Great Training Tricks
The more birds you hit with your training stone the better it is.
The less alienated it is. The closer to home it can be.
So come home from that training roller ski with a pack full
of groceries! Save gas!
Work out in your yard instead of at the gym. Or pick the gym
closer to home.
Mow the yard real fast instead of go running.
Make all your household activities LOTS HEAVIER instead of
lifting weights. Circuit sweeping!
(Altho I’m not sure how babysitting fits into this. I’m a bit
dubious of the Sport Families with those poor babies in their
SuperStrollers whippin along. Did you see now they have
wrestling cages for babies? You wear it on your back, it
has something like a roll-cage, so you can do wrestling
workouts with your baby and it won’t get hurt.)
******
Summer: lawn-mowing & hoeing: best training!
In autumn, we now all know that *leaf-raking* is the best training.
(V1 specificity, lats, delts, rotation, etc….)
However, in summer, I’m sure that most of us are aware that success comes
from weekly lawn-mowing and garden hoeing.
The very best skiers mow with manual rotary mowers and keep them
well-waxed, I mean oiled. And there’s nothing like a big garden and a
sharp base-preped hoe to work the poling muscles.
Actually, World Class skiers are those who find the extra
time for *digging* and other shovel work (mattocks for the
truly elite).
Lastly, as is almost common knowledge, riding your bike to
work and for all errands (loaded with groceries, etc.), is the
main way that the elite worldwide build their endurance base.
I’m sorry to dwell on so many summer activities, but I just
thought we needed a little refresher so everyone can know where
they stand as we prepare for the upcoming season. If you come
up a little short, you’ll know why.
Are you ready?
Once more—-this is a drill, after all—here is what you need for
training success:
*Phase One (base): lawn-mowing, hoeing, digging, commuting and
errand-cycling. (wheelbarrowing if necessary, post-holing if the
coach has you built up to ‘two-a-days’)
*Phase Two (specificity): autumn leaf raking, (with the most elite
being pulled out of some work-outs to go TRAIL-BUILDING—this
is most common in Olympic years, and the source of most team
jealousy)
*Phase Three (peaking): snow shoveling, (sled-pulling–depending
on age)
*Phase Four (shopping): —For ultra-light, high-performance hoe, shovel,
rake, mower, wheelbarrow. (Believe me, I have fantasized about all these
things! Carbon handles…titanium parts…kevlar!) (Now that I think of
it, I’m not sure that yardwork footwear and apparel is where it
needs to be for best results. Wicking anyone?)
There it is, it’s finally come to me, the name for this new
training system: *YARDWORK*
