Its that time again, Top 5....

[Bobby Buggs]

Well at least for me, football coaching is over this week and I will take those 4 nights a week to start getting ready for carving. What are your top 5 carve specific exercises to get ready for the season.

[kieran]

1: indoor snow slope

2: http://runkeeper.com/user/somnambulant_sasquatch/activity/124837173

3: lap pool swimming (breaststroke)

4: convincing everyone a meteorological apocalypse is coming

5: proper food + sleep.

[heroshmero]

1. Running

2. Squats and calf raises

3. Stretching and flexibility (especially spinal flexibility)

4. Balance board

5. Longboard skateboarding

[slopestar]

1. LDP

2. Diet

3. Pull ups and squats

4. Yoga

5. Vigorous sex

[C5 Golfer]

Cougar Mt hike

Golf

Cougar Mt hike

Golf

Thinking I am getting stronger as I drink red wine

Golf

[BlueB]

Slope, I really like your methods, especially #5! :D

I guess one could make a great cross-over training from 3-5 combined! ;)

I don't do anything too special... Right through the summer: Slalom skateboard, LDP (more MDP though), Tennis up to 4 times a week... Sailed a major reggatta, but it doesn't really count as never conditioned for it... Diet, I always try to pick few pounds before the winter, to have the stuff to burn...

[kinpa]

I have a desk job... Do some calf raises at the desk... Try to keep with the kids and their soccer stuff....Might try to wear the new boots around the house, does that count?

[Tatoos]

1-balance excercises

2-power in the legs

3-feeling the snow

4-feeling the snow

5-feeling the snow

[pogokoenig]

- cleaning up my snowboardworkshop in the cellar

- tuning the edges and do some meditative waxing

- realize that i desperately need a new board (4 are definitely not enough)

- check boots and bindings (realize the green boots do not match the color of the red bindings)

- open-up a beer with the strong confidence that it's going to be a great winter season

[Bordy]

Well at least for me, football coaching is over this week and I will take those 4 nights a week to start getting ready for carving. What are your top 5 carve specific exercises to get ready for the season.

1. get on plane to southeren hemesphere

2. go snowboard in till legs stop working

3. repet step 2 the next day

4. Hot tub, and apres...(often over looked)

5. step 2 again

[davekempmeister]

bike (road or on Kreitler rollers), t-board, swim, monkey bars w/my kids @ the playground, stretching (a lot) and a medicine ball.

the medicine ball is something that i can't say enough good things about and i suggest it to others who dislike the gym as much as i do.

[Bobby Buggs]

elaborate on the medicine ball

[powdahbonz]

In Maine, some prefer Zumba...however, lots of risk involved

[Mike T]

1. get on plane to southeren hemesphere

2. go snowboard in till legs stop working

3. repet step 2 the next day

4. Hot tub, and apres...(often over looked)

5. step 2 again

Certainly my first choice as a training regimen, if I could pull it off... taking enough time off work to get my 65 days in @ Bachelor is hard enough as it is ;-)

[davekempmeister]

elaborate on the medicine ball

one is a 14 lb pure sphere with a rhino type covering that's grippy enough. it's about the diameter of a properly inflated playground kickball. the other is a 30 lb w/two opposing handles and i think it's filled with sand and the covering is tough flexible plastic. the 30 lb is a bit smaller, something on the order of a volleyball maybe.

anyway, i leave them about the house and pick them up throughout the day, intermittently. they are helpful as a counterweight when stretching and encourage fluidity in motion. targeting particular muscles in the core comes more easily.

for me personally, they are very helpful in pinpointing trigger points that are contributing to a muscle's dysfunction or referring pain. they allow such precise movement from so many angles and you can alter the tempo so easily that they totally enhance one's body awareness in addition to the exercise benefit. once accustomed to the dimensions and weight, the user has a connectivity with the ball that seems unlikely with a barbell or kettle. the motion becomes more anticipatory.

i've never stood around in a speedo chest heaving medicine balls at others standing around in speedos.

this is the image that the term "medicine ball" so commonly conjures up. you can find them on Amazon w/free shipping - that's crazy, huh?

