Staying in shape over winter - ski?

[Keweenaw4310]

This time of year, where I live, cross country skiing possibilities are abundant. I can take off from work mid-day and be at excellent xc-ski trails within a few minutes. I can usually get about an hour / day on the trails 7 days a week. Sometimes I can get up to 2 hours / day on the weekend.

Once the weather gets crappy around us and biking isn't that fun, it's hard for me to stay in shape before the ski trails are ready. This year it was even more difficult because I spent so much time working on the house this summer and fall.

I'm back into the routine of skiing everyday and should be able to stick with it until at least mid-april when the trails start falling apart.

[dirtybernie]

yes its a good work out. i tried it once. after hitting a tree a rock and a lady i retired to the lounge. yes i was plenty sore the next day! ROF

[HydroHarold]

My Winter regimen became eat, eat, eat... Then in Spring the weight I put on adds to the workout I need to get back in shape again. This system provides the best of both worlds, sloth and gluttony then dedication, self-denial and miserable hard work. This program is not for everyone, you sorta have to "discover" it... :D

[Keweenaw4310]

Dirtybernie, I think you're referring to downhill skiing, not cross country. I actually skake ski cross country which is a little faster and a slightly more aerobic workout than traditional cross country skiing.

HydroHarold, I feel your pain. I've done that before. I've eaten all winter and paid all summer in pain and suffering to undo it. I know a guy who's pretty much been eating non stop since thanksgiving, even though he'd worked all summer to get ready to run a marathon. There's some part of our human nature that we need to fight off which has us eat like bears getting ready for hibernation in the fall.

When you figure out what makes us do that, let us all know because I know I'm not the only one wanting to solve that mystery.

[HydroHarold]

IT'S MY DAMN WOODSTOVE! I see tooooo many things to eat swirling in the flames! :D

[draddogs]

I feel really lucky that I can maintain my weight thru my work. I have been 215# since as far back as I can remember. Of course having a heart attack in 99 changed my life style and eating habits which in turn has helped also.

[Doc]

My Winter regimen became eat, eat, eat... Then in Spring the weight I put on adds to the workout I need to get back in shape again. This system provides the best of both worlds, sloth and gluttony then dedication, self-denial and miserable hard work. This program is not for everyone, you sorta have to "discover" it... :D


Funny post HH! I never planned mine as thourogh as you did, but mine is closer to yours than anything else I've seen.

I did the downhill skiing once, in my 30's. I found it fun, but I enjoyed the lodge most of all. :)

[Keweenaw4310]

I skied a little when I was younger but didn't really start cross country skiing on groomed trails until I was 30-31. It's been 10 years and I am really hooked on it.

Consistat groomed trails - challenging terrain - cheap trail access - close to where I work and live - long season. Those all add to skiing being an easy sport for me to keep up with and enjoy. Typical cross country ski season goes from early December through mid April. Take off or add 2 weeks to either end from year to year.

[bontai Joe]

I never figured out the joy of having long planks strapped to your feet and then trying to travel on them without destroying a knee or ankle. It seems all the skiers I know have had at least one shoulder separation, and at least one piece of metal (screws, pins, plates, etc) now a permanent part of their body. I can think of 4,681 things I'd rather do than ski since I already have a bad back, knees and ankles, with arthritus in my left shoulder, and most of my fingers, but if it works for you, then by all means enjoy it.

[Durwood]

I never figured out the joy of having long planks strapped to your feet and then trying to travel on them without destroying a knee or ankle. It seems all the skiers I know have had at least one shoulder separation, and at least one piece of metal (screws, pins, plates, etc) now a permanent part of their body. I can think of 4,681 things I'd rather do than ski since I already have a bad back, knees and ankles, with arthritus in my left shoulder, and most of my fingers, but if it works for you, then by all means enjoy it.

So what are you telling us Joe? That you would rather ice skate instead? ROF

Dur

[dirtybernie]

So what are you telling us Joe? That you would rather ice skate instead? ROF

Dur
or maybe pole vaulting would be more his style! ROF

[johndeere]

That outside in the cold excersising is not for me.My idea of outside activity this time of year is walking down the lane to the mailbox.I get more then enough excersise from April to November.But this time of year I excersise on the treadmill.After the Holidays I will go on my winter diet and spend more time of the treadmill.Just to keep from gaining 50#'s

[Bohica]

The only skiing around here is water skiing...you better have wheels on the skis if your going cross country! ROF

Slam

[Bohica]

Speaking of weight...

When I was active duty my weight stayed a rock steady 215...5 years after retirement I weighed 250. 35 days ago I weighed 300 even. I now weigh 269. I am eating right and working out like a madman with my 15 year old son...and walking with my wife. It's coming off and I swear I will NEVER let myself go like that again...it crept up on me once...never again. I am 74" tall so 215 is very good for me...I will reach it or stroke out trying!

