UKC

Hi,

I am looking to increase my fitness for ski-touring and alpine climbing. I don't have much time in the evenings and can't run for a while because of knee issues.
I was wondering if there is a general agreement about whether cycling using a turbo trainer or using an elliptical/cross trainer gets better results for ski touring and alpine fitness?

Any advice appreciated!

Tom

In reply to tnj:

Buy some good lights and cycle in the dark? Plenty do just that around here.

In reply to tnj:

cross trainer better than cycling think twight used to use a step machine thing

In reply to alasdair19:

Yeah Twight recommends a vertical stepper but they are frickin expensive! Although, I think he also said just "choose your poison" for cardio.

In reply to tnj:


If you can't run, a cross trainer would be more effective. Your body weight is supported by the bike when cycling so it isn't ideal training for Alpine (though it is easier on the body for the same reason).

In reply to tnj:

If your knee issues don't prevent it then try putting on a rucksack with some weight in it and going up and down on a step about 3/4 of the way up your tibia.

Failing that, any cardio at all is good, cycling better than swimming imo.

In reply to tnj:
I use a treadmill at maximum incline (18 deg at our gym) and walk up at whatever speed I need to get my desired heart rate (aerobic or intervals). Works for me.

In reply to tnj:

Try putting 20kg (weights, medicine balls etc.) in a rucksack, set the treadmill to max incline (max 15% for me.....) and aim for 400m of height gain. I think this works out at 2.7km on the mill at 15% from basic trig..... at a little over 5kph this takes just over half an hour - bearable in terms of boredom factor.... certainly feels like a good workout.

In reply to tnj:

If you have mighty strong legs with significant endurance already then the bike can't do any harm. If not, a bike is a bit underwhelming. Ski touring and climbing rely hugely on core body and leg power. A bike is little use for that. Bikes are fine for supplementing alpine training, but cannot be the principal element.

My knees are boogred, so I us a bike for anything high intensity (I can't sprint).

Read Steve House's "Training for the New Alpinism". Sets out what you should do better than I could.