Race_Carver

Well, look at how many ski racers, and competitive snowboarders, both racers and freestylers have many, many more problems than just worn knees. If you look at the statistics, competitive weightlifters and powerlifters have far, far fewer injuries than people in snowsports. I don't think I know a racer who hasn't had multiple ligament tears and multiple broken bones. They are on a first name basis with their ortho doctors. I don't know any world class competitive ski racers or snowboarders in their mid 40's, but many of the world records in powerlifting are held by men in their 40's. People compete in weightlifting regionally well into their 70's. As far as snowboarding being an endurance sport sport I have to disagree. An endurance sport is like running a marathon when you don't stop for 26 miles (or whatever they run). Cross country skiing is an endurance type of sport. Downhill skiing and snowboarding is a power sport. You ride the lift up, make fast, explosive turns down the hill maybe for 1 or 2 minutes, then rest while you are riding the lift back up. Sure, you might make multiple cycles of this over the course of a day, buy you are not riding constantly all day. That is the definition of a power sport. Cycles of fast movements followed by periods of rest. Every national ski and snowboard team trains during the off season for power and balance. They do olympic lifting, sprinting, and balance work. They do very little long distance, endurance type of work. Of course, we need to separate the needs of competitive snowboarders and recreational riders. If you approach the sport purely from a recreational perspective, then yes, any type of dryland training will be better than being a couch potato all summer. Considering how non active the average person is now, everybody on this thread should feel good about themselves for both snowboarding and doing some type of off season training!:)

I just had to throw this in too <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUOfZ1gqUIM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUOfZ1gqUIM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> Olympic Weightlifting just isn't for the guys. I don't think many of us guys would be complaining if our wives/girlfriends looked like American lifter Ingrid Marcum. And yes, that really is over 200 lbs she put over her head in one movement...

Maybe not if you are into running marathons, but most Olympic Weightlifters have world class sprinting times. Even the big 300 pound + Super heavyweight guys are amazingly athletic and quick for their body mass. It all has to do with the functional carry over of the 2 lifts to other athletic events. The type of weight training you see in most American commercial gyms, primarily Body Building muscle isolation type of exercises have far less carry over to other sports. Olympic style weight training develops explosive strength while minimizing muscle hypertrophy (in relation to the amount of strength developed), while the slow Bodybuilding movements does the exact opposite. Which is exactly what participants in each sport want. Olympic lifters need a high power to weight ratio, while Bodybuilders want massive muscle size and definition. The point is this: If you are involved in an activity that requires explosive strength, as just about any sport does, why would an individual train like a Bodybuilder? But go to most gyms in the U.S. and that is exactly what you will see. This is not to say you must weight train for alpine snowboarding. But however you choose to train should have a functional carry over to the sport.:)

How about this guy's physique, and the fact he can throw 450 lbs above his head with an 185 lbs body weight. <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHqo0dLz4V8?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHqo0dLz4V8?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> Yes, some of the big heavyweights in the 105Kg + Class can carry extra body fat, but most of the Olympic Lifters below 105 Kg are ripped and got that way by training only for the lifts. You won't see them doing endless crunches, aerobics, or high rep light weights. These guys and girls train with heavy single reps to a maximum weight.

That's the beauty of Olympic Lifting. You get strength, power, flexibility, and balance from only doing two lifts; the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch. That's why Olympic Lifting is a staple exercise of every national ski race team, NHL Hockey team, NLF team etc. It blows my mind why so few members of the general fitness public, especially in the USA, have so little access to the sport. Most people only pay attention to it once every 4 years when the Olympics take place.

Allee, See if there are any Olympic lifting clubs in your area. You would more than likely get more focused coaching on the Olympic Lifts at a cheaper monthly rate than Crossfit. Olympic lifting only takes moderate flexibility, you don't have to be super supple like some other activities such as gymnastics etc. The biggest problem I see in people is shoulder flexibility. Mostly in guys who do too much bench pressing. It is pretty easy to gain shoulder flexibility unless you have a chronic injury. Some people have issues with hip flexibility in the squat phase of the lifts, but that is pretty easy to fix also with practice. Most people involved in snowsports have pretty good hip flexibility to begin with. Yea, I know what you mean about your girlfriend missing lifts on certain days, but that is just part of the sport. You have good days and bad days just like in snowboarding. The important thing is not to get sloppy technique by forcing too much weight to many times. If I'm going for a new personal record, I attempt it only as long as my form doesn't totally break down. Olympic lifting actually has a very, very low injury rate if you lift smart. This is getting out of the scope of this forum, but if you can't find a local coach, there is several good books on the subject, along with interactive internet forums hosted by active Olympic Weightlifting Coaches. While belonging to a local lifting club is the best option, I know several successful masters (older age) lifters that can move BIG weights, and they train alone with no coaching.

I'd stay away from all the shiny new "latest and greatest" weight machines found at most commercial gyms now. They are ok for rehab work if injured, but the muscle isolation they provide has very little carry over to athletic movements. Compound movements with free weights that use multiple muscle groups have the most carry over to sports. Squats, deadlifts, and the overhead press will hit every major group in the body. Push ups, pull ups, and body weight dips are also excellent. If you can find a glute-ham raise station, where you use your hamstrings to pull up your body weight, that is much better than doing leg curls on a machine. Two of the absolute best weight exercises that have incredible carry over to power sports are the Olympic Weightlifting Clean & Jerk and Snatch. Both exercises involve taking a barbell from the ground and exploding it to a overhead position in a matter of seconds. Nothing is better for power development. However, it is very hard to find a mainstream commercial gym that will let you do Olympic lifting.

Yea Bobby, I remember those stiff, thick skis from the '80's all too well. Might as well been on a 2x4 with metal edges.:lol: I agree with you concerning boards too. When I started racing, I was using a relative soft board. When I got better, I thought a stiffer board would make me even faster in the course. Boy was I wrong! Longitudinally stiff boards, steeps, ice and ruts are not happy campers when combined. That's the beauty of the new metal boards. Increased ability to keep the edge in contact with the snow by flexing front to back, but increased edge hold by being stiffer/damper torsionally. Same thing with new race skis. Much softer than the stuff from the 80's. Progress is a good thing!

As others said, 2 fingers is too large for any type of performance fit. You will need to go down a shell size. If the smaller shells have tight spots, they are easily fixable by a good boot fitter. Don't just go to any ski shop to have this done. Find a fitter in your area that caters to the race crowd. Your feet and boots will thank you in the long run. Getting different liners for your current shell size may help the problem for a few weeks, but as soon as they pack out, you will be back to square one. I learned the hard way years ago when I started to use hard boots. I bought a boot that was not only too soft, but a size too big. I went into a fast heel side on steep hardpack, the board chattered hard, and I felt a burning sensation in my ankle. Had it checked out when I got home. Ended up with multiple hair line fractures in the joint. My left foot hurt for over a year until it cleared up.