Biff made a good comment to my last update. What do I do for the upper body on top of the Nordic Blading?
Right now, not much. I've commented on my slight progress in push-ups (one-set 11 to now 17 and even 18). Not much else.
The reasons for my under-performing there (after a week or 3-4) have been multifold:
- My famous laziness/ lack of self-motivation
- Lack of knowledge
- Timing
Timing? I've got all of the world to write these silly posts! Fair enough, but that's not my point.
Biff may be under-estimating the situation I'm in. I am not only out of shap, I am also totally screen in the department of skating.
I'll try to sum up everything I've done for skating motions, this lifetime
- Ice skating : perhaps 2 months worth, but mostly before my 13th birthday, back when we still had winters. Mostly hockey skating, and a couple dozen kms of "speed" skating.
- Crosskates : a couple weeks worth, spread over about a year, a year ago. At the end, I had a fast Open Field skate, for up to 5km, and nothing else.
- Inlines : Owned them for less than a year. Under 100km on them. The last couple dozen on slow wheels with poles.
Point being : I'm a rookie. A newbie. trying to get SOME forward motion going.
Using my abs to push down on the poles, (as is apparently the idea), brings me out of fore-aft balance. The inlines are short (a tight 4x90mm), and I'm usually tall for this sport.
I have read some on upper body fitness, but honesly: apart from the first hour on the Crosskates, it never has been the limiting factor. I've done some (careful) double poling. Bending my too flexy poles all over the place, and especially out of balance. I'll be building it up, but it's not a priority right now. I need to learn to apply the little force I have now first, and then get stronger.
Right now, I'm giving as much upper body input as I'm comfortable with.
Limiting factor right now is the intense lactate build-up in my hip/bum, whatever it's called there. I feel disco-ordinated and clumsy because of this. My first few skate pushes, when the soreness is not there yet, can sometimes be the best of the day.
Since I commited to this program, I have yet to have sore arms or abs.
But sure Biff, I'll have to do some serious work before mid-January, to get the abs and arms in tip-top shape. If anything, I can use a good double-poling as a back-up plan when I find myself out of control when skating, and in need for some propulsion I can put some muscle into.
My name is Jan Gerrit Klok, call me J. I also go by Cloxxki. This blog will mark my progress as I start from zero. A desperately out-of-shape cyclist aiming to become fitter than ever, but in a sport hardly existing my his home country. My country gets on average one or 2 XC-skiable days per winter. Although that's improving quickly. Goal: someday race XC, and not off the back of the field. And new goal: deliver a good Winter Triathlon (coach wanted).
2 comments:
Let me suggest getting on the skates as much as you can. When I was at my XC ski peak, I went inline skating with ski poles a couple times per week with a good buddy. We weren't afraid of the hills either. Find a loop or "out and back" with some rolling hills that you're comfortable with, and put some time in. We started out with the cheapest, box falling apart, wheels barely spinning, skates we could find ... and we wore them out. We upgraded the wheels eventually, and I even sawed the tall ankles off so they were more like ski boots, but skate we did. When it was finally time to put on real skis, we were ready. Roller skis at that time (1990+) weren't that agile, and we only had country roads to train on, so at least we had a brake and we could easily skate around pot holes and out run the occasional dog. I plan on getting some new ones this spring and doing it again this summer. Lastly, tie some old bike inner tubes somewhere and do some poling motion exercises. That will help strength, endurance, and toughen up the tendons in your elbows that roller skiing can take a toll on. :^]
Thanks Biff,
Rolling hills, I should be so lucky... best I can do is lots of wind, on a free of traffic asphalt cycling course. Flat with a 3m tall bridge twice over 1200m, or no bridges at all.
I do have a few other locations I plan on training with hills, but it will be always one hill with up to two sides to climb it.
Good to hear you were ready after lots of street skating, this is a big part of my game plan. Come the winter, I want to have been able to handle, and having taken on, many multi-hour skating outings with as close to real snow kind of terrain.
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