Sunday, December 10, 2006
NORDIC WALKING - SKI READINESS TRAINING PROGRAM (Week 2)
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I am very grateful to Stuart Montgomery for putting together this training course.
As well as being a fellow INWA Nordic Walking Instructor Stuart is a Director of Tour Operator XCuk Ltd http://www.xcuk.com the company who are providing the Nordic Walking News cross-country skiing holiday to Norway this coming February.
=====================================================================================
Welcome to Week 2 of our ski readiness course. It is intended mainly for those joining our February Cross-country skiing holiday in the snowy hills of Norway (see http://www.nordicfitnessonline.com/blue/nordicskiing/nordicskiing.htm for details). But it will also benefit anyone who wants to improve their fitness via Nordic Walking.
The course is progressive. So if you missed Week 1, then please go back to our posting of last Monday (4 December) and start from there.
This week we will concentrate mainly on using Nordic Walking to build stamina. But we will also work on muscles. This combination of stamina and muscle endurance will help prepare you for the delights (and demands) of swishing through silent forests under snow-covered trees on our cross-country skiing holiday.
Last Monday we described some useful mobilisation exercises for you to do before every workout On Friday we described some muscle stretches for you to do after every workout (Please be sure to include them in your Nordic Walking sessions).
Let’s start with the Nordic Walking sessions...
Our main emphasis this week is on getting into a habit of doing regular sessions of Nordic Walking. The aim is to help you maintain physical activity for longish periods without feeling over tired. This week we want you to work at a fairly easy intensity. By that we mean that you should be able to hold a conversation throughout the Nordic Walking sessions – if you feel out of breath then slow down. (If you want to get technical about intensity of work rate, then see the note on heart-rate monitoring at the end of this article.)
Last week we asked you to put yourself into Category A, B or C, based on your current level of participation in Nordic walking.
CATEGORY A:
If you are in this category, then this week you should do the following combination:
- Three Nordic walking sessions of 30 minutes plus two sessions of 60 minutes.
CATEGORY B
If you are in this category, then this week you should do the following combination:
- Two Nordic walking sessions of 30 minutes plus one session of 60 minutes.
CATEGORY C
If you are in this category, then this week you should do the following combination:
- One Nordic walking session of 30 minutes plus one session of 45 minutes.
Muscle Toning
Last week we introduced an exercise called the mini-squat (see last Monday posting). Mini-squats are great for toning the legs and they also help give you good balance, which of course will help your skiing skills to improve.
Last week we asked you to hold each mini-squat for a duration of just one second. And we asked you to do two or three “sets” of about 10 “repetitions” of this exercise in the course of the week. This week we want you to work just a little harder at it. Again, let’s work in our categories.
CATEGORY A:
- Hold each mini-squat for a count of five.
- Do 10 repetitions in a set.
- Do at least three sets in the course of the week.
CATEGORY B:
- Hold each mini-squat for a count of three.
- Do 10 repetitions in a set.
- Do at least three sets in the course of the week.
CATEGORY C:
- Hold each mini-squat for a count of two
- Do 10 repetitions in a set.
- Do at least three sets in the course of the week.
A note on heart rate monitoring:
If you are serious about getting fit (or if you simply like playing with gadgets) then you should consider using a heart-rate monitor to measure and control how hard you are working.
Note: You should find some heart rate monitor links in the listings in the left hand column of this website. Just click on the links to go directly to the right pages on the Amazon.com website. It doesn't matter where you live, products on Amazon.com are shipped internationally.
Most monitors consist of a chest belt that relays continuous measurements to a kind of wristwatch. But you can get others that use just the wristwatch. When using a monitor to train, the first thing to do is to determine what is called your Maximum Heart Rate or MHR...
...For men you do this by taking the number 220 and subtracting your age. A man aged 50 will therefore have a MHR of 170 beats per minute. For women you do this by taking the number 200 and subtracting your age. A woman aged 50 will therefore have a MHR of 150.
This week we have asked you, when Nordic Walking, to work at a “fairly easy” intensity. In terms of heart-rate, this means working at about 65% of your MHR. So, if you are a man of 50, you should be aiming for about 170 x 65%, which is 110 beats per minute. If you are a woman of 50 then you should be aiming for about 150 x 65%, which is 98 beats per minute.
Whether or not you use a monitor, remember to slow down if your workout ever feels too strenuous or if you feel sick or dizzy.
Note: An alternative to using a heart rate monitor is the good old fashioned method of 'pulse counting':
Pulse counting is not as convenient as using a HRM, as apart from anything else you have to stop in order to count / check your pulse rate. But here's how you do it:
With your left hand facing palm upwards, place two finger tips of your right hand about an inch below the base of your left thumb. You are looking for an intermittent throbbing sensation in your wrist (your pulse). Once you have found your pulse, next, using a watch, count the number of pulse beats for 15 seconds and then multiply this number by four to get your heart beats per minute.
We will be back next week with week 3 of this training program.
Happy training!
