leg strength exercises

[blitzskier]

just curious as to what exercises or protocols you guys do for knees , ligament and leg strengthening in the off season?

any weight machines, yoga, pump iron or calistenics, etc.

any experience in getting juiced on hormones/steroids for muscle ligament , then kick the habit once your built???

[Telerock]

Walk, bike and swim

[Inspiredcapers]

I’ve been ‘running’ in the local swimming pool- going hip deep with a couple of #10 weights hammers the heart rate and the legs. Finally back to weighted hikes/rucking on the local trails. Lots of unilateral kettlebell squats and lunges.

[blitzskier]

try this on for size, no weights , cut out the body builder BS
develop fast twitch muscles, this also would go well with partial rep muscle training to get the muscles groups stimulated for the up coming season. for me i've left "full-rep" weight training behind. just takes too long and its a waste of energy..

[blitzskier]

Jesse is my other go to guy for partial training exercise systems

https://www.youtube.com/@JessePawlak

[JohnSKepler]

Everyone responds differently to training. Some people respond well to "body builder BS" while others don't respond at all. All some people need to do are some off season lunges and they're ready to go. Others need a full spectrum of weights, running, cycling, etc. If you're asking your body to go into some kind of 'growth mode' whether it is adding muscle mass or ligament strengthening you will have cells dividing and creating copies of themselves. Most bodies don't want to do this because it requires more resources and humans have very little excess capacity whether it is oxygen (a few minutes), vitamin stores, glycogen, protein, etc. This means the most important thing you can do is provide yourself with the proper nutrition and sleep. Again, everyone is different and it gets more difficult as you age.

You'll also want to focus on what kind of skiing you hope to do. I can XC all day but I tire quickly when I go to downhill so I'm really focusing on building muscle mass in my legs. More mass means more glycogen reserves, more oxygen, more vascularity, and more power. Having tried many, many things, the best thing or me is weight training. I get more cardio benefit from weight training than I do from cardio. It may be the way I'm built or it might be my cardio base from 45 years of soccer. I'm also trying to get more protein, better carbs, good fat, and all the trace elements as well as staying hydrated.

If you're more XC focused there's no doubt that some running or cycling will increase your V02Max but be careful. If I do a lot of cardio I will lose muscle mass. Right now I'm trying to cycle two to three times a week split between mountain biking and road biking, two leg days a week with a few tele-specific exercises, and hitting other muscle groups as I have time. I'm enjoying the cycling so I'm doing a bit too much and I can tell I'm losing some mass.

I do have one very specific tele exercise I'm trying that I think is helping. I won't know for sure until the winter but here it is:

On a Smith Machine set the bar over your head. Get a really heavy elastic strap (the ones in my gym look like huge rubber bands because that is what they are.) Toss the strap over the bar so that it hangs over with two loops. Stick an arm through each loop and tuck them up under your arms close to your body. Then go down into a tele stance weighting as you see fit. I'm currently really emphasizing the trailing leg because I'm weak in that motion. I'll do reps like this and use different strap weights, sometimes going down until my knee touches. It helps to put a weight on the floor to index your feet so they're the same on each side and from one set to the next.

I do it looking in the mirror so that I can also work on keeping my feet straight. I noticed last year that my trailing ski on my right foot tends to tuck in at the tip, especially as I get tired. So, I'm working on that muscle memory, too. I took a video the other day as I thought I might share it with the group here. If anyone knows how to add a .MOV I will post it, or if there is some other protocol I need to use I can convert it.

I'm getting to the point that I can go lower without a strap so I think it is helping. Some may remember that I have no ACLs and this has REALLY helped strengthen my knees so that I can actually run without them aching for the first time in years!

[fisheater]

My work boots are heavy, my yard is big and I don’t use a rider, I fish the big water (Great Lakes) in a Hobie peddle kayak. Most of all I ski by myself mostly and I only have to keep up with myself. However I do XC ski with a friend whom is 10 years younger, runs, cuts even a bigger lawn, and peddles the same kayak on the big water. Fortunately I am faster on the downhills, so we are evenly matched. I went back to the ski hill last year once a week for the first time last year. By the end of the year I could almost keep up with my ski instructor buddies that Tele. Fortunately in SE Michigan we are skiing 300 feet of vertical so that’s no problem either.
I guess I just lead a charmed life;) !

[mca80]

Walking 18 with a full bag on a regular basis is pretty good. 100 miles a week on pavement and some gravel with a heavy steel frame and 1.5" Schwalbe tyres is also good.

[blitzskier]

very informative response thanks for the input

Everyone responds differently to training. Some people respond well to "body builder BS" while others don't respond at all. All some people need to do are some off season lunges and they're ready to go. Others need a full spectrum of weights, running, cycling, etc. If you're asking your body to go into some kind of 'growth mode' whether it is adding muscle mass or ligament strengthening you will have cells dividing and creating copies of themselves. Most bodies don't want to do this because it requires more resources and humans have very little excess capacity whether it is oxygen (a few minutes), vitamin stores, glycogen, protein, etc. This means the most important thing you can do is provide yourself with the proper nutrition and sleep. Again, everyone is different and it gets more difficult as you age.

You'll also want to focus on what kind of skiing you hope to do. I can XC all day but I tire quickly when I go to downhill so I'm really focusing on building muscle mass in my legs. More mass means more glycogen reserves, more oxygen, more vascularity, and more power. Having tried many, many things, the best thing or me is weight training. I get more cardio benefit from weight training than I do from cardio. It may be the way I'm built or it might be my cardio base from 45 years of soccer. I'm also trying to get more protein, better carbs, good fat, and all the trace elements as well as staying hydrated.

If you're more XC focused there's no doubt that some running or cycling will increase your V02Max but be careful. If I do a lot of cardio I will lose muscle mass. Right now I'm trying to cycle two to three times a week split between mountain biking and road biking, two leg days a week with a few tele-specific exercises, and hitting other muscle groups as I have time. I'm enjoying the cycling so I'm doing a bit too much and I can tell I'm losing some mass.

I do have one very specific tele exercise I'm trying that I think is helping. I won't know for sure until the winter but here it is:

On a Smith Machine set the bar over your head. Get a really heavy elastic strap (the ones in my gym look like huge rubber bands because that is what they are.) Toss the strap over the bar so that it hangs over with two loops. Stick an arm through each loop and tuck them up under your arms close to your body. Then go down into a tele stance weighting as you see fit. I'm currently really emphasizing the trailing leg because I'm weak in that motion. I'll do reps like this and use different strap weights, sometimes going down until my knee touches. It helps to put a weight on the floor to index your feet so they're the same on each side and from one set to the next.

I do it looking in the mirror so that I can also work on keeping my feet straight. I noticed last year that my trailing ski on my right foot tends to tuck in at the tip, especially as I get tired. So, I'm working on that muscle memory, too. I took a video the other day as I thought I might share it with the group here. If anyone knows how to add a .MOV I will post it, or if there is some other protocol I need to use I can convert it.

I'm getting to the point that I can go lower without a strap so I think it is helping. Some may remember that I have no ACLs and this has REALLY helped strengthen my knees so that I can actually run without them aching for the first time in years!

[randoskier]

Great Britain leading the way