-
Women skiers, this is the place for you -- an online community without the male-orientation you'll find in conventional ski magazines and internet ski forums. At TheSkiDiva.com, you can connect with other women to talk about skiing in a way that you can relate to, about things that you find of interest. Be sure to join our community to participate (women only, please!). Registration is fast and simple. Just be sure to add [email protected] to your address book so your registration activation emails won't be routed as spam. And please give careful consideration to your user name -- it will not be changed once your registration is confirmed.
Quad Burn--solutions?
- Thread starter dloveski
- Start date
Sheena
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I just do a lot of squats and lunges, and hiking in the fall.
For squats, I do ALOT of squats mixing up the workout each week using several of the following:
both legs together
standing in a wide stance,
standing with one leg stretched in front, heel on the floor
standing on one leg (these also add an extra challenge, and help with core/balance), other leg stretched in front heel raised from the floor.
For squats, I do ALOT of squats mixing up the workout each week using several of the following:
both legs together
standing in a wide stance,
standing with one leg stretched in front, heel on the floor
standing on one leg (these also add an extra challenge, and help with core/balance), other leg stretched in front heel raised from the floor.
Kimmyt
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I've also noticed that I get more quad burn when I sink into the back seat... and when I'm in powder/variable conditions/mashed potatoes (which makes sense because I don't really know how to ski those and my form tends to go to schit on them, causing me to go..uh.. into the backseat).
K.
K.
Thatsagirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I do a lot of squats, lunges and step-up exercises, as well as working on balance disks. I use weights with all of these too. Another thing I always tell people: core stength is very important for skiing. You don't realize how important it is until you develop it and realize how much less fatigued you are after skiing. Your core muscles keep you centered over your skis and give you a quiet upper body, which means no sitting in the back seat (or less of it, anyway :o) and therefore less strain on your quads, thighs, knees, etc. Core exercises include working with exercise balls, medicine balls, crunches, sit-ups, etc.
The stairmaster, rower and recumbent bike are helpful too.
For cross-training sports: hiking, in-line skating, biking (hills!), snowshoeing, walking.
I hate going to the gym, but a few years ago, I realized that I was just getting too old to "wing it" during the ski season. I've always done the cross-training sports, but it really was time to add the gym work-outs to my routine. I'm glad we've gotten into the habit of going to the gym, I rarely tire when skiing now.
Thatsagirl
The stairmaster, rower and recumbent bike are helpful too.
For cross-training sports: hiking, in-line skating, biking (hills!), snowshoeing, walking.
I hate going to the gym, but a few years ago, I realized that I was just getting too old to "wing it" during the ski season. I've always done the cross-training sports, but it really was time to add the gym work-outs to my routine. I'm glad we've gotten into the habit of going to the gym, I rarely tire when skiing now.
Thatsagirl
Kimmyt said:
Me, too. I'm smart enough to know that that's the cause, but not always skilled enough to effectively do something about it!
I got tired of the gym, so this year I did yoga (3x week in the winter; 1 to 2x week rest of year) and running (4 miles/week in winter; 20+ miles/week rest of the year). Skied 6+ hours per day, 6 of 8 days in Utah, and the only quad fatigue I recall was towards the ends of 2 days and one time when I was going through a lot of slush. In all cases, the fatigue was gone by the next morning, and I experienced no soreness. I was surprised, actually. One of my yoga instructors is a tyrant, as far as yogis go; she would "warm up" our quads (and focus on breathing) by putting us in the warrior 2 position for eternity.
Thatsagirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
dloveski said:
Don't worry, we've all suffered through that. It seems to be the "initiation rights" for becoming an all-mountain, all-conditions skier. The more your practice, the easier it gets. Hang in there. It's worth it in the end!
Some things to focus on: keep your arms out in front, make sure you feel your shins pressing lightly against the tongues of your boots, use those poles like gates to keep you moving forward down the hill, look DOWN the mountain not across (as one of my favorite instructors, John Egan, once said to me, "If this was cross-country skiing, then it would be just fine to be looking across the hill but we are DOWNHILL SKIING and that requires looking and moving DOWNHILL!" :D )
Thatsagirl
Thatsagirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Pequenita said:
Great alternative to the gym. I also have friends who do Pilates.
