Two styles are available:

Active Circuits – designed for people getting back into fitness, injury rehabilitation, or those who are looking for some fun and variety in their fitness. Time: [...]]]> Outdoor Circuits have begun for 2011 in Vidy, Lausanne. The circuits involve 1hr of group fitness training with bootcamp/urban training style exercises in a fun and motivating environment.

Two styles are available:

Active Circuits – designed for people getting back into fitness, injury rehabilitation, or those who are looking for some fun and variety in their fitness.
Time: Monday 5.45pm and Wed 7.15am

Performance Circuits – for those who have a base fitness level and want a little more of an intense challenge, or need to balance their training with core/strength exercises.  Sessions can be adapted to suit your upcoming event, whether running, triathlon or climbing Mt Blanc. After the session we have an (optional) swim in the lake.
Time: Monday 7pm

No two sessions are the same, but they will include a mix of body weight exercises, core training, boxing, kettlebells, balance, sprints, TRX, Bosu/medicine balls and more.

The circuits are a great way to add variety and functional training to your regime, while meeting new people.

Circuits are 25CHF per session. So now is the time to get your body ready for Life in Switzerland.
Please contact Kathy via email kathy@zimfit.ch to book your place.

ZimFit has been operating in Lausanne and Versoix all year round for the past 2 years, with the members participating in may local events (triathlons, Geneva 6km/half marathon, Lasuanne half marathon) as well as extra events in the mountains (snowshoeing, xc skiing and climbing).  Kathy has also been a founder of the Glocals running group and is a qualified and registered fitness trainer.

Well, spring has already arrived in Switzerland, so we thought we better give an update on what ZimFit has been up to in the winter.

Although the snow conditions were a bit of a roller coaster this season, we were able to run the outdoor circuits as well as other [...]]]>

Cross Country skiing in the Jura

Well, spring has already arrived in Switzerland, so we thought we better give an update on what ZimFit has been up to in the winter.

Although the snow conditions were a bit of a roller coaster this season, we were able to run the outdoor circuits as well as other outdoor events – although some improvisation was needed at times. A couple of the Lausanne circuits had to be conducted on snowshoes in Vidy due to the large amount of snow in December.

Considering the average snow conditions, we did manage to schedule quite a few cross country skiing sessions. Luckily, the Vaud/Geneva region has a lot of areas to choose from. Often the French Jura was providing excellent conditions, while Les Mosses in the “Alpes Vaudoise” was melting – and sometimes it was the other way around.

There were a few weeks when there was more ice/mud than snow,  so we simply changed to the roller skis – nothing  better to ski along the lake under beautiful sunshine, when everyone else is complaining about the lack of snow

Roller skiing at the lake

The snowshoeing events had to suffer a bit, but finally we were able to run one evening session near St Cegue. So very keen to correct this next season…

And then we had a few specific training events, e.g. supporting Mel in her Marathon training. We wish her good luck in London this month!

The Geneva crew on skis

Power day at La Vattay

Nice day for cruising around the Col du Marchairuz, Jura

At Les Mosses enjoying a good workout

Marathon training - on the skis

Some nice downhill technique

Practicing at Ouchy - when there was no snow in [...]]]> Just some impressions from the 2010/2011 winter season…

The Geneva crew on skis

Power day at La Vattay

Nice day for cruising around the Col du Marchairuz, Jura

At Les Mosses enjoying a good workout

Marathon training - on the skis

Some nice downhill technique

Practicing at Ouchy - when there was no snow in Jan

More roller-skiing with the Norwegians

The Vasaloppet (“race of Vasa” in Swedish) is the most famous cross country ski race in the world, as it is the oldest, longest and biggest. A 90km, classical style event [...]]]> End of February we headed to Sweden to complete our longest cross country ski race (and Carsten’s first classic race), the open track Vasaloppet.

The Vasaloppet (“race of Vasa” in Swedish) is the most famous cross country ski race in the world, as it is the oldest, longest and biggest. A 90km, classical style event that starts from Sälen and ends at Mora in the district of Dalarna, in the middle of Sweden. The whole festival, as the Swedish would see it, lasts for about a week with different skiing events of all kinds and attracts nearly 60,000 people from over 40 countries all around the world.

The event we completed, an alternative to the genuine Vasaloppet, is exactly the same course, but far less stressful. It is the Öppet Spår (“open track” in Swedish), which takes place a week before, and attracts around 15,000 people on two days. The start is free between 7am and 8:30am, and on Sunday, when we were participating, 8,200 skiers were signed up and ready to go. The Oppet Spar can be a tour or a race, depending upon your approach: you wear a chip that keeps track of your own time, but there is no official ranking, so the timing is simply for your own good.

There are checkpoints every 9 to 13 kilometers, with plenty of sport drinks, water, bullion, coffee and bread at the feed stations. But you do have to fight through a wall of skiers. At km 70, we were handed a free woolen hat from CRAFT, which was quite convenient as it started to get colder. And hey – who cares if you look a bit funny with a bright orange hat on your head, when your ears stay warm .

Was it crowded – yep. We were constantly changing tracks to pass slower skiers, or those not so confident on the down hill – but if you do so, always make sure you look over your shoulder before changing track. One young woman made the mistake of stepping right in front of Carsten, without looking, on a downhill. I think she will look next time… [comment Carsten: It was my duty to educate her with descriptive German words. She apologized with a Russian accent.] Also the constant changing of tracks made the time pass by quite quickly, especially as we were looking at a 9hr tour.

