Yoga Ski Conditioning...NOT!

Okay, I can't take it anymore. I have a post all teed up in my head about lactate training in the weight room. I mean, the kind of piece that is the tenderloin of this site. I know readers come here looking for it and those like it. However, I've been smacked in the face a couple of times too many lately by these ski conditioning flyers on the notice board at my coffee shop. I get this little twitch after reading them and all they imply and my mind starts reeling. Then I figure, hey, wait a minute. I can write about this stuff and maybe stop getting all uppity each morning. Why, just starting this makes me feel better. So, with your permission...

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Winter...finally!

Although I assume that nearly no one reads my drivel on these pages, my website statistics function suggests otherwise. That's kinda cool, really. This fact keeps me thinking about stuff that matters to me, and hopefully you, and composing something thoughtful for the faithful to read. I'm occasionally embarrassed about the infrequency of these posts but, at least for now, am trying to turn over a new leaf. It's been less than a week and, holy crap, here's another one!

Today's post is really just a reflection that serious on-the-snow training can actually take place in earnest now that the white stuff seems to be coming in appreciable amounts. Truth be told, I've had skis on for over a month now.

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Getting More From Less

I would characterize my athletic career as primarily an endurance one. Whether it be running, swimming, cycling or skiing, my best performances have always involved breathing hard for long periods of time. In spite of this proclivity, weight lifting has always been in the picture. There have been times over the years where the weight room was where I spent the bulk of my training time. I was a pretty skinny kid, still am, and getting bigger and stronger always provided a sort of salve to those wounds sustained while being 95 pounds and attending an all-boys Catholic high school. As I approach 50 years of age (and 175 lbs.) I lift weights less for my ego and appearance and more for the performance benefits as they apply to my competitive aspirations.

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My "America's Freaking Fat!!" Rant

It's been awhile since I posted and I needed a little ditty just to get something out there to let you know I'm still breathing...and thinking.

I traveled by plane to New York to the in-laws this past weekend for a few days of eating, sleeping, talking and not much else. I made one pathetic attempt at a work out on day 3 but pretty much resigned myself to a short rest cycle before leaping back into training full-on after the holiday. I feel fat. Even more annoying was having to navigate the sea of human blubber while moving through various airports to connecting flights. It probably would've been better if we were going west to L.A. or some other epicenter of overwhelming narcissism but we were going east. Let's face it, the fewer number of days during the year where one is compelled to take their shirt off because the weather is so nice, the less people give a shit how they eat and, thus, look. Holy crap! America is FAT!

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Data Overload

Following the last article on cardiac arrhythmias, a reader wrote in with a question which I think many recreational athletes may also harbor. I thought it would be helpful to answer it as a mini topic.

"...do you think a weekend warrior like me should invest the $150 or so to have a LT and fuel efficiency test? I don't really compete, but am curious about training heart rates. I just use general guidelines and a monitor. I am also not worried at all that I am overdoing it! Your opinion is respected and appreciated." - Ralph

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