Getting fitter for winter

[Moondog55]

Last year I discovered long forgotten muscles
Pulking and man-hauled sledding uses different muscle sets to walking and skiing
I need to redevelop those muscles, if I hook-up my harness to an old truck wheel and tyre and drag that around will that work?
What other non-gym training works on your pulling muscles.

[Picaro]

If you use the wheel and harness for tabata workouts, throw in some kettlebells or even basic bodyweight exercises, you'll be good to go.

[Moondog55]

What's a "tabata" workout?
What's a "kettlebell" ?
I will be using the dumbbells and Swiss ball for the basic back exercises to be sure

[Picaro]

Basically, tabata is that you turn your harness drag into a set of sprints.
20 seconds you go flat out as fast as you can
10 second break......
and repeat 8 times....if youre not a quivering lump of jelly after the 4 minutes, you did it wrong.
Heres a link if you want to look into it a bit more..http://tabatatraining.org/

Kettlebells are a bit like dumbells, but where dumbells tend to be used for isolated areas, kettlebells are more of a compound workout.
Google anything on Steve Cotter, he's a very clear teacher of the method.

But as I said, tabata's plus bodyweight( pushups, planks, chinups etc will be pretty comprehensive.

[Moondog55]

OK We used to call that sprint training, complete draining of all the glycogen in the system. 10 minutes of that was supposed to be the equivalent of a 20 kilometer LSD run
( Long Slow Distance)

[puredingo]

Did he say "pulling muscle on LSD"...Man I'm sorry i missed the 60's, what an age!!!

[wayno]

i used to be a regional sprint representative
training like tabata needs to be built up gradually.
i wouldnt suggest doing the 20 sec x 8 reps to start with at all.
and i wouldnt suggest going flat out either on the first session.
just exercise more intensely than normal and stop if you get sore or feel anything pull or you cramp up...
the older you are the longer you should take to build up to a full session could be months.....
and i wouldnt advise it at all if you have any known heart issues....

[Moondog55]

"" If you remember the 60s you weren't really there ""

[wayno]

as a former athlete i read truckload of physiology, i've also been an endurance athlete as well as a sprinter...
there is no equivlent between intense training and long slow distance training,
the intense reps use a glycolictic independant energy metabolism pathway, commonly but incorrectly called anaerobic, anaerobic is even more intense as used in throwing and jumping not for energy production lasting tens of seconds...
long slow distance uses the aerobic energy metabolism pathway
most of the energy used in bushwalkin in aerobic''
aerobic training should be the bulk basis of your training, as it is for all successful endurance athletes.
the intense training is just used for athletes to peak for periods of several weeks. if you use the intense reps too often you risk injury and burnout.
the equivalent comment might relate to production of growth hormone, but thats not the b all and end all as far as exercise goes...
yes reps can help but i'm seeing a lot of information lately that over rates it in the bigger scheme of things in an exercise regime...

[Moondog55]

I get that, I ran marathons in my youth.
Once yet get a little fitter tho, including some sprint training did seem to help me in the past, I used to do 100 meter windsprints ( run the 100m flat out and slowly walk back to the star repeat until exhausted ) about once a week and not run that day.
I used to use my walking and skiing holidays to get fit, now it's the other way around.

[wayno]

30 second reps bring the biggest benefit, make sure you recover enough in between them though.
i wouldnt recommend the 20 x 8 too close to a big walk, i'd only recommend a session like that once a week for most people.
it really messes with your body chemistry and can take a bit of recovering from, how much varie from person to person and age... use common sense as to how much its used. '
i remember the first time i did 100m reps. cramped my calves , they locked solid and tore, took two weeks to recover from....

[photohiker]

I booked into the physio recently to get an assessment so I could fine tune my training for the 14 day walk I'm doing in May...

Interesting results. Core is good, Obliques are exemplary, legs need some work, esp quads and calves. I'm wondering if this is a side effect of using the walking poles, they don't have a physio test for hiking with poles.

Came away with some strengthening exercises for legs (1 and 2 leg Squats, calf raises), some bridging. Also 2 sessions per week of Pilates for building strength and control. Cardio and load acclimatisation as per normal - slog up those hills!

I won't have any results to share until June, but happy I went down this path. Nothing like an educated third party opinion on condition, it's all too easy to fool yourself.

[Maelgwn]

Roller skating is good for skiing muscles, its amazingly similar. Maybe roller skating with some sort of four wheeled trolley behind you!

[madmacca]

Moondog,

I'm not surprised that you found yourself using different muscles.

In carrying a pack, most of the forces are going directly downward. With a pulk, the forces are horizontal, and you use a lot of your core muscles to ensure your torso is continually braced and transmitting those horizontal forces down through your legs.

Bodyweight strength exercises like planks or bridges are really going to strengthen those muscles. Deadlifts as well.

I don't mean to diss kettlebells (they are an awesome workout), but in this case, with the emphasis on horizontal rather than vertical forces, I think that resistance bands/tubing, or suspension trainers are the better items. Low mount hip flexors with bands are another important exercise for the relevant muscles.

Wayno - the interval approach to training is probably the best way to increase aerobic fitness. Tabata is probably the extreme in terms of intervals, and in this case, aiming at 1 min intervals of fast (but not flat out) followed by 2 minutes of 'normal' is probably more the fitness level to be aiming at. As you say, once a week is plenty for this style of training, and presumably for his other workouts, Moondog will be aiming at longer more 'endurance' style workouts for the rest of the week.