The weather was perfect, just below zero, unlike the -20 they had been experiencing the weeks before. The waxing tips were spot on and I was happy to say my grip waxing worked well for the complete race.

The views were spectacular, especially the sun rise of the gentle rolling hills. We did have a couple of hills to climb, but – unlike the Marcialonga in Italy – they were mostly done in the first quarter.

The shoulders got a bit cranky at the 70km mark, but the legs held strong and we had a fast recovery.

Would we recommend it to anyone? Definitely yes, because the experience is unique and breathtaking. But we also recommend to choose the Oppet Spar, as it is much less competitive, with a more relaxed atmosphere. Also make sure you organize your trip well, as Sweden is an expensive country, and costs could explode very quickly.

Happy skiing,
Kathy & Carsten

More people were immediately hooked, and we all subscribed to the [...]]]> “The Outdoor Circuits are designed to prepare and maintain your life in Switzerland” – a few ladies from the circuits decided to take this motto word-by-word, and inscribed for the 2010 Nyon Triathlon that took place on the 8th of August, in Nyon of course.

More people were immediately hooked, and we all subscribed to the Short-Distance-Series, which includes:

• 500 meters of swimming in the lake Geneva
• 20 km cycling on roads through Nyon
• 5 km running
• A lovely BBQ finish on Mel’s and Adrian’s balcony in Lausanne

As most of the team were doing their very first Triathlon, we were quite busy sorting out everyone to get set up inside the transition zone. But regulations and procedures were explained and understood quickly, and soon we were able to proceed to the start. This one was staggered, into 3 groups based on age and gender, and we started every 10 minutes.

The girls started the swim, and we were very pleased to see that not only everyone made it, but also with lots of confidence and very satisfying times. The one swim and transition training session we conducted one week before was obviously a good thing to do

The bike leg was a little bit hilly, but again, everyone made it to the transition zone, to change the bike against running shoes. At this time it started to rain a little bit, but it was actually more refreshing than annoying.

The running track was involved some uphill in the first half, which rewarded everyone with a nice gentle downhill afterwards. And back to the start, to finish and celebrate – everyone made it, and some of us with very impressive times! There is a lot of potential left, but most important: everyone enjoyed it, nobody got insured, and everyone recovered very quickly.

The 4th leg involved a fantastic BBQ with some beer & wine (thanks to Mel & Adrian), a good collection of race-stories (thanks to Toby for telling us his tough-guy experience) and the planning of the next events…

Congratulations everyone, and thanks for trusting us!

It was the 24th of April 2010 when Karen and Christiane from the Versoix sessions decided to come over and do the first running event in their lives – with great success, congratulations to both of you!

On a fantastic [...]]]> Thanks to Karen & Christiane, ZimFit was present at the Lausanne 20km running event this year.

It was the 24th of April 2010 when Karen and Christiane from the Versoix sessions decided to come over and do the first running event in their lives – with great success, congratulations to both of you!

On a fantastic sunny day we met both of them in the morning, together with our friends Mel & Claudia. Kathy made sure that everyone got a proper warm-up session and perfect race preparation. Christiane, Mel and Claudia then started off for the 4km run. All of them managed to run through the full distance and finished faster than they expected! Then it was Karen’s turn to run the 2km, which seamed to be – against her own expectations – a piece of cake Well done Karen!

In the evening it was Kathy’s and my turn to run the 20km. Legs were hurting this year, but we both managed to finish with good times. My legs are much stronger on the downhill now, thanks Kathy for making me do all these horrible exercises

carsten

These are beginners’ sessions, aimed to give an easy entry to a bootcamp-style workout. If you haven’t done any exercise for a while, this is the perfect opportunity to get started again!

Note that the meeting point for this session is the Théâtre [...]]]> The Lausanne sessions are now being held on Wednesday morning, from 7:15 to 8:00.

These are beginners’ sessions, aimed to give an easy entry to a bootcamp-style workout. If you haven’t done any exercise for a while, this is the perfect opportunity to get started again!

Note that the meeting point for this session is the Théâtre de Vidy:

View Larger Map

Starting from this week’s Thursday, the 29th of April, we will run the session every Thursday from 19:00 to 20:00 near the lake in Lausanne Ouchy. Meeting point is right in front of the Lausanne Ouchy Metro station, please check the location here.

After successful trial sessions, we now added information about Snowshoeing events and Cross-Country skiing lessons. The site also includes prices now.

However, please note that the content of this site is still under review and might [...]]]> While watching the opening ceremony of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, we took the time to update the ZimFit Website.

After successful trial sessions, we now added information about Snowshoeing events and Cross-Country skiing lessons. The site also includes prices now.

However, please note that the content of this site is still under review and might change.

Furthermore, the “Concepts” section is more a stub and still needs some work. But we hope that the ideas in general come across.

Finally, our heart goes out to the family of Nodar Kumaritashvili. We are deeply saddened by the tragical accident.

We have created the Facebook group ZimFit which you can easily find by searching for ZimFit on Facebook, or simply click on the link to the right (main page only).

Or follow this link

This is a closed group for all ZimFit participants, where we frequently post events, reports & [...]]]> New year, new energy – new Facebook group!

We have created the Facebook group ZimFit which you can easily find by searching for ZimFit on Facebook, or simply click on the link to the right (main page only).

Or follow this link

This is a closed group for all ZimFit participants, where we frequently post events, reports & photos of sessions and special offers. If you are already following Kathy’s sessions, please join!