Gym workouts for carving

[Loc]

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.

My PT use to play rugby in college and told me he didn't care for guys who can bench or even squat a lot. It was the guys who could perform Olympic lifts like maniacs that he had to watch out for. Makes sense though.

I look forward to learning these lifts in the next few weeks in his garage. Not sure how I'll actually practice them since 24 Fitness is lame.

[davekempmeister]

I think Slopestar and QQ are getting it right. A tight bike and a jump rope.

[slopestar]

I think Slopestar and QQ are getting it right. A tight bike and a jump rope.

I have recently lost about 20 lbs and continue to exercise and balance my diet. I have physically not felt this good in ten years. from 5'10 225-230

to 205-210/ Go figure, I didn't get shorter? Crunches/pushups/dips/pull ups: all daily....light tv yoga/jumping rope every other day. My spare tire is all but gone. Man boobs have turned to pectoral muscles. Back pain...what back pain? Let it snow baby. Board short weather is coming...or at least jacuzzi weather...and I will have the confidence to show off my efforts both on and off the snow!~Oh ya diet...light breakfast/snack like fruit at 9/sensible portion lunch/snack at 3/ sensible dinner/ no soda and no sweets

[mike g.]

keenan, while your there waiting for them to fix the lift and keepen warm. with a belly full of beer. I'll take your board a walk to the next lift and ride it.....

mike ;)

________

vaporgenie vaporizer

[Seb]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG2GoqgUYWM

[Allee]

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.

You'll find a lot more these days, as more and more gyms sign on to crossfit. The only problem with Olympic lifting, as I'm sure you know, is that it's not something you can rock in to the gym and do. It's super technical, and to do it properly you'd need to spend the best part of six months, learning from someone qualified, and then drilling, drilling, drilling to get your basics down. Plus, it requires a good deal of flexibility, probably a lot more than your average schmo possesses (this is the part that gives me trouble).

The crossfit people at my gym are all over me, trying to get me to take it up, but I have other fitness goals for next summer - and I simply don't have the patience to learn. I've messed with it, and it's definitely an amazing workout if you want to get in to it.

[crucible]

All this talk of workout regimens has made me VERY HUNGRY- time to put more chicken wings on the grilll....

On a more serious note, I have found cross training essential for getting me into boarding shape.

My three cross training sports are martial arts, road cycling. and climbing. The martial arts helps my fast twitch precison, situational awareness, and power, the road bike keeps me aerobically dialled and helps with endurance, and the climbing helps with my flexibilty and strength.

[jjfarbs]

Bikram Yoga and Ride Your Bike

[leeho730]

Pack marching, with 30kg backpack for 6 or 7 hours...

[Neil Gendzwill]

The crossfit people at my gym are all over me, trying to get me to take it up

Bah. Crossfit is a racket. I have one friend who was super into it for a while but as the prices got jacked higher and higher and the quality of the instruction became less consistent he got out.

I don't think you need 6 whole months of training to do Oly lifts safely. I'm sure there's always more to do to improve your technique.

[Allee]

I don't think you need 6 whole months of training to do Oly lifts safely. I'm sure there's always more to do to improve your technique.

I wouldn't bet on it. One of my best girlfriends at the gym just got her Crossfit Level I in Sept. She started from scratch in March, and was lifting three days a week. Even now, she still has days when the lifts just won't come together for her. I know for sure that with my flexibility issues, it would be at least a six month road for me - and I'm probably way ahead of most people.

I can see that Crossfit has a use, and we' re very lucky at our gym that we have three excellent Crossfit trainers who I'd be happy to learn under. But yeah, the cost is definitely an issue, when said trainers charge at $60 an hour.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Crossfit membership in Winnipeg where my friend is from is up to $250/month, IIRC.

[Loc]

If you got the deep pockets for CrossFit it looks like a good system. I opted to learn the compound lifts on my own and have PT sessions now and then to check up on my form, learn new exercises and make sure my diet is in order.

[Bobby Buggs]

Yeah you need to be strong but, one of the most important things NOT mentioned here is Flexibility and balance. I have done a ton of body damage over the past 47 years from many knee scopes, to Back disc operations to AC separations, my flex is horrible. I was never gifted with good flex and with all the injuries its become even more of a problem. I can only imagine how much better of a rider or even over all athlete I could have been with better flex.