Slam

[Keweenaw4310]

Joe, sounds like you have cross country confused with downhill. I climb and go down some decent size hills when cross country skate skiing but a person could stick to the flat - intermediate to beginner trails where the chances of injury are only about as good as slipping on a wet bathroom floor.

Slam, sounds like you're on the right track. weight loss that doesn't include some type of physical workout is more often than not - only temporary. Staying active is the key to sustained weight management.

By the way, I do know plenty of people who roller ski during our low snow season of May - October.

[bontai Joe]

I know some cross country skiers with all kinds of injuries, mostly shoulders and ankles. Seems here in the rocky northeast, it's common to hit things unseen in the snow and then fall down. :1221:

[Keweenaw4310]

I'm not saying that injuries aren't possibly cross country but they are less likely than downhill. Our trails have some very steep, long technical downhills in them for cross country. I do everything our trails have to offer now and I'm very confident that I won't injur myself. When I first started though, some of the stuff I'm doing now would have scared the you know what out of me.

[bontai Joe]

My idea of winter exercize is pretty much looking for the TV remote, shoveling snow, sleeping late under my electric blanket, and rubbing my cat's head. I don't want to stray too far from my summer ruitine of looking for the TV remote, cutting grass, sleeping afternoons in a hammock, and rubbing my cat's head. ROF

[Argee]

I can go along with all that Joe except the I have a *slight* variation when it comes to rubbing the cats head. ROF

[draddogs]

Yeah tell me Argee, you already ruined a very nice cat.

[Keweenaw4310]

We have mid 30's and rain today but the snow on the trails should hold out through this ok. If it continued like this for 3 weeks it might be a problem but the forecast is for things to start cooling off again soon.

I'm just over 3 weeks into skiing every day - had to miss 2 days when I went downstate at the beginning of the ski season but I've stuck to the mission ever since then.

[Keweenaw4310]

I'm at 13 weeks into this daily routine now. I've only missed about 4 days total so far. When I have missed, it was made up for and then some on the following days by going on 2 or 3 hour outings. Plus 2 of the days missed were due to an all day roof shovelling event and another was a huge snowshoe outing.

Clothes are definitely fitting better. I haven't changed my eating habits at all. In fact I eat a lot more than I was eating before starting this.

Another big difference that I feel is the full bloated feeling I have when I'm not working out is gone. I have a lot of room to breath freely now, if that statement makes any sense. It's just a feeling that I have when I haven't been working out for months - it feels like I can't take a deep breath without running out of room in my chest & abdominal cavities.

The snow is still holding out on the trails with no signs of thinning out in the weeks to come. We are starting to get the sun up higher in the sky now during the afternoons and it hangs around longer. That will eventually spell major deterioration of trails but I'm guessing we'll get at least 4 more weeks or more out of them.

[lt230s]

Actually I just started downhill skiing after not doing it for 20 years. The kids had a chance to go with cub scouts, so we figured it would be good for them to learn the sport and get out of the house during the winter months.
They picked it right up after a lesson and were going down black diamonds by end of the day.
It was just like riding a bike..it took me awhile to get going but after a few minor falls :tsk: I was enjoying myself. I was sore the next day but only because of muscles I hadn't used in awhile. Ice skated with my son's hockey team the next night to get all the kinks worked out.

[Keweenaw4310]

Are there any cross country ski trails in your area? I see Sterling Forest Ski Center out that way but they don't list any cross country trails.

The Junior Olympics national ski competition is up here this year. All the motels are packed around here with skiers, parents, coaches & manufacturers.

The competitions are this week. Leading up to this week the different routes were marked. I've been doing their 15km race route which includes 1274 ft of climbing over that distance. I've done it 4 times and each time I finish it in 54 minutes. Consistant but not as fast as I used to be.

[lt230s]

Are there any cross country ski trails in your area? I see Sterling Forest Ski Center out that way but they don't list any cross country trails.

Sterling Forest doesn't have any but most of the parks have trails for CC skiing such as Harriman State Park & Catskills in NY. In NJ there's High Point and Waywayanda State parks. They don't groom as far as I know either. Only problem here this year is lack of snow. We've only had 2-3 storms but they were spread out and almost gone by the time the next one came it didn't get a chance to build up any base. And believe me, with the rocks and ledges we have around here :omg: , you need a good base. The ski places like Sterling Forest(NY) & Mountain Creek(NJ) make their own snow but rely on downhillers for their income and don't cater to CC people.
Mountain Creek hosted a snowboard competition 2 weeks before the Olympics. Shawn White, Danny Kass(native of Mt. Creek), and others were there. I heard that it was packed there also. Everyone trying to get a glimpse of the medal hopefuls before they went to Turin.