Last week, we talked about distance, why it is important and why we really have to do it and this week we will connect to it and talk a little bit more about the ways we can do distance and how we can spice it up a little bit.
Eliska: So, “What can I do for distance? Do I have to stick with those old, traditional running for two hours, roller skiing for two hours, skiing for two, three hours?”
No, you don’t have to. There are many types of workouts you can do for your distance. Just like the old, traditional disciplines, running with poles or double poling or hiking with poles. That really helps. Then there are many non-traditional ways how to train, that can be done in a gym or outside. Just like elliptical or stationary bike.
Karmen: Swimming.
Eliska: Swimming is a great one. Basically, anything where can use your feet and legs and use or employ your cardio. My favorite new one is foot biking. It’s basically scootering, very similar to skiing but you get a lot of gliding that looks like running as well. What’s your favorite one?
Karmen: I like the more traditional stuff, the hiking and just long roller skis. I’m a big fan of running, trail running.
Eliska: Trail running is great. Mountain biking is also really fun for those easy level one, level two workouts. You can get a little bit more into some technical stuff and still keep the heart rate really low. So those are some tips how to get your distance and a lot of people ask us what do we do when the distance is so monotonous. How can we spice it up?
Karmen: So, during your distance workouts it is a good time to use a resistance band. They’re little bands, like big rubber bands basically, and you can get them pretty much anywhere online.
Eliska: And they come in different colors as well.
Karmen: Yes. So they come in different colors which correspond to different levels of resistance. Your easiest one will be say yellow and then maybe your hardest will be black…
Female Speaker: So darker you go, harder it is.
Karmen: Usually, yes. So – but you can put those around your knees or above your knees. You don’t want it to go directly on your knees while you’re roller skiing. That’s a great way to correct over-striding as well as adding an element of resistance and strength to a distance workout.
Eliska: We see that a lot, over-striding with master skiers. They’re trying to make the big step but it really is about taking short steps and long glides. So that’s something that the band can really help with.
Karmen: The bands can help with that and they will help with hip strength and stabilization.
Eliska: Having a strong core, strong hips.
Karmen: It’s kind of like getting a bang for your buck, two things at once. Distance and strength. You can do that for 15 minutes during a workout or you can alternate 15 minutes using the band and 15 minutes not using the band.
Eliska: It’s pretty tough but it’s fun. It makes the distance definitely interesting and I heard about this cool trick for correcting double poling.
Karmen: Oh, the penny trick. If you are in the camp of somebody who gets up on their toes deliberately, you shouldn’t really be doing that. A good trick is to put a penny under your heel and to keep that penny right there on your heel.
Female Speaker: In your shoe.
Karmen: In your shoe. So that if you move inappropriately, if your heel comes up, then your penny is going to move. So the idea is to keep it there.
Female Speaker: It will definitely make it more fun and you can check your technique that way.
Karmen: Yeah, absolutely.
Female Speaker: Well, you should get on your toes eventually. But it’s not like you’re lifting yourself up.
Karmen: It shouldn’t be a deliberate thing. It should come naturally with your forward momentum.
Female Speaker: Yes, with your hips.
