http://www.tahoe.com/article/20061025/SKITAHOE/61010001" TARGET="_blank">Week 1 | http://tahoe.com/article/20061101/SKITAHOE/61101001" TARGET="_blank">Week 2 | http://tahoe.com/article/20061108/SKITAHOE/61108001" TARGET="_blank">Week 3 | http://tahoe.com/article/20061113/SKITAHOE/61113003" TARGET="_blank">Week 4 | http://tahoe.com/article/20061122/SKITAHOE/61122002" TARGET="_blank">Week 5 | http://www.tahoe.com/article/20061128/SKITAHOE/61128002">Week 6


How are you feeling? Hopefully we helped jump start your winter-ready workouts last week by adding some fun strength-building moves as well as an introduction to light plyometrics.

This week, let’s focus on our cardiovascular conditioning and flexibility by cutting our strength training down to two days and bumping our cardio training up to three days. Mixing up your workout frequency and timing can be beneficial to your body -- keeps it guessing, and that’s a good thing!

Three ways for cardio:
Cardio (aerobic) workouts include any type of exercise that gets the heart pumping. While beginners might choose walking or an exercise bike, advanced activities may include using the stair climber or mountain biking in the snow (this week's workout challenge). No matter what activity we choose, we work our heart the same way, by keeping tabs on our Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE). Basically, it's just a way of describing the intensity level we’re putting into our workouts.

Keeping that in mind, try these three variations in your cardio training this week.

Long slow distance:
Add 20 percent more time to your cardio activity and at the same time drop your intensity level by 10 percent. Example: If you normally run for 40 minutes using about 60 percent of your maximum effort, take one day this week to run for 48 minutes at 50 percent of your max effort. By doing this you can start to build up your endurance.

Speed play:
Speed play, or intervals, are a fun and fast way to train your body to deliver a higher intensity. Start with a 5- to 10-minute warm-up at a pace between 40 and 50 percent of your maximum effort. In this interval routine, you’ll be “actively” resting for double the amount of time you’re exerting.
-- 70 percent intensity (RPE) for 1 minute, warm up pace 2 minutes
-- 80 percent RPE 30 seconds, warm up pace 1 minute
-- 90 percent RPE 15 seconds, warm up pace for 30 seconds.
-- Repeat cycle. Beginners repeat cycle 4 times, intermediates 6 times and advanced 8 times.

Hills:
Find a gradual to moderate hill, set the treadmill on incline or add resistance to your stationary bike. Work the hill like an interval workout somewhat, accelerate to 70 percent of your maximum effort for 1 minute up the hill. Slow to your warm-up pace for the next 2 minutes. If this brings you to the top of your hill, walk down and run back up again. If you still have elevation, accelerate to 70 percent of your max again while taking 2 minutes to come back to a warm-up pace. Repeat until you make the hill. Beginners, repeat 4 cycles, intermediates, 6 cycles and advanced, 8 cycles.

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Wendy Lautner changes up her workout routine by hitting the mountain trails.

Strength – 2 times a week:
Continue with the suggested strength training workout suggested in week 2, next week we’ll switch up the moves to keep our bodies guessing. The moves include: push ups, squats, abdominal crunches with stability and medicine ball, jumpies, balance, abs, legs and lawnmower pull with lunge at your own appropriate fitness level, see http://tahoe.com/article/20061101/SKITAHOE/61101001" TARGET="_blank">last week's article for reference.

Workout challenge:
Looking for a tough cardio workout that incorporates balance, agility and pure guts? You don’t have to go far, there are about 1-2 inches of slush stuck to the Tahoe Rim Trail starting at Tahoe Meadows trail access. The snow adds an extra agility and cardio challenge to the normally technical and hilly trail. Go with friends who know the route and allow for plenty of time, pushing rubber up an icy slope and carefully navigating slick boulders is no doubt a workout and takes extra time.

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Lautner maneuvers the slushy Tahoe Rim Trail.

Stretches:
We’ve been hitting the leg muscles hard to build muscular endurance and strength for the ski season. But, let’s not forget about our flexibility component. Flexibility is key in helping to prevent injury, muscles must maintain their elasticity to be fully functional.

So, let’s take some stretching tips from a pro. Yoga instructor Walter Lightner owns Tahoe Yoga & Wellness in Truckee and he recommends the following stretches to lengthen muscles specifically involved in snow sports.

Quadricep stretch with wall support:
Find a wall or a hard surface you can back up to (like a flat standing rock if you’re outside). Drop into a lunge position with your front leg, knee over ankle. With the back leg, bend your knee on the floor or ground and prop your ankle up against that hard surface, behind your hips. Depending on the tightness in your thigh, you may want to move your knee further away from the wall.

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Yoga instructor Walter Lightner demonstrates a quadricep stretch.

Focus on drawing your spine to line up with the wall, lifting your chest proudly. To move the stretch into your hip flexor, focus on pushing your pelvis toward the floor.

This stretch moves through a variety of important muscle groups, including your feet, ankles, hips and quadriceps. Breathe deeply through this and every stretch.

Foot stretch:
Short of the much-too-rare foot massage we all desire, most of us probably don’t spend much time actually stretching our feet. Start by kneeling on the floor, ankles underneath your buttocks, but instead of resting on your ankles, curl your toes under and allow some weight to come over your feet.

Hamstring strap stretch:
One of the most effective ways to stretch the hamstrings, an often-pulled muscle group, is with the aid of a strap. Lie on your back and lift your leg, keeping a microbend in your knee, to come over your hips. Wrap the strap around your ankle or mid-calf and pull your knee slowly closer to your chest. Breathe deeply.

Hamstring strap stretch variation:
Take the strap stretch even further by twisting your leg over your body. Focus on keeping tight tummy muscles while you allow your left or right leg drop slowly over the opposite side of your body. This stretch will move through the side of your thigh and loosen the notoriously tight IT band. This stretch also helps loosen the gluteal muscles and hips.

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Lightner demonstrates a proper hamstring stretch with a strap.

Wendy Lautner is a certified personal trainer with the American Council of Exercise. She is also an avid alpine skier, telemark skier and snowboarder. She can be reached at wendysuewrites@yahoo.com">wendysuewrites@yahoo.com.