FitSugar

Freeskiing Champion Kit Deslauriers Shares Her Training Secrets

Guest Writer — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 04:00:42 PST

The following post was written by North Face athlete and champion freeskier Kit Deslauriers.

Why bother with cross training
My first philosophy is to never get bored so it is important to me to mix it up as far as cross training goes. Secondly, to carry a big pack and still ski the things we do, the core of the body has got to be incredibly strong. Combining this concept of core strengthening with keeping it fresh is the most important cross training combination to me since power comes both from our core and our minds.

Mountain post meets the mountain
If you can guess a single workout that targets both the core and the mind you will discover what I call my secret weapon: yoga. A strong body is a flexible body. I first discovered yoga when I was in pursuit of my World Freeskiing Tour titles and I became fascinated by the concept of ‘embracing my stiffness because I worked hard to get it’ while full of enjoyment with the moments of mental clarity during the challenging poses, and well-rounded by the humility required to continue to practice at something that I am most likely not the best in the room at.

Beyond yoga here are some more cross training tips:

If an Elliptical and Bike Were to Procreate: ElliptiGO

Susi May — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 03:00:24 PDT

I find the elliptical a piece of necessary evil in my life. It's not my fave cardio workout, but it's convenient (we have one tucked into a corner of our home gym) and gentle on the joints. Unlike an outdoor run, where after 30 minutes you start to dread running but you still have to get yourself home, I can just hop off the elliptical. Dare I say it? Ellipticizing is boring.

Keeping all the pros of the elliptical (the graceful, low impact stride) and eliminating the cons (you just don't go anywhere on the thing) is the ElliptiGo ($2,200), an elliptical powered bicycle. I rode one around AT&T Park in SF the other day and I felt like a gazelle gliding along the Embarcadero, taking in the sights while playing hooky. Similar to a bike, the ElliptiGO has two wheels, but you stand rather than sit - so you burn more calories than cycling since you're weight bearing. The ElliptiGO is powered by the same motion as my home elliptical; you use the large footplates like pedals to move the chain, which powers the wheels. The incline is set fairly high so your hips and knees move through a large range of motion, similar to running. Working at a moderate pace on a flat road, I was going about 13 miles per hour and it felt great. I didn't climb any hills on the ElliptiGO, but I was told it is definitely doable, especially since it has eight gears.

The price tag is steep, but similar to a carbon fiber road bike. You can buy a stand, just like an indoor trainer for bikes, to use the ElliptiGo inside, which seems odd since the upside of the machine is you can use it outside. But the stand adds versatility to your investment and with the price tag over two grand I would call an ElliptiGO an investment. The ElliptiGO fits folks 5' to 6' 6" tall (it has a telescoping handlebar stem) with a maximum weight of 250 pounds. Perfect for cross training for both runners and cyclist, the ElliptiGO also challenges the core as you make micro adjustments as you cruise along.

Check out one in motion.

Another Reason to Cross-Train: Make That Connecting Flight!

FitSugar — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 05:50:00 PDT

Though I prefer direct flights, it's impossible to get to my hometown flying direct - there are no flights offered. Even though I've instituted a mandatory two-hour layover policy, somehow delays always leave me cutting it close. This past weekend was no exception; after an initial flight delay, I found myself racing through Washington DC's Dulles airport, which consists of three separate buildings connected by trains and shuttle buses. Transferring between gates and terminals presents many obstacles, and as I raced between terminals to make my connection, I couldn't help but laugh at all of the different workouts I managed to squeeze in before I (thankfully) made it to the second plane with 60 seconds to spare.

Gear Review: New Balance WX710 Cross-Trainer Shoes

FitSugar — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 05:50:26 PST

When it comes to working out, I like to be outside. For outdoor runs I wear my Lunar Glides, and when I'm trekking in the mountains I stick to my Nike Wildedge approach shoes. Unfortunately, getting an outdoor workout isn't always in the cards, in which case, I hit the gym near my office. Since I don't like lugging around a lot of stuff and I'm pretty non-committal about what piece of gym equipment I use, I wanted a light and versatile pair of gym sneakers. It also made sense that they shouldn't be too pricey since they weren't going to be my primary kicks. So when New Balance sent me a pair of its WX710 cross-trainers ($60), I was stoked to try them out.

