Avoid the Burn
Avoid ‘The Burn’ with These Exercises
December 18, 2003, Section: Get Out! Page: C6 Chris Barge, Camera Staff Writer
Funny thing about “The Burn.” Seems like no matter whether I`m downhill or tele skiing or snowboarding, I always feel it in the same part of my legs.
Scientifically speaking, what`s going on is … oh, here, this guy can explain it better than me:
“Fatigue is really pretty localized, on the lower part of the thighs, and that`s because you have this sustained isometric contraction putting pressure on the blood vessels,” says University of Colorado physiology professor Robert Mazzeo. “The muscle is lacking in oxygen and blood flow, and that builds up lactic acid, which causes the burning sensation.”
If “The Burn” happens to you, as it inevitably does to me, Mazzeo cautions us to slow down or to stop and take a break to allow the legs to recover.
Or, better, yet, whip yourself into such wicked shape that you won`t ever even feel “The B.” Here`s how to get started:
Before you start training, do us all a favor and warm up. Jog around the block or take five minutes on a stationary bike. No one wants to see you pull a muscle before you get started.
Stretch. I know, this is like reminding an athlete to drink water. But it`s important enough to mention. Stretch before and after each workout, and especially before, during and after a day on the slopes. Cold muscles and ligaments need love.
Now you`re ready for a one-hour workout.
Several gyms around Boulder offer intense classes specifically geared for ski conditioning. At RallySport Health and Fitness Club, former University of Colorado skier Amie Bervy runs 50 skiers, mostly males, through the wringer every Monday and Wednesday evening.
“It`s not rocket science,” she says. “It`s basically training the body on land to do something on snow.”
Bervy says she likes to focus on building core strength and stability, as well as leg plyometrics, which involves stretching the thigh muscles before they are contracted. An example is jumping straight up into the air, then landing into a squat and immediately jumping again.
Corey Wiegand boasts that his plyometrics and ski conditioning class on Tuesdays at 6:30 p.m. at Mountain`s Edge Fitness ($10 for non-members) is “the hardest class in Boulder, guaranteed.” And while Bervy focuses on strengthening the same core muscles that athletes need for skiing, snowboarding, mountain biking, running and hiking, Wiegand insists that athletes should train slightly differently depending on their snow discipline.
“There`s a huge difference,” Wiegand says.
Skiers — put your feet together and do plyometric jump-rebound-jumps as high as you can until you`re spent. Then graduate to one-leg plyometrics.
Snowboarders — open your stance a little wider, and incorporate more side-to-side and spinning movements into the jump-rebound-jumps.
Telemark skiers — prepare to duck walk. Stay low and walk around the room for a full minute without coming up.
Cross-country skiers — hit the Nordic Track machines.
“Be creative and playful,” says Glenn Hattem, a National Strength and Conditioning Association-certified trainer for the Flatirons Athletic Club and Mountain`s Edge.
Flatirons offers ski conditioning classes ($12 per session for non-members) at noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and at 5:30 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays.
As for tools, Hattem recommends looping stretchy Therabands or tubing between the ankles while you walk sideways, forwards, and diagonally. Use uneven surfaces like Dyna Disk exercise boards and vinyl inflatable Swiss balls to work on ankle, knee and hip stability. Slide boards help build leg and arm strength. And weighted medicine balls serve as great added stress on the upper body when held during squats.
Toward to the end of the workout, treat your legs to a self-myofascial release, or “cheap massage,” to use Hattem`s term, by sliding up and down a foam roll on the floor.
Finally, focus on your nutrition. A nice full breakfast that includes protein is essential an hour or so before a workout or a day on the hill. Once skiing, be careful not to eat a big lunch, or you`re toast for the rest of the day. Just keep yourself hydrated with water or a half-sports-drink-half-water mix, snack on an energy bar midday, and have a big meal right after you`re done skiing so you don`t bonk on the drive home.
“The idea here is not feeling like crap the next day,” Hattem says.
