Thursday, December 18, 2008

Taking a hike

After the last few days of stuffing the face with cookies, puddings, chocolates, and possibly one to many glasses of wine getting back into the routine takes a little more effort then usual.

Taking a break from the holiday whirlwind around me; I was reading the January edition Outside Magazine; which has a great article on tackling stress, training the brain and living large. One of the sections called "Play the Fields"; discussed a topic that is near and dear to me the importance of cross training on developing the necessary skills to compete in your primary sport.

Varying your routine during the off season and focusing less time in-sport and working on being proficient on new movements, keeping the mind fresh, and staying injury free. One of the best low intensity activities is hiking; it still requires some aerobic strength; and for a cyclist it means that you get the lateral up and down motion which you otherwise don't get cycling.

The great thing about hiking is you get can get others involved and regardless of the region of the country you live in; its an activity that one can easily do. Some places you may just need to bundle up a little more and use a little more aerobic strength stepping through the snow.

Hope everyone had a good holiday; its on to 2009 and a new training year.

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