It's worth trying a lot of different things to see what suits you, if you just can't stand the gym, or if you need a lot of variety.
Thatsagirl
cloudpeak
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Thatsagirl said:
Great advice!!!
Every time my quads start burning and my big toes start hurting, I know that I've reverted to sking in the backseat and traversing across the hill rather than sending my skis down the hill. Often, this behavior is accompanied by some less than graceful body movements. I love your intructor's comment about DOWNHILL SKIING!!!:D
This might sound counter-intuitive, but often, women experience quad burn because of a muscular imbalance between the quads and hamstrings. In short , many women have quads that are much stronger than their hamstrings. As a result, when they get on the slopes, they tend to overuse their quads. This is sometimes the reason why we end up in the back seat.
Our intuitive solution to the problem is often the opposite of what we should do. Some women do mega-sets of leg extensions (probably one of the most dangerous exercises for skiers) and doing contortion-type stretches for the hamstrings, which in turn makes them even weaker.
To alleviate the symptoms of the problem, think about getting a foam roller. (I have lots of threads about thison the fitness forum on Epic).
In the meantime, make sure that you are doing a sufficient amount of work on your hamstrings. The stability ball hamstring bridge is awesome. (again, check Epic with those keywords, lots of threads)
Once you correct the muscular imbalance, it will be easier to correct the faulty movement pattern.
Good luck!
Our intuitive solution to the problem is often the opposite of what we should do. Some women do mega-sets of leg extensions (probably one of the most dangerous exercises for skiers) and doing contortion-type stretches for the hamstrings, which in turn makes them even weaker.
To alleviate the symptoms of the problem, think about getting a foam roller. (I have lots of threads about thison the fitness forum on Epic).
In the meantime, make sure that you are doing a sufficient amount of work on your hamstrings. The stability ball hamstring bridge is awesome. (again, check Epic with those keywords, lots of threads)
Once you correct the muscular imbalance, it will be easier to correct the faulty movement pattern.
Good luck!
Reading between the lines on Epic, it seems to me it *could* also have something to do with forward lean in boots. I'm fitter this year than I have been in previous years and I *know* I'm not in the back seat, but have lower calf problems. My current boots have a lot of forward lean too which is fine for skiing but a complete s*d for walking/gondolas etc. I suspect (unsubstantiated) that the combination of trying to keep as much strain as possible off my soleus and teh forward lean in my boots could be the cause of my thigh pain. I have an appointment for new boots to be fitted in a couple of weeks. Would be interesting to see if anybody else with forward lean has thigh problems
eng_ch said:
This year I spent a lot of money on getting a really good boot fitting. The big surprise was that not only do I not need forward lean, but he shaved off some of the stuff under the foot bed to accomplish basically the opposite of a heel lift. This makes it WAY easier for me to stand up straighter in my boots, and keeps me much more balanced. If you're tipped way forward, you have to stick your butt out behind you to achieve balance (or rest your weight on your shins, which hurts after a while), putting you in a nonstop squat, which isn't easy on your quads - and it pushes you back.
I do exercise a good amount - do lots of spin classes, some weight training, balance work, etc. But my quads really haven't been sore at all this year - even after 10 consecutive days at one point, and 2-3 days a week on a regular basis. I have had some occasional minor soreness in my calves and glutes, my IT bands get tight if I'm not stretching them regularly, and my poor reconstructed, cartilege abused knees complain on a regular basis. But my quads are fine!
There's not a boot solution for everyone (or for all women). You really need to see an expert who can identify what's right for you. I tried heel lifts in the past because they are "recommended for women". And that's the exact opposite of what I need. You can certainly experiment, but the money I spent on fitting/balancing this fall was definitely well spent!
Thatsagirl
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
altagirl said:
Add me to the list of women who have bootfitting modifications that are not "the usual." I have toe lifts in my boots.
It's so important to have a good bootfitter who is willing to toss out the preconceptions of what "should" be done and do what NEEDS to be done for you.
Thatsagirl
slipnslide
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I find that I get more quad burn when I fight the mountain. I also end up in the back seat. If I stay further forward on my skis my legs are spared, even after several days. I am still figuring out my technique in the bumps and I tend to get turned into the mountain. After a long day, I am limping.
