Snowboarding/Ski Season Exercise Challenge

As much as I’d like to look hot during the summer vanity isn’t quite motivating enough for me to keep up a workout routine.

But snowboarding is!

Last weekend I went to Red Rocks Amphitheater for the premier of three of this season’s snowboarding videos. It was freezing and windy and the videos were awesome. Nothing could have got me more pumped for the coming season.

Thank god I still have 6 weeks to go before I strap on my board, though, because I am in not in good enough shape for jumps, powder, and the inevitable falls.

Granted, I’m not in bad shape. I spent the summer riding my bike, climbing trees, and swinging on the monkey bars, but that’s not quite enough for a safe and skillful season.

I love to push myself on the mountain. I take big air, practice tricks, and maneuver the trees on deep powder days. Falls happen when you push your limits and so I’ve got to be strong to withstand the beating.

I’m going to need stronger legs, shoulders, and of course a rockin core. Here’s why and what I’m going to do to get it.

Shoulders: Shoulder injuries are common and in fact I had a pretty bad one a couple of seasons ago. The stronger our muscles are the better we hold up against injuries.

For my shoulders I like to do pull ups but I am also going to do arm raises and shoulder presses and, while push ups focus on the chest, I am going to do those too since they utilize the arms as well.

Legs: A good snowboarder sits low in his/her stance and so a good snowboarder has super power quads.

My usual routine for legs are squats and lunges. I’m going to stick with those but I’ll add weights. I often do hill sprints at a hill nearby too.

Abs: The core is responsible for effortless turns, stabilizing the body during jumps and tricks, and again protecting the body from injuries during a fall.

I don’t do ab workouts. I strengthen my abs during all of my other workouts. For me ab workouts are a part of my pull ups and push ups. Plus they are a natural part of being active. When you jump off the swings, flip around on the monkey bars, jump over stuff, and throw stuff, you’re using your abs. Additionally, I am a singer and singing exercises offer a little ab training as well. I am not the only one that feels this way about ab workouts. Here is what Mark Sisson has to say on the subject:

“ I don’t do abs. By that I mean I don’t specifically do an ab routine or ab classes as any part of my workouts. On the other hand, I pretty much work my abs all day long without specifically focusing on them. And that’s an important distinction. Grok probably had a wicked set of abs. He had to. Abs are the center of the human movement universe. They are part of today’s “core”, the fulcrum, the key in Chi. But you don’t necessarily need to do endless crunches, sit-ups, roman chairs, leg raises or other isolation moves to strengthen them. Sure, you can if you want, but I think the best way to work your abs is involve them in almost every other movement you do. Every time you do it. When you do pushups, you should tighten your abs hard, likewise when you do pull-ups, squats, lunges, curls – you name it.”

Method: A lot of Paleo experts recommend various strategies for fueling up. I don’t personally bother with them. I am not a competitive athlete and not particularly concerned with improving performance on such a small scale.

This morning I had breakfast as usual at 7:30 am which consisted of 3 sausage links (not pre-cooked, no lactic acid), 1 slice of bacon, and a glass of un-homogenized whole milk with added gelatin. I walked my daughter to school and back 1.5 miles and started my workout at 8:30. During my workout I drank a cup of green tea with lemon juice. I will not eat after my workout.

This Morning’s Workout:
Warm up: 1.5 mile walk
Chin ups: 2 sets of 6
Pull ups: 2 sets of 3
Side Arm Riases: 3 sets of 10 holding 15lbs total
Squats: 2 sets of 20 holding 25 lbs total
Lunges: 2 sets of 15 holding 25 lbs total
Push ups: 2 sets of 10

My goals by the first week of November are to increase my weight and reps. I know I can do way better than this!

What are your goals and what are you working for? Please post your numbers or just your intention in the comments and report back here the first week of November. Let’s do this together!

Don’t forget to include the kids!

In the winter, we all end up inside more and move around less. Even kid’s muscles will atrophy to some degree. If your kids are going to be doing winter sports, keep them safe by keeping them active. My daughter thinks exercising with me is fun. While I wouldn’t put weights in a five year old’s hands I do encourage her to move her body along with me.

There is a yoga school nearby which offers kids classes. Last winter season my daughter took yoga on Sundays.  I think yoga is ideal for youngsters. It builds muscle with the resistance of our own body weight plus it teaches patience and calmness.

This is a video of my daughter just starting out last year. She was four at the time. By the end of the season she was asking me to teach her jumps, she was riding the powder, and taking full size runs. Can’t wait to get some more footage this season!