Mother nature has graced the Colorado Rockies with close to 6 feet of fresh snow in the last 8 days. Here’s a pic of a local in Crested Butte just to give you an idea of how much snow has fallen. Get your body and skis tuned up and head for the mountains!
Andrew Hooge, CSCS
Have you ever endured an all day ski outing that left you stiff as a board the following morning? Speaking from experience, it’s no picnic. Over the years I have discovered a specific series of exercises and therapeutic modalities to be very helpful in alleviating these “morning after” aches and pains. Try this “30-minute fix” routine and let us know how it works for you.
1. Ice, ice and more ice. Anyone who’s been involved in competitive sports has been plastered with ice at one time or another. The reason: It decreases inflammation helping to reduce pain and soreness. Place the ice in a protective bag or sheath (do not place directly on the skin) and compress it on to the areas of your body that are typically sore (knee, joints, thighs and lower back for most people). Check out our interview with Physcial Therapist, Mike McMorris for more on icing.
Time: 20 minutes
2. Post Ski Meal: After a long day of hard skiing the body has depleted its glycogen stores (stored energy inside the muscle) and “broken down” the muscle tissue. To help repair your body, Dr. Martin Gibala a physiology professor at McMaster University, recommends consuming at least .5 grams of carbohydrates per pound of bodyweight and approximately 10 grams of protein (more or less depending on your bodyweight) for every hour of “intense” exercise. Try a Gatorade Nutrition Shake
Time: 1-2 minutes to gulp it down
3. Myofacial Release with Foam Roller: Injuries, stress, inflammation, trauma, and poor posture can cause restriction to fascia. Since fascia is an interconnected web, the restriction or tightness to fascia at a place, with time can spread to other places in the body like a pull in a sweater. The goal of myofascial release is to release fascia restriction and restore its tissue health. In other words, tight fascia equals a tight and restricted body. Try the foam roller exercises at FitSkiing.com to help “break-up” the tissue and restore the body’s proper movement patterns.
Time: 8-10 minutes
Stay Fit Skiing!
Paul Hooge
Eight inches of snow fell on the deck, followed by twenty-two days of Indian Summer with blue bird skies, cold starry nights, and the sound of snow buns hissing in the distance. A late autumn high-pressure bubble sits on us again, but this is not unusual for the Colorado Rockies.
I remember making snow on a 250’ bump in the Ohio landscape back in 1964, about a decade into the history of man-made snow. The place was called Snow Trails, and a friend and I were responsible for putting the snow on those trails. Joe Malina, a Czech immigrant and cross-country Olympian, who later became known as “Snow Joe” at Park City, Utah, was a master at making snow; however, barely 20, we were amateurs who blew as much ice as snow while Joe slept. In the morning, Joe would critique our work; giant ice stalactites hanging from lift cables glittering in the morning sun.
“Glaciers, you’ve made me glaciers.” was all he often said; then he would bulldoze everything with an ancient John-Deer creating good base material!
In early December, I remember blowing snow onto brown grass and curling autumn leaves, trying to turn a cow pasture into a respectable ski hill. Now, I listened to the sound of the snow guns of a new generation on a big mountain. As the sun rises on another perfect day I ask myself “Where the heck is winter?” Sure, many of our friends over 50 love this little interlude of sun, lunching on the deck, and so do I, but I’m really here for the winter.
Sunrise over our mountain is around 7:30 A.M. now, and I watched it this morning just as the light caught the distant peaks across the valley and slowly flowed like a river of dawn back toward its own source. The bears are usually hibernating by now, but in the garden below our deck, there were fresh prints heading for the neighbor’s dumpster. A mountain lion has taken up residence at this end of the valley, and I have arranged my morning bike ride to avoid its territory. Soon, snow will drive the deer and elk down valley and the lion will follow. The bear will find a den and skis will replace my bicycle. Snow will eventually cover the split-rail fence behind the house.
We live at the edge of wilderness where the mountains rise above 12,000 feet and the house sits at 9,275 feet. The mountain lion is a new resident, the moose returned only a few years ago to join the elk, deer and bear. In summer, we all share this space, but in winter, they leave it to us along with the fox, a few coyotes, and the winter birds. Winter can last for six months and in some years, such as this one, it moves in slowly, but can continue through May. Winter makes you stronger, physically and emotionally while forcing you to be creative. Some researches assert that over a period of thousands of years, winter helped us to evolve. Perhaps winter is in our genes, even though some individuals resist while others embrace it. When we are compelled to make our own snow, it must be that our genes are acting out.
Andrew Hooge, CSCS
When I work with a new athlete, I ask them a battery of questions ranging from if they have a family history of heart disease to what their current workout routine looks like. Yesterday I began working with a skier whose workout was fairly thorough but lacked virtually no exercises for the posterior chain. The posterior chain refers to a group of muscles in the lower body that are key for developing explosive movements like those in skiing. Strengthening these muscles also gives more structural support to the knees and lower back. Are you working your posterior chain? Add these three exercises to your routine and you may decrease your risk for injury and improve your ability to power through new terrain this season!
Opposing Arm/Let Extension
Fit Ball Hip Extension
Single Leg Fit Ball Leg Curl
Stay Fit Skiing!
Andrew Hooge
Andrew Hooge, CSCS
Do you plan on skiing the backcountry this year? If so you might want to check out Bladerunner’s new $700 snowsports jacket with integrated GPS. I just got my hands on one and it is pretty darn sweet.
The jacket, released last week by the British clothing company, has a GPS tracking device in the lining. It can track the jacket anywhere in the world within 50 square feet. It uses Google Earth maps and updates every 10 seconds. But what if you’re on the slopes with no Internet? The jacket can also be set up to send messages to your mobile device…very cool.
According to Adrian Davis, a partner at Bladerunner, “It was originally made for mountain climbers, skiers and snowboarders.” He says the company recently decided to make a children’s version of the jacket for parents worried about their kid’s safety.
If you’re going to be skiing the backcountry this year or if you have kids that you want to keep an eye on you might give it a look.
Stay Fit Skiing!
Andrew Hooge