Still time to kayak before the river freezes over

As Autumn and cold morning temperatures seize control of my little place in the world, the training focus of my fitness group has changed from running faster to preparing for ski season.  As we transition from training with the emphasis on moving fast, we are now focusing on building strength.  Building strength means lifting heavy.  I love to lift heavy.  There is something so gratifying about being a girl and being kick ass strong.   I am a big believer in training “periodization”, and while I do still love to mix it up a bit during each workout, our initial training emphasis will be lower repetitions with heavier weight loads.   After this initial building phase, we will move to strength and agility work, focusing on maintaining our gained strength, and building muscular and sport specific endurance.

Splashfit Tuesday

Ski Season is coming!

Warmup Elliptical 10 minutes
Elliptical Ladder x 5
1 minute 150 spm
1 minute 160 spm
1 minute 170 spm
1 minute easy
Superset x 4
Leg Press  10 x 230, 270, 310, 330
Stiff Leg Deadlift 10 x 70
1 Leg Chair Squats x 10 each Leg
50 Sumo Squats with Lateral Leg Raise
Superset x 4
1 Leg  Hip Sled 10 x 90
Seated Calf Raise
DumbellCurtsy Box steps x 10
Dumbell Lunges 40 each Leg
Elbow Plank x 2:00 minutes
Accordian Crunches x 30

Skating on groomed trails is an amazing workout!

Once my fitness group completed their  final 5k, I asked the ladies about setting new goals. Of course, I love skiing almost as much as breathing, so you can imagine how thrilled I was when they decided to focus on ski season and set the goal of “skate skiing” 10 times this season. Skate skiing is a type of cross country skiing, and is typically performed on groomed trails. When thinking about the energy output of this activity, I like to think that skate skiing is to running, as classic cross country skiing is to walking. It is an intense full body activity. In addition to having well balanced physiques, this activity gives us good reason to work on upper body and core strength.

Splashfit Thursday 
Elliptical  5 minute warmup 
Elliptical Ladder x 5 
4 minutes, 1 x 150, 1 x 160, 1 x 170, 1 x easy 
Bench Press.... 
Heavy drop set to failure x 3 
Superset x 3 
Jumping Pullups 21,15,9 
Dumbell Thrusters 21,15, 9 
Burpees x 10 
Superset x 3 
Seated cable row 10 x 80 
Cossack Bench Dips x 20 
Cable Tricep Press down 10 x 40 
Core 
Reverse Crunch with Leg Lift x 30 
Exercise Ball Twisting Crunches x 30 
Exercise Ball Catch x 50

Don’t let old man Winter keep you inside!

Change is something that is always difficult for me.  Even change in a positive direction requires an enormous amount of mental energy.  As the ambient temperatures begin to drop towards freezing levels, my natural inclination is to want to snuggle up on the sofa, watch movies, and consume large quantities of comforting foods.   I have to fight that downward pull every day.  Setting my sights on something fun and positive in the future, really does help to keep me motivated.  It helps me to keep those comfort food choices on the healthy side; it helps me to snuggle into movie watching mode, only after I’ve worked my proverbial butt off; and it gives me something to strive towards.   Motivation is a very individualized thing.  For me, I need to be excited about something, and I need a goal.    In less than a month’s time, we could be soaring on beautiful trails through heavily wooded mountainous terrain. Won’t you join us?