Cross Training – Part III
Mountain Biking
Aside from crashing, mountain bikes are a low impact way to get out, enjoy a long tour, work out your entire body and build up lung capacity. The biking season perfectly compliments the ski season and many skiers are strong bikers in the summer.
- Halfway there on the 100 mile White Rim in a Day (WRIAD) ride. Dr. Doug Brockmeyer decending off the backside of Murphy’s Hogback.
Mountain Unicycling
There are few sports as obscure as Mountain Unicycling (MUni), but as far as skiing goes, it is a direct hit for cross training conditioning. Unicycling requires many of the same skills as skiing, such as perseverance, balance, focus, relaxation and leg strength. Like rock climbing, it is filled with endless small, achievable goals that keep it fun and interesting. To succeed at it requires a quite upper body, just like skiing and the ability to constantly readjust your balance.
- Hands forward, back straight, focused and balanced. Is it skiing, or Mountain Unicycle riding? Louie Dawson in Park City.
Gyms
Gyms are ideal for quick, reliable workouts, especially if your outdoor options are limited. That said, they don’t seem to have much direct carry-over to ski mountaineering and I’ve never met a strong gym rat who was also a strong skier. As a Sports Physiologist once told me “Training in a gym makes you a better athlete in the gym.”
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Category: 16 Conditioning
At least with mountain unicycling, there’s no “going over the handlebars….”
D’oh!!!!
Then again, there is the full-impact groin landing. Pick yer poison. :)
Oooooooooooh……..