Recovery + Cabin Fever

[ShanDog]

Hello,

So I had to stop riding for a few months after injuring my lower back from cycling. I've started riding again two weeks ago and am taking it easy to build up my ability again slowly. On top of the riding, I'm trying to exercise very regularly to cover all bases. Now here's the kicker. I only get to ride on weekends because my line of work requires me to be in rural nsw monday to friday. There's no gym and I tend to do 12 hour days so there's not a lot of free time. So while I get to ride on the weekends, my only form of exercise is anything I can do in my cabin either with the upright wooden chairs, the floor or the two 7kg dumbbells I shipped in my suitcase. I'm no expert in exercise and have been googling but am up at a roadblock. I'm trying to design a routine with what I have that both improves my overall fitness but also has a strong focus on helping my cycling so I can enjoy the sport I love for longer on the weekends.

Does anyone have any advice on what exercises I can try in my cabin?

[gururug]

Have a look into those elastic band thingies. Good for small spaces.

[ShanDog]

Have a look into those elastic band thingies. Good for small spaces.

Ahh... I have been looking into resistance bands too.. I'm starting to think they'd be ideal for my lifestyle.

[AndrewBurns]

Haven't been able to ride for a month! I've been off the bike for a week now and I'm starting to feel like a huge fatty and worrying about losing my edge

Is there any reason why you can't go running at night? I used to in Melbourne when I was staying in an apartment and working long hours, might be hard if you're in a really rural location with no lighting though. How about a stationary trainer for your bike? Weights are all well and good and will generally help your fitness but unless you're a track sprinter weights won't help your cycling much at all, you need to do cardiovascular exercise as well. You could get a cheap trainer delivered from somewhere in Australia in a week or so probably.

[ShanDog]

Haven't been able to ride for a month! I've been off the bike for a week now and I'm starting to feel like a huge fatty and worrying about losing my edge

Is there any reason why you can't go running at night? I used to in Melbourne when I was staying in an apartment and working long hours, might be hard if you're in a really rural location with no lighting though. How about a stationary trainer for your bike? Weights are all well and good and will generally help your fitness but unless you're a track sprinter weights won't help your cycling much at all, you need to do cardiovascular exercise as well. You could get a cheap trainer delivered from somewhere in Australia in a week or so probably.

I feel your pain!

Ha, there's two reason's why I don't go running. First, I hate running (joined an athletics club once, 3 days a week. Figured if I still hated running after 3 months I would never like it. In the end I still hated it ). Second, entrance to the park I'm staying in goes straight to a 110km/hr highway. I would love to have a trainer but it means sticking my bike on qantaslink every monday to bring it here and back on fridays so I can ride it back in Sydney on the weekends. Also, the cabins we're in are part of a cabin/caravan park and we have to vacate every month or so for a weekend so I can't bring too many things here or I get stuck hauling them back. I just feel so stuck out here. If I can last at least until my project ends in August, I'm praying my next project will be in a major city.

[AndrewBurns]

Ahh so you're in a fly-in fly-out style job, that definitely sucks :S

I agree that running is nowhere near as exciting as riding, that's why I don't do it any more

[newie]

Skipping rope. Amazing for an aerobic workout in a short space of time and smallish space. Mix it up with your weights and core strength exercises (situps, plank etc), some lunges & burpees thrown in for good measure and it could get you through to the weekend.

[AndrewBurns]

Skipping rope. Amazing for an aerobic workout in a short space of time and smallish space. Mix it up with your weights and core strength exercises (situps, plank etc), some lunges & burpees thrown in for good measure and it could get you through to the weekend.

Great idea with the skipping rope, didn't think of that. Tried skipping a few years ago, seemed waaay harder than it did when I was a child Word of advice, even if you're doing it inside on carpet I'd still recommend wearing shoes, my feet were very sore after only a few minutes...

[Waldo]

How about just going for an old fashioned walk, do an hour each night at least you'll get to see the scenery?

[ShanDog]

Skipping rope. Amazing for an aerobic workout in a short space of time and smallish space. Mix it up with your weights and core strength exercises (situps, plank etc), some lunges & burpees thrown in for good measure and it could get you through to the weekend.

This is a great idea! Will definitely look at getting a rope

How about just going for an old fashioned walk, do an hour each night at least you'll get to see the scenery?

We're nearby to a flooding river. You could easily mistake the local mosquitoes for birds .

[toolonglegs]

Why don't you just by a really cheap bike and leave it there?... if you are there till August might be worth it.

[Ken Ho]

If yo have a chair, then you can do step-ups.
I started this while in a similar remote job. Start with 3 mins, and add a minute a day. I eventually got to about 45 mins, which is a he'll of a work out. 20 mins is a good work out.
Look up an app called iPushup. It a push up training regime, which is a great little motivator.

[KonaCommuter]

Skipping rope. Amazing for an aerobic workout in a short space of time and smallish space. Mix it up with your weights and core strength exercises (situps, plank etc), some lunges & burpees thrown in for good measure and it could get you through to the weekend.

Great idea with the skipping rope, didn't think of that. Tried skipping a few years ago, seemed waaay harder than it did when I was a child Word of advice, even if you're doing it inside on carpet I'd still recommend wearing shoes, my feet were very sore after only a few minutes...

[ShanDog]

Skipping rope. Amazing for an aerobic workout in a short space of time and smallish space. Mix it up with your weights and core strength exercises (situps, plank etc), some lunges & burpees thrown in for good measure and it could get you through to the weekend.

Great idea with the skipping rope, didn't think of that. Tried skipping a few years ago, seemed waaay harder than it did when I was a child Word of advice, even if you're doing it inside on carpet I'd still recommend wearing shoes, my feet were very sore after only a few minutes...

HA! That's the beginners routine right?

[Tony6463]

Hey mate,

Travelling and training can be a real pain. Have a look at the links below. The power bands are very good and you can do a range of things with them, however you need some where to attach them for some exercises and they can be a little bulky and heavy. The better idea is the TRX. You can use it anywhere, off a door or a tree or fence, anywhere. It is a very good work out and the book gives you routines that you can follow. Don't be deceived, it looks simple but can be very hard work and is good all round conditioning. Small, light and easy to pack.

Don't over look the effectiveness of body weight type activities either. Things like sit-ups, push ups, chin ups (off what ever you can find to hang from) squats and lunges and skipping. There is a huge amount of things that you can do that is outside the normal "gym" type mentality that are really effective. You say you don't like running, that's ok its not for every one, but have you looked at the shorter more intense things like sprint work? You can really work hard and never have to run more than 100 meters at one time, or 20 meters if you do the beep test as a training thing.

In short there are heaps of things you can do with minimal equipment and it doesn't need to go for hours. You can have a really effective workout in say 30 min. Good luck with it.

http://www.kettlebells.com.au/store/power-bands/

http://www.trxtraining.com/


Oh, another site to look at if you are interested is,

http://www.crossfit.com/

It is not for everyone but can give you some good ideas. The numbers and weights given for each exercise are indicative and you can change them to what ever you need to suit your fitness levels and capabilities.

Good luck with it all.

[Crawf]

Kettlebell, sky's the limit for exercises with a Kb. Grab an 8 & 12kg to start with.

[ShanDog]

Thanks for all the info everyone. After careful thought I'm going to get a jump rope and some resistance tubing ( http://www.kettlebells.com.au/store/exe ... -pack.html ). I've found some great routines for both and have the added benefit of small size and lightweight, which is great for the amount of travel I do. On the flipside, I think I now have some dumbbells for sale haha