Im working with a trainer now and my focus is on balance and flex first then weights. I can tell you first hand, you can get a great work out just doing balance and flex work, and really for what we do its significantly important. ....................

[Race_Carver]

I wouldn't bet on it. One of my best girlfriends at the gym just got her Crossfit Level I in Sept. She started from scratch in March, and was lifting three days a week. Even now, she still has days when the lifts just won't come together for her. I know for sure that with my flexibility issues, it would be at least a six month road for me - and I'm probably way ahead of most people.

I can see that Crossfit has a use, and we' re very lucky at our gym that we have three excellent Crossfit trainers who I'd be happy to learn under. But yeah, the cost is definitely an issue, when said trainers charge at $60 an hour.

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.

[Race_Carver]

Yeah you need to be strong but, one of the most important things NOT mentioned here is Flexibility and balance. I have done a ton of body damage over the past 47 years from many knee scopes, to Back disc operations to AC separations, my flex is horrible. I was never gifted with good flex and with all the injuries its become even more of a problem. I can only imagine how much better of a rider or even over all athlete I could have been with better flex.

Im working with a trainer now and my focus is on balance and flex first then weights. I can tell you first hand, you can get a great work out just doing balance and flex work, and really for what we do its significantly important. ....................

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.

[StevieG]

Here's a good quad-burner and cardio exercise for those with access to a gym - 20-30 minutes on an elliptical trainer, but every couple of minutes, do 60 seconds in a squat position. Just drop your ass, upper leg parallel to the floor at the highest position of each stroke, and let it burn. If you can maintain this position for much more than a minute at a time, you are a beast.

Sounds dumb, looks dumber, but really works.

[BadBrad]

That's the beauty of Olympic Lifting. You get strength, power, flexibility, and balance from only doing two lifts.

No, this is the beauty of Olympic lifting. You get that awesome physique!

[Neil Gendzwill]

Maybe not that guy, but sign me up to look like Ivan Stoitsov:

[BadBrad]

For flexibility/mobility training, check out Eric Cressey's Magnificent Mobility. It's better than just static stretching in that it gives you functional mobility for athletic activities.

As others have said, basic whole-body strength exercises with free weights will build real-world useful strength and challenge the core. Various squats, deadlifts, lunges, and step-ups will especially help strength for carving.

In addition to pure strength, strength-endurance training helps keep me from petering out mid-day (or mid-run). These are weightlifting sessions with lighter weights, higher reps, and little or no rest between exercises. Look up "complexes" or "cardio strength training". These do a lot more for my carving endurance than steady-state cardio.

For cardio, cycling is great. I prefer mountain biking. I think hard intervals or hill repeats work better than steady state for carving fitness, whether it is cycling or running or elliptical or whatever.

[Race_Carver]

How about this guy's physique, and the fact he can throw 450 lbs above his head with an 185 lbs body weight.

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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.

[Hans]

with some vids:

http://www.snotrainer.com/

and

http://www.pro-ride.com/snowboard_workout.cfm

enough info to get some exercises of your needs.

[AMK]

Maybe not that guy, but sign me up to look like Ivan Stoitsov:

Come on Neil, you don't think its a bit too much. Have to say Mr Ivan have amazing 6-pack but some way I don't found it healthy to work out that much. He looks like a steak (sorry Mr Ivan).

PS you are runner, you can't run to fast with "all that" on you. ;)

[Neil Gendzwill]

Come on Neil, you don't think its a bit too much. Have to say Mr Ivan have amazing 6-pack but some way I don't found it healthy to work out that much. He looks like a steak (sorry Mr Ivan).

PS you are runner, you can't run to fast with "all that" on you. ;)

I run lots true but I need to get back in the gym and bulk back up a bit. Getting too skinny for my other sports (kendo, snowboarding, judo).

[Race_Carver]

Come on Neil, you don't think its a bit too much. Have to say Mr Ivan have amazing 6-pack but some way I don't found it healthy to work out that much. He looks like a steak (sorry Mr Ivan).

PS you are runner, you can't run to fast with "all that" on you. ;)

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.:)