Leg workout

[Mister Sandman]

Hi to all.

Well finally last weekend I had my first real hardboot days on the slopes after years of softbooting.

Now I workout quite a bit, in particular I dedicate 2 days a week to my legs with squats, deadlifts, bridges, stepups, calf raises, cable pullbacks.

So I thought I was in pretty good shape. ;)

Boy was I wrong! By the end of the first day my quads were killing me!

So my question is: what dedicated exercise(s) do you suggest for resistance strengthening of the legs specifically for hardbooting?

Thx!

R.

[pogokoenig]

The best exercise for carving is .... carving!

You can do a lot in the gym or on the bike or on your running course. The only result is, that you push yourself further. The pain is the same at the end. Somehow, it's part of the fun.

[Maxlanaudiere]

Nothing beats riding. Targets all the right muscles :P

[lowrider]

I can usually go a full day if groom is good on my Alpine board switched to Skwal and was killing muscles within minutes. Changing disciplines is good to wake up muscles.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Wall sits.

[gnarfy]

Leg curl / leg extention

Leg press,

there is one for calves, a plate that rotate, it look like a leg press...

[RCrobar]

Hi

what dedicated exercise(s) do you suggest for resistance strengthening of the legs specifically for hardbooting?

Thx!

R.

Cheers

Rob

[Mister Sandman]

Leg curl / leg extention

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Leg press,

there is one for calves, a plate that rotate, it look like a leg press...

this is a standard leg workout machine. I was thinking if there was something more dedicated/specific to skiing/snowboarding

Edited February 4, 2014 by Mister Sandman

[Mister Sandman]

:D :d

[patmoore]

Over a four year cycle I tried an experiment. Every other off-season I'd work my legs hard at the gym at least four days a week. The other years I did nothing. When each winter approached I'd hop on the board for a full day of riding and I'd encounter the same degree of quad burn; especially in the front leg. No exercise I've found can isolate the portions of the muscle that are most affected. I have to agree with those who say that the best training for carving...... is carving.

[Pat Donnelly]

Check out SportLegs!! This stuff really helps providing you follow the directions and take the recommended amount an hour before you start your activity and repeat as directed.

http://www.sportlegs.com/about/welcome.asp

[Bobby Buggs]

Echo the riding but the concept rower is a great piece that's often overlooked

[Beckmann AG]

Over a four year cycle I tried an experiment. Every other off-season I'd work my legs hard at the gym at least four days a week. The other years I did nothing. When each winter approached I'd hop on the board for a full day of riding and I'd encounter the same degree of quad burn; especially in the front leg. No exercise I've found can isolate the portions of the muscle that are most affected.

I've more or less replicated your experiment, only without the four days at the gym, and without the attendant first day quad burn.

It's not so much a matter of fitness, as it is a matter of what you ask of your muscles, for what duration, and how frequently.

This applies to skiing, as well as a few other activities.

For instance, Cyclists in the TDF, dope notwithstanding, ride hundreds of miles/day for days on end. One of the reasons they can do that, while the average rec cyclist cannot, has a lot to do with propulsive muscular contractions being fluid, throughout the entire pedal stroke. As opposed to having one or more 'hard spots' where the contraction momentarily stops/slows and/or holds, before resuming.

...And also the part where the activity at the front of the leg is not in conflict with the activity at the back of the leg, nor with the activity of the opposite leg.

The average cyclist is nowhere near as efficient, and therefore tires prematurely.

In the context of snowboarding, one of the easier ways to delay fatigue is to reduce the amount of time that a particular muscle group is held fast in contraction, especially while under the added stress of a turn. If you can time flexion/extension movements such that the joints are in near constant motion, they won't 'load up' as quickly.

This is a biggie, should you decide to teach yourself how to telemark ski.

As with cycling, the equipment and it's configuration make a significant difference as well.

[wjholm]

My legs stopped hurting when I finally figured out how to carve.

I workout all year and have for most of my life. When I started to carve I found my legs burned worse than anything I've ever done. I've followed many posts with suggestions for supplements and workouts that help - nothing mattered. Then at SES several years ago I noticed how many would go all day with little fatigue while I was smoked halfway down the first run. Where all these folks in that much better condition than I? I could carve well, but it took everything I had to pull it off. Over the last couple seasons things have fallen into place, both setup and technique. I can ride all day now with nothing but general fatigue - NO LEG BURN! When your body becomes efficient, your legs will stop hurting.

One caveat - with my advancing age, I've really stepped up my core conditioning. This seems to help all activities and sports.

[neanderthal]

mountainbike !

[Guest]

my 2 cents

I've had a very noticeable difference in fatigue (early season) if I keep up with longboarding during the fall and start of winter. If I don't keep up with longboarding, then I find I'm much more tired. This season was a good test because I feel I've made a lot of progress carving (technique-wise) but didn't keep up with the longboard during the fall. Much more leg burn this year. And when I say longboarding, I don't mean carving 100% of the time, I think just pushing/skating on the flats is a really good workout because you're locking up those front leg muscles in (roughly?) the same angle you would for carving. Maybe it's not how much you can lift, but how long you can sustain a lift.

[crote123]

In the summer, I pump about 3x a week my longboard(Roe Triton). Usually between <input id="mac_address" value="" type="hidden"><input id="mac_address" value="" type="hidden">20-30km per session. I never push unless I really need to. So I can pump sometimes over 15km without setting a foot down. Does wonder to the core muscles. I also visualize laying down carves while pumping :)

[Mister Sandman]

thank you all for your inputs!

will start working on some of the suggestions :)

[stevo]

[polaris]

The pornstar squat! You should try that with two ladies! Might get ya kicked out of the gym.

My legs used to kill me until I found Dom, my current trainer. Now I follow his advice. Heard in the lift line 1/31/2004: "Sweet turns! Do you race? Are you a professional?".

Sure am and I owe it all to Dom!

[patmoore]

Check out SportLegs!! This stuff really helps providing you follow the directions and take the recommended amount an hour before you start your activity and repeat as directed.

http://www.sportlegs.com/about/welcome.asp

I recently ordered Sportlegs and have been taking them. I run the NASTAR program at Okemo and it can be pretty exhausting for a 67 year old. Setting courses and fencing, pacesettting, etc. I frequently get dehydrated and I've been plagued with excruciating inner thigh cramps at night. They are so bad that I've taken to putting freezer packs directly on the bare skin. After fifteen minutes, the pain subsides. About a month ago I started taking one Sportlegs pill in the morning and one at bedtime and so far I haven't experienced the cramps.

In the off season I try to keep the quads in some semblance of shape and have found that distance unicycling helps. Descending hills gives them the best workout.

A half dozen years ago someone was seeking guidance on how to freemount a uni so I put together this short clip.

Edited February 6, 2014 by patmoore