Monthly Archives: "October 2012"

Fall training: Five steps to fitness

There it is,

The leafs are turning yellow, orange, red and your heart beat is accelerating. You can’t wait for the first snow.

But wait.  Are you in top physical condition? Telemark is one of those sports that needs great general fitness and good muscles tone. Nothing comes free, so TRAIN.

I use to get by not training and It always got me 5 to 10 days in the season to feel good on my skis. At 30, it changed, and it took me 20 days. Ouch. Then, I started to train.

Here’s what you should do to get rippin’:

Step 1: Sit down and set 3 goals you want to achieve on snow this year. Get motivated. Not just a bit. You need to be willing to make the sacrifices.

Step 2: Determine your training potential. Be honest, but again, set yourself some goals. Will you train alone or with people. That’s one big key to success. Many of you have the inner voice dilemma: With people means going to sessions in the evening, ‘do I have the time?’ Alone means more freedom but will you stay motivated. In any way, finding a training buddy will help.

Step 3: TIME: When, how and how long will training take you. Get a program that you have time to do. Little is better than none.

TELEMARK TUTORIALS

Videos that will change the way you telemark

Step 4: Do it: Many training program can be found. Here’s few ideas:

  1. With People:
    1. Take a spinning class. Yeah I know, pushing pedals on a stationary bike in a dark room with disco music… not for everyone. Wrong. So many trainers have so many different styles. Call them, check out what they offer. Take the beginner class and rip! Make it once or twice a week.
    2. Take a plyometric training program in a gym. This is the way to really feel the difference and be coached doing it. Some gym have classes and other will build you a program. This is where you training buddy will really help you push your limits.

     

  2. By yourself:
    1. Do a few minutes exercise session. Here’s a video for a quick 3 min training routine. Fun but I find it insufficient for a complete preparation http://youtu.be/bjbiZdxowCc

     

  3.  2-3 weeks in, you feel great and want more? Do both, do it all. TRAIN.

Step 5: Stay motivated: Watch telemark movies, prepare your big winter trip; buy your season’s pass, check out the latest gear. Anything that reminds you that on that first day free heeling, you will be lapping runs easily, pain free, while your buddies wonder how you’re doing it.

Bonus tip: You don’t need to do all of that. Adapt your choices to your lifestyle and your goals. Again, little is better than none.

The Pachon or Lurk, old style telemark

chenal pachon

The pachon is the french name for the lurk,

In a trip last winter to Savoie, France, telemark legend Jean-Louis Chenal gave me a pachon.

I was honored and trilled to have this beautiful piece of art. The lurk is just a long wood stick used to balanced yourself and to propel the flats. It has been replaced in modern telemark skiing with two poles.The pachon was the Sheppard stick to gather the sheep. The fun part is that it was hollowed to be filled with genepy,the local alcohol. Mine is unfortunately not hollowed (yet).

The ski part is even more interesting. You can use a bamboo stick most ski resort have. If you ask a ski patroller, he will certainly lend you one.

Skiing with a long stick has lots of advantages and everybody should try it. First the balanced is truly easier. Second and most important, it allows the telemark skier to separate the upper and lower body. Having both hands on one stick will enhanced a lot of the good and the bad. At first, concentrate in having but hands facing downhill. Don’t worry if it’s not easy at first. As you turn, you can move the lurk as a kayak paddle, making the upper body move the opposite way you’re turning. That is if your moving your right leg forward for a left turn, you will be moving your kayak stroke right, bringing the left hand forward. Make sure you keep the stroke short or you will lose balanced after one or two turns. And make sure you bring the hand forward instead of pulling on the lurk, it helps keep your hands forward all the time.

This is a good exercise but it does not meet today’s performance of two poles. See it as a way to experienced upper body and lower body counter twist.