Monday, January 29, 2007
Nordic Walking - Ski Readiness Training Program (Week 9)
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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.
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Welcome to Week 9 of our 10-week course.
It is intended mainly for those joining our cross-country skiing holiday in Norway next week. Snow conditions are excellent in Norway right now, with over a metre of snow and more falling, and a great time is promised. (For details of the holiday see http://www.nordicfitnessonline.com/blue/nordicskiing/nordicskiing.htm).
But the course will also benefit anyone who wants to improve their fitness. If you missed the last eight weeks, please go back to our posting of 4 December where you will find the overall rationale. Please also remember that in earlier postings we described mobilisation exercises for you to do before every workout, and muscle stretches to do after every workout.
Nordic Walking
During this course we have increased the intensity of your Nordic walking sessions. First we added some speed work. Then we introduced hill-work. Then we increased the duration of your sessions. Then we did still more speed work. Then we asked you to introduce some double-poling. You are now working quite hard – well done!
This week we want you to ease off a little. Do the same number of sessions as last week, but in general don’t work just quite so hard. The one exception to this rule is that, in place of one of your longer sessions, we want you to repeat the “time-trial” you did in Week 1. So, after warming up, go out Nordic walking and walk for exactly one hour on a route that you can measure, ideally the same route you used in Week 1. Walk at a brisk but comfortable pace. You should feel that you are having a good workout, but you should still be able to maintain a conversation throughout.
How far did you walk? Was it further than the distance you managed on Week 1?
We hope so!
Muscle Toning
We continue to work on mini-squats, which are great for toning the legs.
This week, like last, do three sets of 12 repetitions of this exercise in the course of the week:
CATEGORY A
Hold each mini-squat for a count of ten.
CATEGORY B
Hold each mini-squat for a count of five.
CATEGORY C
Hold each mini-squat for a count of three.
Muscle Toning and Balance
Throughout the course we have been using mini-squats to help our ski-balance as well as tone our muscles. We have developed a sequence of exercises, with a total of nine positions. Here is the sequence once again. (Remember to hold on to the back of a chair if you feel unsteady during this exercise.)
1 Squat slowly down into the basic position. Hold it for a count of five.
2 Without standing up, shift your body weight straight across until it is almost all over the left foot. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
3 Now shift your body weight straight across until it is almost all over the right foot. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
4 Now shift your body weight a little forward, over the balls of your feet. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
5 Now shift your body weight a little backward, over your heels. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
6 Now shift your body weight diagonally forward to the left, over the ball of your left foot. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
7 Now shift your body weight diagonally forward to the right, over the ball of your right foot. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
8 In the second last movement of the sequence, shift your body weight diagonally backward to the left - over your left heel. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
9 Finally, shift your body weight diagonally backward to the right - over your right heel. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position and then stand up. And take a well-earned rest
Try to find time to do this routine five times during the course of the week.
Happy training!
Stuart Montgomery (Director - XCuk Ltd)
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Have you booked your place on our cross-country skiing holiday? With less than one week to go there is still a last minute chance that we may be able to accept your booking but don't delay visit the website today:
http://www.nordicfitnessonline.com/blue/nordicskiing/nordicskiing.htm
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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 9 of our 10-week course.
It is intended mainly for those joining our cross-country skiing holiday in Norway next week. Snow conditions are excellent in Norway right now, with over a metre of snow and more falling, and a great time is promised. (For details of the holiday see http://www.nordicfitnessonline.com/blue/nordicskiing/nordicskiing.htm).
But the course will also benefit anyone who wants to improve their fitness. If you missed the last eight weeks, please go back to our posting of 4 December where you will find the overall rationale. Please also remember that in earlier postings we described mobilisation exercises for you to do before every workout, and muscle stretches to do after every workout.
Nordic Walking
During this course we have increased the intensity of your Nordic walking sessions. First we added some speed work. Then we introduced hill-work. Then we increased the duration of your sessions. Then we did still more speed work. Then we asked you to introduce some double-poling. You are now working quite hard – well done!
This week we want you to ease off a little. Do the same number of sessions as last week, but in general don’t work just quite so hard. The one exception to this rule is that, in place of one of your longer sessions, we want you to repeat the “time-trial” you did in Week 1. So, after warming up, go out Nordic walking and walk for exactly one hour on a route that you can measure, ideally the same route you used in Week 1. Walk at a brisk but comfortable pace. You should feel that you are having a good workout, but you should still be able to maintain a conversation throughout.
How far did you walk? Was it further than the distance you managed on Week 1?
We hope so!
Muscle Toning
We continue to work on mini-squats, which are great for toning the legs.
This week, like last, do three sets of 12 repetitions of this exercise in the course of the week:
CATEGORY A
Hold each mini-squat for a count of ten.
CATEGORY B
Hold each mini-squat for a count of five.
CATEGORY C
Hold each mini-squat for a count of three.
Muscle Toning and Balance
Throughout the course we have been using mini-squats to help our ski-balance as well as tone our muscles. We have developed a sequence of exercises, with a total of nine positions. Here is the sequence once again. (Remember to hold on to the back of a chair if you feel unsteady during this exercise.)
1 Squat slowly down into the basic position. Hold it for a count of five.
2 Without standing up, shift your body weight straight across until it is almost all over the left foot. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
3 Now shift your body weight straight across until it is almost all over the right foot. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
4 Now shift your body weight a little forward, over the balls of your feet. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
5 Now shift your body weight a little backward, over your heels. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
6 Now shift your body weight diagonally forward to the left, over the ball of your left foot. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
7 Now shift your body weight diagonally forward to the right, over the ball of your right foot. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
8 In the second last movement of the sequence, shift your body weight diagonally backward to the left - over your left heel. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position, without standing up, and hold it for a count of five.
9 Finally, shift your body weight diagonally backward to the right - over your right heel. Be careful not to fall over: this is not a stable position. Hold for a count of five. Return to the basic position and then stand up. And take a well-earned rest
Try to find time to do this routine five times during the course of the week.
Happy training!
Stuart Montgomery (Director - XCuk Ltd)
=====================================================================================
Have you booked your place on our cross-country skiing holiday? With less than one week to go there is still a last minute chance that we may be able to accept your booking but don't delay visit the website today:
http://www.nordicfitnessonline.com/blue/nordicskiing/nordicskiing.htm
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