Only one more week then it’s all uphill from here! Congratulations to everyone who has made it to the last week of the Grouse Grind conditioning program. Your final workout has three components: stretching, strengthening, and cardiovascular exercise. Continue to follow this exercise program at a level that is comfortable for you.
Stretching (10-15 minutes)
Today we will replace the lying hamstring stretch with a new stretching technique, and we will add a stretch for your hip flexors for a total of nine stretches. Remember to start with a 5-10 minute cardiovascular warm up and to apply a gradual stretch to each specific body part and hold with a steady force for a period of 15 to 60 seconds. Before climbing the Grind, warm up by walking around the parking lot area a few times and perform the two stretches outlined today as well as the Quadriceps and Achilles tendon stretch as outlined in Week One and Week Four.
1. Hamstring Stretch
-stand facing a table or similar object approximately the height of your waist.
-keep your left foot flat on the floor and place your right foot on the table keeping both legs straight but not in a locked position.
-lean forward towards your right foot while keeping your back flat and your shoulders back. The stretch should be felt in the hamstring of the right leg. Alternate your legs and repeat the stretch.
2. Hip Flexor Stretch
-keep your right foot flat and extend your left leg straight backward. Lower your trunk as far as possible with most of the weight on your front leg. Keep your front knee above your foot and not past your toes.
-the stretch should be felt in your groin region and in the front of your left thigh. Hold for 15-60 seconds and repeat with your left leg in front.
Strength Training (25 minutes)
Today we are adding the final strengthening exercise called holding squats. This exercise is designed to improve your isolated muscle endurance in your lower body. Perform this exercise at the end of your strengthening routine. If you are feeling comfortable with your routine try shortening the breaks between your sets. This will increase the intensity and challenge your muscles to recover faster.
3. Holding Squats
-position yourself in front of a sturdy object that you can hold for support.
-keep your feet flat and squat down until your legs are parallel with the floor. Come back up, returning to 70% of starting position then go back down. Keep your knees over your feet at all times, not letting them extend too far forward.
-Perform only one set of 50-80 repetitions or as many as you feel comfortable with.
-This is a great exercise for the isolated muscle endurance of your quadriceps, which is excellent preparation for climbing.
Cardiovascular Exercise (45 minutes)
To continue to improve your cardiovascular fitness, increase the cardiovascular component of your workout from 40 to 45 minutes. To further intensify the cardiovascular component do eight high intensity intervals instead of six. Perform one interval approximately every five minutes. For further information on cardiovascular training and intervals refer to Week One and Week Three.
Your workout this week should take approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes to complete and should be performed three times this week with a day of rest in between each workout. Your consistency and dedication will definitely pay of, see you at the top!!
Shaun Karp is a certified personal trainer in Vancouver. For further information call his office at 604-420-7800.