[quote]streamline wrote:
Equipment check is now etched in the brain.[/quote]
Please - no road rash from losing a skate at 40 kph!
[quote]soldog wrote:
streamline wrote:
Equipment check is now etched in the brain.
Please - no road rash from losing a skate at 40 kph![/quote]
I don’t talk about road rash. I do however carry a first aid kit I designed just for that reason. I’m not going home in the middle of a skate just because I tore a chunk of flesh off my body. Besides it won’t start hurting until the next day. Besides what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!
[quote]streamline wrote:
I don’t talk about road rash. I do however carry a first aid kit I designed just for that reason. I’m not going home in the middle of a skate just because I tore a chunk of flesh off my body. Besides it won’t start hurting until the next day. Besides what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger![/quote]
Having had trail rash - I think I need to put a kit together too!
I followed the P90X workouts you posted at the beginning. Is there one for Chest/Shoulder/Tricep?
I’m interested in the design of the program . . . not actually doing the program itself. Horton is well known and I’m always interested in what the big guys are doing new. I like to see how he mixes exercises.
Loose screws???
Nail polish keeps screws from turning loose . . . for real hard vibration a tiny drop of Superglue will work . . . but emphasis on tiny drop!
[quote]Boss6 wrote:
I followed the P90X workouts you posted at the beginning. Is there one for Chest/Shoulder/Tricep?
I’m interested in the design of the program . . . not actually doing the program itself. Horton is well known and I’m always interested in what the big guys are doing new. I like to see how he mixes exercises.
Loose screws???
Nail polish keeps screws from turning loose . . . for real hard vibration a tiny drop of Superglue will work . . . but emphasis on tiny drop![/quote]
Thanks Boss6, I’ll PM you what I have on chest,shoulder and triceps later today.
Enjoy my skate yesterday, got to battle a strong cross wind. The back extension exercises are really working to help me stay in the speed skaters tuck for longer periods of time. This was very helpful with the wind. That wind sure does snap the energy out of the legs in a hurry.
Hoping for a short work day so I can get a skate in before my leg workout. The weather is looking iffy, so we’ll have take the day as it comes. I really enjoy skating on the commuter trail during rush hour. Lots of cyclists to keep me motivated at a high level.
Need to get up to the university to check out the road conditions. They have been doing a lot of new construction up there. Plus I have to check the distance around circle drive for Sundays time trial. Staying strong, focus and in high spirits as summer gets closer.
Yeah Baby! Now that was a leg workout. Possibly because I did a skate earlier. What ever is was it worked. Had a decent skate late this afternoon, it was windy which made for a good hard skate.
Legs this evening, just got back so I can still feel it.
3 X 50 X 220# leg press machine. I worked for this on. I can’t wait to try 240# on Sunday.
5 X 18 X 90# seated calf raises with 10# increases
5 X 8 X 45# back extensions
5 X 8 X 315# standing calf raises
All in all I’m very happy with that workout. These are pretty much the three areas that I need the most. Heavy endurance work for the over all leg needs. Great calf work for that final push with the skate and lower back work to help me endure the skating tuck. Got to make myself small, the smaller you are the less wind drag, the faster you go.
Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life, and it’s going to be a good one. Staying strong, training smart and eating right because that’s the way it’s done!
Damn Streamline, those skates look sweet. And your workouts are strong as hell Bro, awsome work!
Enjoying keeping up with the crazy stuff you get up to. Glad you are enjoying the new skates and are moving toward your goals.
Re the road rash if you crash, as a former road cyclist from anecdotal evidence, based on my numerous crashes, it starts to hurt about 12 hours after, right in the middle of a good sleep. Easy to avoid though, don’t crash!
Stay strong.
Burnesy
Thanks guys. Early morning skate, weather looks like shit so I got out early in case of rain. Shit for cyclist on the trail but had a great skate anyways. Worked on form and skating technique. Tomorrow is the my first time trial and then leg workout. I’ll try to get at least six hours rest between them.
I’m really looking forward to getting a base time for 40 km. Then the work will really begin. For love of the sport and to save my sanity.
Time Trial #1 Sunday May 11, 2008
University of Victoria
Winds 17 kmh SW
30 km 1:07:03
That was difficult the wind coming from the SW gave me a head wind on the up grade portion of the course. Took about six km to get the legs warmed up. By the end of the time trial my eyes were burning from the sweat running into them.
Take note, three lap warm up and wear a bandanna. I now have a starting point for training and a lot of hard work ahead of me. Nothing like a dose of reality to get you motivated. I’m going to wait till tomorrow to do my leg workout. There is no way I’ll get a good one in today. Have tomorrow off work so it will be legs then a skate.
Now that I know where I stand. It’s time to start the long climb up. It’s not the destination that counts but the journey where. Time to get serious.