These shoes are light, way light. At 7.6 ounces per shoe, they weigh less than any sneaker I've owned and I barely even feel them in my bag. Apparently, the cushions of the shoes are made with a patented foam that's 12 percent lighter than other foams on the market. Weight seems like a small point to make, but when you're lugging around workout clothes, a laptop, and stuff from the office, every ounce you can shave off counts. And with all the caps on baggage allowances these days, I'm definitely making these sneakers my go-to fitness shoes for traveling.

To see what I liked and didn't like about these shoes,

Words That Move You . . .

FitSugar — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:20:57 PST

"I do my best thinking when I am running. I don't know why that is - everything seems to flow so easily. It's almost a spiritual thing for me."
- Apolo Ohno, Olympic Speed Skater

Even Apolo cross trains with running. Need a little more motivation to lace up your sneakers? Check out all of my words that move you.

Gear Review: Powerhouse Hit the Deck Workout System

FitSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 03:00:17 PST

Powerhouse Hit the Deck ($20) is a new workout system that you can do "anywhere, anytime, with no fitness equipment needed." It's made up of 35 color-coded cards and an interval timer. Each card has a strength/cardio exercise on it, and its color denotes the exercise's level of difficulty. The levels are broken down in a cute way - no sweat (easy), I'm glistening (medium), and sweating buckets (hard) - and there are five warmup/cooldown cards too.

Using the Powerhouse deck is pretty simple:

Set the interval timer to how long you want to do an individual exercise - I set mine to 30-second intervals.
Always start each workout by drawing the yellow cards; these are the warmup exercises.
Read over the first card, hit the timer, and do as many repetitions of the exercise on the card as possible until the timer beeps.
Stop the timer, draw the next card and repeat.
After getting through the warmup exercises, draw from the rest of the deck and continue the process for as long as you like.

To see what I thought of the system,

Cross Train With Every Step

FitSugar — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 14:21:16 PDT

If you're training for a marathon and logging 40-plus miles a week, there is one physical activity you still do much, much more than running: walking. With every step you take, you can better prepare your body for running. Here's how to cross train with every step:

Posture: The alignment of your spine, pelvis, and ribcage is an important element of being an efficient runner. While posture can be the last thing on your mind as you're running sprint intervals, you can pay attention to your torso alignment while moving at the leisurely pace of walking.
Abs: When walking, just like when running, work on engaging your low and deep abs. Your low belly, about two inches below your belly button should be taut. This helps to keep your pelvis stable so your momentum keep you moving forward rather than wasting energy with side-to-side movement of your pelvis.

Learn two more tips.

Pilates For Cross Training

FitSugar — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 03:00:00 PDT

I firmly believe Pilates makes everything better. I have been selling the exercise method as a form of cross training to many of my endurance athlete friends - primarily because many endurance athletes skimp on strength training due to lack of time, lack of interest, or they just plain don't know that there are so many reasons do it.

Pilates is great for runners, swimmers, and cyclists because it works the core, and a strong stable core makes you more efficient and less prone to overuse injuries, which can plague endurance athletes. As a cross-training method, Pilates works flexibility training into the many multitasking moves that make up the exercise repertoire. Keeping muscles flexible protects your joints and helps prevent injury. Lastly, Pilates is a form of functional fitness, meaning many of the exercises translate directly into everyday actions, from lifting heavy objects to leaning forward over handle bars.

If you're training for a marathon or a long-distance swim, make sure to schedule time for cross training and be sure to check out Pilates.

Source

Cross-Training Injury Prevention

FitSugar — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:00:00 PDT

Active people and athletes are all about cross-training because the variety helps burn extra calories, it keeps workouts from getting boring, and it helps to strengthen your entire body. More important, it's recommended to help prevent injuries caused by repetitive movements or over-use of muscles. Ironically though, injuries can happen when switching up your routine, either because you're new to the activity, you're not paying attention, or because your competitive edge kicks in and you push yourself too hard. So keep these in mind:

You don't have to work hard all the time. When cross-training, make sure you balance hard workouts with more relaxing, low-impact ones. It'll save you energy and give your body a chance to rest.
Don't push yourself beyond your limit. You might be able to run a mile in less than six minutes, but flexibility, is just not your thing. If you experiment with yoga and the class is all about intense hamstring stretches, don't force your body to do what it's not trained to do. You could end up tearing a muscle that prevents you from exercising at all.

To hear the other tips

Cross-Training Quiz

FitSugar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 10:15:00 PDT

We're constantly told to cross train, but do you really know what that means? Take this fun little cross-training quiz to see how much you know and to find out if cross training is for you.

Source

Take the Quiz