More then just cycling

With three days left in my second rotation up north, I've almost finished my interval block, along with a lot of cross training filling in the gaps in my days. Running, snowshoeing, strength and my favorite, cross country skiing. Skate and classic skiing are absolutely great full body workouts, no matter how hard or slow you go. It's one of the few activities that employs major upper, lower and core muscle groups all at the same time. Due to the fact that all these other muscles are being fired to propel myself forward, rather then predominately just the leg muscles as in cycling, it's a whole heck of a lot easier to get my heart rate up into the endurance zone (or way way above). No wonder a one hour "easy" ski feels very similar to the body as a 3 hour endurance ride.

Why, you may ask, would a cyclist want to workout non-cyclist specific muscles such as arms? You'd be surprised how often, especially as a mountain biker, the "other" muscle groups are used while riding, particularly the core. I have found through trial and error that my core strength is inversely correlated to my lower back pain; the stronger my core, the less likely I am to experience back pain on longer rides....funny thing.

Oh ya, another great thing about cross training other then just working out and strengthening all other stabilizing muscles..........I am sooooo excited to get back outside on the bike again!!!! Three more days till West Coast Heaven.

I have to send my cross bike back to Trek Toronto, so I'm left with my Trek 6700, and it's gonna get lots of road and trails miles chasing Regan around.