Great Cycling Poster

Use this link to see great poster for the US Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado. Or click on my Facebook page to view it. (below to the right) 

http://ow.ly/i/f1zD

The best and highest quality Bike race in the history of US Cycling is coming to Colorado.

Check it out at this Facebook address.


http://www.facebook.com/USAProCyclingChallenge




The world's best cyclists: including the best teams.
Cadel Evans- 2011 Tour de France winner


More information to come stay close to this Blog or my Twitter site. http://twitter.com/#!/haraldharbski

Total body training, use a climbing wall.

Moving around on all the holds for two minutes, is a workout on an over hanging wall like this, 45degrees. Do 4 sets of two minutes 3 days a week and you can stay fit and do well on your local crag. As long as it's not Rifle, for Rifle you have to stay on the climbing wall 4 minutes, times 4 sets.

Technique, is  keep your hips up on the wall and keep your shoulder blades pulled back. You want to try to avoid sagging or rounding your back. 

Week 15: Everything is going in the right direction.

Lots of weight training in the gym, has improved my overall leg strength, I know now that I injured more than just my Achilles tendon in the ski accident in April. The back of my knee has been really sore for months. This indicates I stretched or tore calf tendons and ligaments, from this accident. Fortunately, my overall leg strength is building and I can really feel it when cycling. Big gains this week. I can stand on my right (injured side) bike peddle and push down to increase power.


When I started rehabbing my Achilles tendon, and my body, in May, it quickly became evident to me, that the whole right side of the body had atrophied. This can happen in a short period of even 5 or six weeks. I was in great shape and 6 weeks later I was a slug through lack of normal activity. I could not imagine skiing in this condition, even without an injury. I'm sure that most recreational skiers realize, how fitness or lack of fitness, impacts their ability to ski, be safe on snow and improve their skiing.


More on this topic and what you can do to create the best ski season yet,  on this blog, coming up, so check in often.


Harald

Ski season in the distance, but I'm still planning strong bike and climbing season.

Week 13:  rehab of ruptured Achilles tendon:

I was not so good climbing a 5-10b vertical face, which I've done easily many times before. In face climbing, you have to stand on your toes, on small edges. This is really tough of the the calf and achilles tendon.

I did however, successfully climb a 5-11b ( which is a harder rated climb) overhanging climb, but that's a totally different style, which requires much less pressure on the feet to hold you on the rock. It's going to take another two weeks before I have really face climb. But the biking is good. I can finally stand on the steep hills and that is what it is going to take to get the muscles and tendon really strong again.

So my routine today was, this morning,  1 hour weight room upper body and shoulders, afternoon, two hours biking, 2000ft climbing on that ride, and then in the evening, weight room to do a leg routine. The tendon rehab and calf muscles are one thing, but I also have to get that leg in shape, it's lost a lot of muscle mass doing nothing for more than 10 weeks.

In the weight room for the calf muscles,  I do lots of leg presses, toe stands, assisted and unassisted, and some trampoline bouncing.

Ultimately, the goal is to be in top form for the ski season, but I'm hoping to get in some big rides and tough climbs before the ski season starts.
The finish line is in sight.

5 things aging recreational skiers and athletes need to know.

1. Start your activity slower, warm up properly and build to top performance.
2. Better preparation for your season, means more rest days in between hard workouts or activity.
3. The best technique, during training and your sport activity; and the most efficient movements will save you from over working your body.
4. You'll find more aches and pains, so ice and rest are important.
5. In training, less weight and more repetitions are the right formula.

Hardest ride this season so far, 2000 feet climbing.

frontage Road to Bakerville, last exit before Loveland ski area.

Pads, for hiking shoes and biking shoes.

Here is a Neuroma pad built into a custom designed walking footbed. 

These types of footbeds can be made for any shoe, or boot.

How to fix a Neuroma pad in a cycle shoe.

Here you see a bulge on the foot bed shoe insert (under black tape) . This is a foam pad about 1/4 inch thick, at it's highest point. It is rounded off and tapered to each side. It is attached with tape until the idea location is determined. After that it can be glued or permanently fixed.

The idea is to spread the pressure that comes from pushing on the ball of the foot evenly across the front of the foot. This gives you more ability to apply pressure for longer periods of time. 

One reason that forefoot discomfort occurs is from too narrow a shoe or pressure from the sides of he shoe. This can happen in cycling or ski boots. 

I've been using this neuroma pad for two seasons, it makes a huge difference in comfort and peddling ability.