Yeah bro- warm up and sweat control are required. I use a skull cap under my helmet made out of one of those hightech fibers. Does wonders to pull the sweat away from the drip points and up into the ventilated helmet area. I had just jumped into the tough part of the trail today without a warm up my quads would have been fried from the start.
Legs, good workout.
3 X 50 X 240# Leg press machine
5 X 20 X 90# seated calf raises 10# increases
5 X 8 X 45# back extensions
5 X 8 X 315# standing calf raises
I know I’m working because my muscles are screaming at me. I will continue increasing the weight until failure. After my time trial on Sunday, I am determined to push my legs to the absolute limit of their abilities. My cardio is fine, so until my lungs tell me different the legs are to blame. I must work harder to become stronger in order to achieve my goals.
That seems pretty quick to me, 11mph head wind or not!
Man you work hard
You know your body best but I was wondering:
How are you doing the leg press? Are those measured reps or are they performed with a fast eccentric, hold and then explosive concentric? That would somewhat replicate what you’re asking your muscles to do when speed skating.
Speed skating is a challenging sport in that it seems to require both explosive strength and isometric strength. Explosive for the push off and yielding isometric/static isometric for the 1 legged crouch.
I’d account for the legpress angle when calculating training weight. At a 45 degree angle you are really only having to apply half as much force as the weight on the carriage. That means if you put 400 lbs on, you only have to apply 200 lbs of force to move it up and down. A steeper angle - say 60 degrees or so, requires you to apply a force of 2/3 of the weight on the carriage.
In speed skating with all the weight on one foot, you have maybe 140 lbs on one leg. 400 lbs on a leg press equates to 100 lbs per leg by the calculation above. it’s not enough weight to create a strength training effect. It will produce an endurance training effect, making your muscles use oxygen better and so better at delaying lactic acid buildup - however, this won’t make you faster.
Faster comes from peak or max strength. Some good old fashioned triples and singles would help develop that.
Burns/controlled bounces from bottom to half height for high reps on the leg press bottom might assist. Weighted diagonal lunges would help with lateral stability and push off strength.
Sorry for butting in. Like I said - you know best what training you need (I don’t know squat about speed skating), just wondering if these things would help after doing a movement analysis thought experiment.
Thanks j_willy3, it’s fast just no where near fast enough. I’m never satisfied.
Thanks Skidmark. Right now my skating stride is three seconds from the upright push to the angled kickoff. Fourth second is replacing the foot. Right now I want my legs to have super endurance.
The most difficult aspect of speed skating is staying down low. That aerodynamic position is the most important and most difficult. The leg press machine with the sliding seat, which I set on the lowest position, crams me into a skating tuck.
I also use the same machine to do explosive kickoffs. With one leg down in the low position you push yourself off the plate and change legs at the zenith and repeat on the opposite leg.
Right now it’s all about keeping the legs strong for the entire hour. Since I don’t sprint but try to keep a constant pace with a methodical stride. It is a constant drain on your focus, watching for obstacles on the road and keeping your stride constant. I love the challenge of it all. Multi tasking at thirty kmh is a rush and will be a greater rush at 40 kmh. Besides if it was easy everyone would be doing it.
Rained all day yesterday, no skate 
Went to the gym and did a back workout, lats & traps. Raining this morning, it’s supposed to dry up for the afternoon. The nice weather is totally over due. I’m vastly becoming pissed off with this rain bullshit. Life really sucks when I don’t get my own way.
Skate and/or gym today. I’ve got to work on my stride timing. Basically I need to find the rhythm in the stride. Got some training to do, so where’s my sunny weather, I hate rain but I hate snow more. Did I mention, that life sucks when I don’t get my own way.
Sunny weather the last couple of days.So I’ve been working on form and pace. Counting to three repeatedly for an hour. The final kick of each stride is at the end of the three count.
The skate goes out and back, coming in from the rear at the start of the one count of the opposite foot. Hips are back over the ankles for maximum effort. As the rear foot touches down landing like a plane. The planted foot starts it’s push one, two, three kick off, out-back-in, push one, two, etc.
If I wasn’t going so fast. That would be the most boring training ever. Looking out for danger is number one priority. Stones, branches, humans, little unpredictable humans, maintenance tar (very slick in hot weather), bumps, holes, cyclists etc. Then it’s all about having fun and this much fun could be considered a sin :)!!
LOL…that sound like fun streamline! Awsome work as usual.
Time Trial #2 Sunday May 18, 2008
University of Victoria
Winds 7 kph E
30 km 1:12:02
So I did miss count a lap last week. I knew I’d figure it out one way or another this week. The weather was outstanding and the skate was awesome. Worked on keeping a constant rhythm today. All in all, it’s going great. Skates still need a little more remolding and the legs could use another two weeks of skating.
By June, I should be shaving minutes off my time. The course I’m skating is just super. A little up and down grade and a smooth blacktop. Two km per lap and very little traffic. Tomorrow is a Stat holiday so maybe another Time Trial tomorrow.