Primed for Performance

Yes, we know it’s cold outside, and you haven’t seen the sun in weeks. The trails are slushy, the gym is overheated, and you’re carrying an extra five pounds of Thanksgiving goodies around your midsection. But fast-forward your thought processes for just a moment. It’s March or April and you’re finally hitting the trails for a long mountain bike ride. Two hours into it, you can’t stand up straight because your back has seized up and your knees are throbbing. What went wrong?

It may be called an “off-season”, but that doesn’t mean you have license to keep the crumbs in the couch cushions company. Now’s the time to figure out where your weak spots are and train to bolster them, so when you do go out for that first trail run or bike ride of the season, you’re strong and energized.

To give you added inspiration, we thought you’d like to see what the consummate outdoor athlete looks like. Cathy Sassin, pictured here, is one of the most successful adventure racers competing today. She can swim, paddle, climb, hike, bike, rappel and ride a horse: suffice to say, anything you can do, she can do better. But that’s only because she knows how to train key body parts. Here, she shares the wealth of inside secrets that she’s culled from years of hard-core adventure racing. Take a few pages from her training log this winter and you’ll be on your way to your best summer yet.

THE KNEE

Prime Movers: Quadriceps, hamstrings, adductors (inner thigh) and gastrocnemius
Role: The legs are the workhorses of most adventure racing disciplines, including biking, trekking and even rock climbing. They are an athlete’s greatest asset, so take care of them and train them right. If your outdoor workouts include lots of biking, hiking, climbing and the like, your training regimen should emphasize all aspects of fitness, namely strength, power and endurance work. “Running stairs, lifting weights and performing plyometrics exercises are all useful to the adventure racer,” says Sassin. You may not be running off to join the Raid Gauloises anytime soon, but you’d do well to follow her suggestion.

Strengthening the muscles around the knee keeps the joint safe and secure, reducing your risk of ligament sprains, and muscles and tendon strains. “Hiking downhill and trekking are extremely stressful on the knees, more so than hiking uphill,” says Sassin. “Because my knees are so solid, I often wind up carrying my teammates’ packs on the long downhill sections of a race.”

Best Exercise: Squat
Stand with legs hip-width apart, toes and knees facing forward. If you don’t use dumbbells, hold your hands out in front of you for balance, otherwise keep the dumbbells at your side or position a weighted bar behind your neck. Keeping your back straight (don’t lean over at the waist), slowly lower into a squat until your thighs are parallel to the ground. If you can’t go down that far, don’t worry, go as far as you can. Always make sure, though, that your knees stay directly over your feet; don’t let them shoot out over your toes. As you rise, think of exploding upward, but control the motion. Never jump off the ground or lock out your knees. Do two sets of 10 repetitions, building up to two sets of 20 reps.

THE BACK

Prime Movers: erector spinae, latissimus dorsi, rhomboids and trapezius
Role: “If the legs are the workhorse of adventure racing, then the back is the packhorse,” says Sassin. The back, silently and without fanfare, carries the load, provides all the toque for paddling sports, and stabilizes the pelvis and shoulder girdle so your legs and arms can do what you ask them to. Private trainers and the public are finally learning what physical therapists and kinesiologists have known for decades: All movement originates from the torso, and a strong back is crucial part of “core” strength. If you’ve got a weak back, you’re a lam duck out on the trail or on the river.

Although back injury or pain runs rampant in the U.S., you can head off problems by doing copious amounts of stretching before and after all workouts, or make it apart of your bedtime routine. Equally important, monitor your posture and ergonomics during the day, when you’re driving, sitting at your desk or rearranging your furniture. Finally, work those back muscles just like you would any other part of your anatomy.

Best Exercise: Back Extension
Lie face down on the back extension table with feet hooked under the roller pads. Lower yourself slowly to the piked position (hips flexed to 90 degrees and torso handing straight down.) With your arms at your sides or clasped behind your head, lift your torso slowly until your entire body is horizontal to the floor (this is called neutral spine position). Do NOT raise your torso above butt level. Hold for tow counts and lower. Do five to ten repetitions at first building up slowly.

At home, lie fat on the floor with two fat pillows under your abdominals; this puts your spine in a slightly flexed position. Slowly lift your right arm and your left leg until they’re horizontal to the floor. Hold for two counts, lower and switch sides (left arm and right leg).

