Dryland for Wet-ish Days

Late October into November can, in a word, suck. We have had an average of 3-4 days of wet, punctuated with 3-4 days of dry(ish) weather for going on three weeks. There is no snow for skiing, but you can't always get out on rollerskis (at least, I don't, for safety reasons). If you like misery (which I don't), I suppose you can bike.

So, when the roads & trails are dry, then I hit the bike. When it is truly wet, there is the trainer and the slide board, the pool and the weights. But I absolutely HATE those in between days--you know the ones I mean: where it spritzes on and off, never getting fully soaking wet, but never truly drying off, either. The thought of another indoor workout just makes me want to gag. Really: a person can only train inside for so long. Guess it's time for "dry" land--not my favorite thing to do, but fresh air is better than stale, musty, sweaty-gym smell. If you're not into it, I understand--neither am I, really. But, I coach this stuff, so I should know it & do it. And, even though many exercises seem more oriented to classic technique, we skaters can still benefit.

Pole Hike: This is always an easy one. Grab an old pair of poles, some shoes you don't mind getting schmutzy, and off you go. You can avoid muddy trails and stick to the grassy and/or gravelly ones, and not get too dirty. Then you can add some...

Bounding: To get that power, don't just walk, bounce! (Well, bound, really...). This video is pretty decent (but since my computer's sound is dead, don't trust me re: vocals...).

Plyometrics (& Skills Drills): On the same topic of bouncing power, there are plyometrics--you know, that jump all over hell thing to work on balance and strength. But, you also need to do it skillfully. I like the video I added below because it shows you the good ol' favorites: the "falling" drills for both classic and skate, and variations on the uphill bounding for classic & skate. There are also some one-legged plyos/skills drills.

The Exer-Genie: OK, so this one is a little weird. I came across it in my search for other dry land videos. If you know what a SkiErg is, you will see this is its "little cousin." If you don't know what a SkiErg is, check this out. Anyway, the Exer-Genie is this adjustable thing to help with poling workouts. If you are big into classic, and don't have the space or inclination for a SkiErg, this little thing is pretty cool. You can also use it to basically increase the tension in your other dry land workouts. It is hard to explain; just take a look:

According to their website (here), this device is used by Kikkan Randall.  You can do it outdoors, or, if you have enough space, indoors. However, it is a bit cost-prohibitive at $230 for the system (eek). That's about 1/3 the cost of a low-end SkiErg, though. Honestly, if you went to the hardware store, bought some rope, pulleys, and a couple other odds and ends, you could probably jury-rig something up.

Resistance Bands: Alright, I don't like weight training much. I have the genes for bad joints, so I am super careful about them. However, I do really like the stretchy resistance bands; it is easier to control the weight (resistance) and motion of them. Since they are portable, you can do these outside, if you want. I guess it just depends on how weird you want to look to the neighbors. But, if you take them to your local trails, you can mix them in with a bounding/plyo session. The trees won't tell tales. 

So, don't despair. We have already had some light snow around here, and if it stays cold, I bet the snow making operations will start soon. We might even have a real winter (what a novel idea...). May as well prepare for it.