Stuart Montgomery (Director - XCuk Ltd)
=====================================================================================
I am very grateful to Stuart Montgomery for putting together this training course.
As well as being a fellow INWA Nordic Walking Instructor Stuart is a Director of Tour Operator XCuk Ltd http://www.xcuk.com the company who are providing the Nordic Walking News cross-country skiing holiday to Norway this coming February.
=====================================================================================
Welcome to Week 2 of our ski readiness course. It is intended mainly for those joining our February Cross-country skiing holiday in the snowy hills of Norway (see http://www.nordicfitnessonline.com/blue/nordicskiing/nordicskiing.htm for details). But it will also benefit anyone who wants to improve their fitness via Nordic Walking.
The course is progressive. So if you missed Week 1, then please go back to our posting of last Monday (4 December) and start from there.
This week we will concentrate mainly on using Nordic Walking to build stamina. But we will also work on muscles. This combination of stamina and muscle endurance will help prepare you for the delights (and demands) of swishing through silent forests under snow-covered trees on our cross-country skiing holiday.
Last Monday we described some useful mobilisation exercises for you to do before every workout On Friday we described some muscle stretches for you to do after every workout (Please be sure to include them in your Nordic Walking sessions).
Let’s start with the Nordic Walking sessions...
Our main emphasis this week is on getting into a habit of doing regular sessions of Nordic Walking. The aim is to help you maintain physical activity for longish periods without feeling over tired. This week we want you to work at a fairly easy intensity. By that we mean that you should be able to hold a conversation throughout the Nordic Walking sessions – if you feel out of breath then slow down. (If you want to get technical about intensity of work rate, then see the note on heart-rate monitoring at the end of this article.)
Last week we asked you to put yourself into Category A, B or C, based on your current level of participation in Nordic walking.
CATEGORY A:
If you are in this category, then this week you should do the following combination:
- Three Nordic walking sessions of 30 minutes plus two sessions of 60 minutes.
CATEGORY B
If you are in this category, then this week you should do the following combination:
- Two Nordic walking sessions of 30 minutes plus one session of 60 minutes.
CATEGORY C
If you are in this category, then this week you should do the following combination:
- One Nordic walking session of 30 minutes plus one session of 45 minutes.
Muscle Toning
Last week we introduced an exercise called the mini-squat (see last Monday posting). Mini-squats are great for toning the legs and they also help give you good balance, which of course will help your skiing skills to improve.
Last week we asked you to hold each mini-squat for a duration of just one second. And we asked you to do two or three “sets” of about 10 “repetitions” of this exercise in the course of the week. This week we want you to work just a little harder at it. Again, let’s work in our categories.
CATEGORY A:
- Hold each mini-squat for a count of five.
- Do 10 repetitions in a set.
- Do at least three sets in the course of the week.
CATEGORY B:
- Hold each mini-squat for a count of three.
- Do 10 repetitions in a set.
- Do at least three sets in the course of the week.
CATEGORY C:
- Hold each mini-squat for a count of two
- Do 10 repetitions in a set.
- Do at least three sets in the course of the week.
A note on heart rate monitoring:
If you are serious about getting fit (or if you simply like playing with gadgets) then you should consider using a heart-rate monitor to measure and control how hard you are working.
Note: You should find some heart rate monitor links in the listings in the left hand column of this website. Just click on the links to go directly to the right pages on the Amazon.com website. It doesn't matter where you live, products on Amazon.com are shipped internationally.
Most monitors consist of a chest belt that relays continuous measurements to a kind of wristwatch. But you can get others that use just the wristwatch. When using a monitor to train, the first thing to do is to determine what is called your Maximum Heart Rate or MHR...
...For men you do this by taking the number 220 and subtracting your age. A man aged 50 will therefore have a MHR of 170 beats per minute. For women you do this by taking the number 200 and subtracting your age. A woman aged 50 will therefore have a MHR of 150.
This week we have asked you, when Nordic Walking, to work at a “fairly easy” intensity. In terms of heart-rate, this means working at about 65% of your MHR. So, if you are a man of 50, you should be aiming for about 170 x 65%, which is 110 beats per minute. If you are a woman of 50 then you should be aiming for about 150 x 65%, which is 98 beats per minute.
Whether or not you use a monitor, remember to slow down if your workout ever feels too strenuous or if you feel sick or dizzy.
Note: An alternative to using a heart rate monitor is the good old fashioned method of 'pulse counting':
Pulse counting is not as convenient as using a HRM, as apart from anything else you have to stop in order to count / check your pulse rate. But here's how you do it:
With your left hand facing palm upwards, place two finger tips of your right hand about an inch below the base of your left thumb. You are looking for an intermittent throbbing sensation in your wrist (your pulse). Once you have found your pulse, next, using a watch, count the number of pulse beats for 15 seconds and then multiply this number by four to get your heart beats per minute.
We will be back next week with week 3 of this training program.
Happy training!
Stuart Montgomery (Director - XCuk Ltd)