THE SHOULDER

Prime Movers: deltoids, latissimus dorsi, pectorals, rotator cuff
Role: The shoulder is a critical mover for paddling, rock climbing and cycling, even if it isn’t the primary source of power for these endeavors, but it’s also a common weak spot. “Keeping the shoulder strong and flexible offers the best protection against injury,” says Sassin. “A shoulder injury usually knocks the competitor out the running.” (This from a woman who completed a race with a separated shoulder.) That said, a regiment that includes plenty of stretching combined with strength moves (both pulling and pushing motions) is your best weapon against shoulder pain.

Unfortunately, your gym workout, designed to bolster your body, may be weakening your shoulders instead. Dips and military presses cause impingement (this is bad), as do bench presses if you drop your elbows below chest level. You’d do well to skip the first two and keep your elbows no lower than your chest during bench presses. Outdoors, relying too much on your arms to propel you through an activity (e.g., climbing or paddling), sets you up for a deltoid dilemma. If you’re already strong and flexible, spend time perfecting your technique.

Best Exercise: Pull Up/Chin Up
Position yourself on the graviton or another “assistive” device (which may mean a friend who can help lift you up and down on the pull up or chin up bar) with arms slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, palms facing you (for a pull up). Raise your body until your chin is at bar level and hold for one count. Lower slowly to the starting position and repeat for 5 to 10 reps. Start by suing one half of your body weight and progress from there over the next three to four weeks, gradually getting to the point where you can pull your entire body weight up to the bar. To get the most varied workout for the shoulders, do a mix of pull ups and chin ups (palms facing away from you)

THE ABDOMINALS

Prime Movers: rectus abdominus, external and internal obliques
Role: In addition to enforcing the front wall of the torso and stabilizing the pelvis and shoulder girdle, the abdominal muscles power many of your movements. The abs are critical to lifting your body weight over a wall or a felled tree stump. “Like a gymnast, the adventure racer has to get her body into some very extreme positions and strong abs help her do that,” says Sassin.

The abs work hand in hand with the back muscles to stabilize the spine in a neutral position (your butt’s not sticking out like a duck and your spine isn’t hunched over). If the abs aren’t up for the job, the back muscles have to work overtime to take up the slack. The result? Bad alignment, leading to stress on the spine and injury (i.e. your back on the couch getting soft and weak). “Strong abs (along with the back) are the core to body position, posture and proper body mechanics,” reports Sassin.

Best Exercise: Dead Bugs
This is a spine stabilization exercise. Lie on your back on the floor with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, your right arm up near your head and the left at your side. Maintaining a neutral spine (don’t arch or over flatten your back against the floor), move your arms and legs back and forth in opposition: Raise your right arm and lift your left leg (knee bent 90 degrees) until your thigh is perpendicular to the floor. As you return those to the floor, raise your left arm and lift your right leg. Lift and lower in this manner. Try to keep your spin absolutely quiet. You should feel this deep in your abdominals. Do two sets of 10 reps and build up so you can do these with weights on your wrists and ankles.

THE FEET

Prime Movers: gastrocnemius, deep flexor muscles, peroneals, anterior tibialis and intrinsic foot muscles
Role: “Your feet are your point of contact with the earth,” explains Sassin. You take them for granted until you get a blister and then you’re a hurtin’ puppy and your chances of winning the Eco-Challenge dissolve like sugar in coffee. If your skin gets wet or dirty (as they will when you’re trudging through the mud bogs in Borneo), they’re especially vulnerable to abrasions, blisters and infections. You’d be surprised how fast a blister can put a stop to any outing. “Foot problems are the downfall of many adventure racers,” says Sassin. “I’ve found that the most successful racers have conquered their feet.”

The first rule of adventure racing: Keep your feet dry. “I’ve seen adventure racers limping due to blisters and foot infection and soon to follow is soreness in the knees, hips, and back due to faulty mechanics,” reports Sassin.

Best Exercise: Walking in Sand
Sassin starts her prevention program months before a race by doing progressively long walks in the sand to toughen the skin. “I’ve progressed over time to running barefoot on dirt tracks but you must build up slowly,” she cautions. If you’re going to be spending several hours or days on the trail, bring fresh socks and waterproof shoes and garments.

If you live near a beach, walk in the sand. This toughens the skin on your feet and works the foot and ankle muscles. If you aren’t blessed to live near the water, moisten a towel and place it flat on the floor with some books on one end. Stand at the other end of the towel with your toes on it. Now, scrunch up your toes around the towel and try to move the books toward you.