[Spickard]

Yeah, come on! Go Pappy, go!

[Lead Dog]

Conditioning? vat eis conditioning? Isn't that something you do to your hair? We don't need any stinking conditioning!!

[#19]

[allison-]

Conditioning is boring. I just go, and by the end of the summer I can do more than I could at the beginning of the summer.

[BodyResults]

Pappy, I think your workout is good. Getting out 3 times a week will improve you hiking fitness. It would probably be beneficial for you to do some leg strengthening exercises. Squats, stepups, reverse stepdowns (helps for descents - pictures at http://www.bodyresults.com/E2kneetest.asp) lunges etc. Stefan is getting a good amount of cardio. I would suggest not doing the interval training on every cardio session though. It better for the body to do this 1-2 times per week. However for intervals I would suggest doing something a little different. Take a look at www.bodyresults.com/E2FartlekIntervals.asp for more information. Stefan could also expand his strength training. I would drop the leg press since you are working the muscles in a 1 dimentional track. Try free weight exercise where the body has to maintain balance in 3 dimensions. Also, try varying the exercises, reps and sets every 4-6 weeks.

[#19]

BR, thanks for the response. allison-, conditioning is my life. just the other day, a new co-worker that just happens to live near me, saw me doing my stairs / backpack routine in the rain. "man, you must be crazy"! You just gotta love sweat.

[pinch two inches]

So what is the best form of exercise/sport that doesn't involve a gym machine. Gyms are ok but it's fun to do something with others. If you had to pick one, what would it be? Isn't fencing suppposed to be good as long as the blades aren't too sharp? Skipping rope? Hiking? What if you are confined to a chair in front of a tv?

[Stefan]

[allison-]

Stef, even though I hate conditioning, this BR fellow is right. You ought to think of lunges and squats as a good substitute for the leg press. If you haven't done squats before, get someone to school you on how to do them right and use a mirror for reference until your body knows how to do it right, else you might hurt your back.

[pinch 1.5 inches]

I still think I'd try fencing--lunges and squats galore and you get to exercise with someone else, plus if you meet a bear you can say "En garde". If the bear replies "En garde" then you are in very big trouble, but I suspect he will say nothing in which case you have already won the battle.

[X.R. Size]

I haven't tried squat. In fact I haven't tried diddly. I really am not interested in seeing a diddly squat. However, I've tried various activities that exercise the heart and lungs. Doesn't matter which one it is as long as this major muscle group gets exercise. Do one that is fun or social. Just do it. Eddy Merckx used to smoke to exercise his lungs.

[reststep]

[Fiscally Fit]

Conditioning is fun. You can do strenuous trips at the beginning of summer, while the Allisons of the world huff and puff and puff and puff. Then they make excuses like "I like to stop and enjoy the gravel at the trailhead", or "It's important to take photos of the first switchback, that's why I got this 78 gigabyte movie camera". By the end of summer, you can do two-day trips in a day and see enough rough 'n tough stuff the huff 'n puffs'd love. Get off your duff and get real buff.

[allison-]

Maybe I was just born lucky, maybe it was eight years of competitive middle distance running, but unless I'm going to do something real tough or right at the beginning of the year, I don't train. I might do the Golden Gardens stairs a few times before we do St. Helens next month, but beyond that, training is not really for me. I just avoid going out with Fox, Collins, and Torok!

[Nickle Fit]

I think the best way to train is to enjoy a sport with a friend. Some of those exercise places with stair masters and things look more like torture. I mean, climbing an endless staircase? Oooh it makes me wonder. Wasn't there longish song about that in the 70's? But to each their own. Anyhow, Some people jog, Some people skip, Some laze on the couch until you crack the whip, Some people swim, It keeps them quite slim, Some people drink only low fat or skim, Some people hike, Some people bike, They wear vans, converse, keds, or nike, Some sit, and worse, Type out lame verse, To void off the calories, doctors, and nurse, Just be sure you do somthin' To keep the heart pumpin' Be it hop skotch, jazzercise or merely rope jumpin'.