Mad

[wayno]

interval training is a better use of time for gaining fitness but , high volume low intensity aerobic exercise is proven as the best way of developing endurance, it develops more blood vessels and then metabolism necessary for endurance exercise and its whats practiced by top endurance athletes the world over since arthur lydiard introduced the training in the fifties.
better circulatory system means blood and nutrients get delivered to cells faster and toxins removed faster from the cells..
people think intense exercise is better when they get a lower body fat but fat metabolism is more improved in endurance excercise you can get more energy from your fat reserves by practicing low intensity aerobic exercise, your body is better at storing it as well hence the fat reserves dont rop as much and theres a lot more to good health than low body fat. a friend of mine i a naturopath and he finsds shockingly low levels of minerls in athletes with low body fat

[Picaro]

Moondog's OP is in relation to developing muscle, not so much aerobic endurance. Hence the suggestions of interval training, plus bodyweight or whatever.
Thats what is going to create a decent level of hormesis in order to initiate hypertrophy in those muscles. Once or twice a week is the correct schedule for any HIIT.
Recently there has been talk of data coming in to show that interval training is as good as high volume for aerobic development, without the negative physiological and endocrinologic effects associated with much of the "endurance" exercises. Walking pace....anything keeping the cardio vascular within walking pace range is the only high volume I would suggest.
As for body fat. I'm not sure why that was raised as an issue, but reducing hollow carbs and raising dietary fats will be of benefit to most in this area.

[wayno]

thats cool
its just that a lot of popular exercise regimes now tout high intensity as the only way to go and also having ripped abs etc as the way to be...
just trying to lend balance.
mix up your workout types for best effect...

[Moondog55]

Well as my running days are well over, (back problems with age related arthritic degeneration) most of my preparation will be walking, interspersed with pulling the old truck wheel and some core work on the Swiss ball.
Not trying to be a super athlete, I just want this winter to be not spoiled by my lack of reasonable fitness; as I will only be able to take 2-3 weeks away from my volunteer work

[Wollemi]

Pulking and man-hauled sledding uses different muscle sets to walking and skiing I need to redevelop those muscles, if I hook-up my harness to an old truck wheel and tyre and drag that around will that work?

Yes. Quite similar to sled-hauling. Yet a sled will up-turn on a snow-covered FT. A truck-tyre would probably not.
Getting the truck tyre back into any station wagon would be an exercise in grunt I reckon.

And unless you live on acreage, where do you train? Running long sealed roads that end in locked NPWS lands lately I have seen people do 130 in 80 zones – a bit of concern when tethered to a rubber block, don’t you think?

OK We used to call that sprint training, complete draining of all the glycogen in the system. 10 minutes of that was supposed to be the equivalent of a 20 kilometer LSD run( Long Slow Distance)

A Long Slow Distance run such as Windsor to Wiseman’s Ferry (44km in 7hrs, incl. stops) + 5hrs Mt Wilson area to Bilpin has suited me to experience freedom and ever-changing natural sights while on foot.

a friend of mine is a naturopath and he finds shockingly low levels of minerals in athletes with low body fat

How is the naturopath getting the samples? Blood – would need a doctor’s referral, or just a colour charted urinalysis?

[wayno]

hair mineral analysis. when he supplements the missing minerals he gets good responses.

[wayno]

aerobic fitness is a bit of a misnomer
the average nepalese has less aerobic capacity than the average aclimatised westerner in nepal. but they have superior blood vessel development which more than makes up for the lack of aerobic capacity and their blood isnt thicker with extra red blood cells that outsiders have, less stroke risk
they have developed that response genetically as much as from their lifestyle of a lot of exercise...
some of the best high altitude climbers in the world dont have the highest aerobic capacities...
a bit of intense exercise on top of a lot of long slow distance trumps intense exercise alone...
overall the body has been better prepared to handle any sort of exercise through a base of endurance excercise but at the end of the day its whatever time you can afford on exercise...

[puredingo]

Mind over matter, boys....mind over matter.

[wayno]

i don't mind and it don't matter....

[Moondog55]

In answer to Wollemi's query; to start with I will be going around the block on the concrete footpath.
Start with one tyre and one lap and work my way up.
I picked up 2 old Landcruiser split rims and old tyres yesterday, that is more than enough weight to start with and I may never get around to dragging both as I cannot imagine dragging a pulk that weighs as much as two of these. Although I am reminded of the old army adage "Train hard; fight easy"

[Moondog55]

Helping my old dad move some timber yesterday and I found an old wheel and tyre, I am now trying to explain to the boss why I brought it home but I have decided to start with something smaller and lighter because of this find, there is a big difference between dragging 20 kilos and dragging 50. I have to feed my step-daughters cats while she is away so as the house is 2 klicks from me that is my starting distance. Rope and a bit of garden hose to stop wear on the rope is all I need. Pictures as soon as I can LOL

[Moondog55]

Wow I just did my first walk pulling the small car tyre. Only the short distance to SDs place ( 1.5 klicks not 1.25 ) to feed the cats. 25 minutes to get there 10 minutes cleaning out litter boxes [yuck and double yuck] and 25 minutes to get home. I am drenched with sweat as it was still 28 C .
All I can say is that is the correct sort of training for pulling a sled and a 25 kilo tyre is harder to pull than I thought it would be.
A real workout for those small muscles inside the thighs as well as an abdominal one as I made an effort to breathe deep and properly

[andrewbish]

Pics please

[wayno]

its ok mate, the men in the white coats with a special long armed jacket for you will be round shortly

[Moondog55]

Well it was a topic of conversation with heavily tattooed blokes on street corners LOL.
Photos are promised and will eventuate. Being unaccustomed exercise this morning I am a little sore so tonite will be just walking, I don't want any injuries as I heal more slowly these days.
Thanx for the help so far fellers
Wayno the blokes in white coats are keeping their distance as long as I keep taking my dried frog pills