for your body type and your present level of conditioning. Please consult with your physician, if you suspect that this ski-specific program is not suitable for you at the present time.
About The Author
Jim Safianuk is a certified ski instructor and writer of the downhill skiing lessons in the course Skills of the Expert Skier. Discover the oldest secrets and learn the newest skills to help you become the expert skier you always dreamed you could be. Click here for more information: http://www.becomeanexpertskier.com/
Copyright 2004, by JKS Publishing. All Rights Reserved
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