Stamina, skiing and senior skiers.

Have you noticed that the older you get, you have to work out harder to maintain an ever-decreasing level of conditioning?  Yeah, yeah, yeah…  I know all the reasons but the reality is vigorous work-outs just delay the inevitable.  As we get older our:

• Bodies aren’t as flexible;
• Bones are more brittle;
• Muscles don’t recover as fast; and
• We lose muscle mass and brain function.

Since I’m losing brain muscle, that must be why I can’t remember why I should stop skiing, so I keep riding lifts.  Then I have to remember how to get down!

Marc Liebman recommends elliptical training for senior skiers.

Seriously, what I did to keep in skiing shape at 40 isn’t appropriate for someone who is 71.  Like my body, it has evolved over time.  Back when I was just four decades old, I ran a 10K five to six times a week at a 7.5 minute per mile pace.  Plus, I did chair sits, squats that strained my thighs and calves, crunches to build my core and other stuff.  All in the name of conditioning for skiing.

Workout menopause started at age 60 during a visit to an orthopedic surgeon.  He gave me a “twofer” of bad news after looking at an MRI.  First, he said if you keep running you’ll need new knees around age 65.  Second, I needed surgery to repair a torn and worn meniscus.  What a bargain!

That was the last day I ran, did squats and chair sits because they strained my joints way too much!  My workout evolved into 50 minutes on an elliptical at least five days a week going fast enough with enough resistance to get my heart rate into the 140s.  Interval training led to strained groin muscles that took months to heal.  My goal in each session is to burn at 475 – 500 calories and cover 4.3 miles.  Crunches and a daily 3.5 mile walk minimize the strain on my leg joints.

All this is in the name of building stamina.  If my legs are dead tired, it is hard to turn or stop which could lead to a bad fall and/or slamming into a tree, lift tower, or worse,  another skier…

I also do much more stretching now than I did before. My focus is on maintaining flexibility. Over time, my body has told me my groin and hamstrings need stretching, and I’ve learned the hard way to listen.  Stretching is also important if for nothing else, flexibility minimizes the pain and strain of putting on ski boots!

You have to tune your body.  Nobody else can.  I’m not big on personal trainers but if that’s what it takes, go for it.  Just remember, as you get older, the whole conditioning process takes more calendar and workout time and effort.  The pay-off in building stamina and keeping flexible is longer ski days.  For me that translates to 27 to 30 thousand vertical.