Edited October 17, 2012 by davekempmeister

[Steve Prokopiw]

Just got back from a 10 day trip to Toronto(relatives) and New York City(head office of wife's employer) and rediscovered stair climbing.The New York hotel we stayed in had 23 floors and I came home limping from the 'good'soreness in my quads after a few workouts that included climbing stairs at two to three steps per stride for strength and power development and descending quickly at one step per stride for leg speed.This used to be one of my favorite cross-training workouts for velodrome racing.Healthclub Stairmasters are excruciatingly boring and do not provide nearly the core strength benefits of actually climbing stairs or bleachers.Stairs with a steeper the pitch are even better for developing range of motion and strength in addition to the obvious cardio benefits that can transfer well to heavy duty carving.

That and 'pool running' in a swimming pool,which is not only theraputic but can be very effective for low impact strength,cardio and increasing range of motion, are two of my favorite ways to stay in shape for all the high impact fun my boys and I are into.

Disclaimer- Descending stairs and particularly, bleachers,can be very dangerous.Common sense dictates using stairs with hand rails,and avoiding quick descents on bleachers;or just avoiding decents on bleachers and walking down some stairs before the next ascent of the bleachers,which is what I used to do on stadium bleachers.

Oops;had to go and forgot to mention the other three in my top five; #3 Built a backyard bmx track and I ride it as much as my kids do;#4 I jump on our trampoline as much as my kids do;#5 Ride a fixed gear bike or 'direct drive' indoor spin bike regularly.

The trampoline,bmx track, and pool-running have been 'revolutionary' for me the last couple of years.The other two have been part of my lifestyle for many years.Another one has been cyclocross racing,which,as a fall season sport is perfectly timed for snowboard conditioning,though I don't get to do it as much I would like.

Edited October 17, 2012 by Steve Prokopiw
forgot to add 3-5 in my top 5

[trailertrash]

1. Cancel cable TV.

2. Donate TV to charity.

3. Get will power.

4. Escape need for constant shiny object stimulation.

5. Get outside and be active.

[Gossamer]

1. Spend 5 hrs loading and unloading a 24 ft. truck with 50 lb cases, throwing each case on shelves.

2. Handtruck all cases down a ramp from the truck.

3. Wear 5 lb ankle weights while running in and out of the truck.

4. Spend 3 more hrs in a warehouse pulling more cases for the next days delivery.

5. Jokingly tell everyone: "Can you believe that they pay me to work out?"

I agree with Trailertrash's kill your TV sentiment.

[KingCrimson]

I started college. Nothing I've done has taken me anywhere but away from my fitness goals. Hopefully riding all day every day will help.

[davekempmeister]

I started college. Nothing I've done has taken me anywhere but away from my fitness goals. Hopefully riding all day every day will help.

Theo, you were born one day later than me (plus another 24 years, but whatever). Happy impending birthday. Anyway, the business of being 19 years old will help you a lot with your fitness goals, in addition to riding all day, every day. Those two variables together make you the envy of many of us, believe it.

[floBoot]

1. Cancel cable TV.

2. Donate TV to charity.

3. Get will power.

4. Escape need for constant shiny object stimulation.

5. Get outside and be active.

1. Haha...love the idea, especially as I do not have a TV

2. come out of Summer hibernation:sleep:

3. Extreme stretching

4. colour coordinate nail varnish

5. buy an extra flask

;)

Edited November 4, 2012 by floBoot

[ecshredder]

1. Weightlifting (legs and stomach)

2. Jumproping

3. Walking backwards

4. Stationary bike

5. Wall sits

[kipstar]

Having suffered some major health issues in the last 3 years, I'm just this season getting back into things. As a former triathalete, Muay Thai sparring partner for some decent fighters, sailor, it's tough to get fit again, toughest as you get older with ongoing health problems to overcome.

Anyhow, what I learned from Tris and in boxing is after building any sort of fitness base, the next step is interval training, to get the peaks right; in boxing, snowboarding and many other sports, the peaks are intense for shorter periods, the idea of going for a long 1 hour run is ok for a fitness base but won't help the peak intensive activity. even tris, intervals help a lot in all 3 parts.

So for this season I've been doing:

1. stationary trainer cycle, stair climbers, elliptical trainers, rower with interval training (variations of 1 min full speed 1 min rest up to 30 sec hard out of the saddle, 30 sec sprint 30 sec spinning minimal load again and again and again for between 15-45 minutes; RPM around 80+ except in the out of saddle stuff)

2. skipping with intervals (15min of skipping with 10 sec sprint every minute first 10 min + 15 sec sprint every minute last 5 min)

3. weight training (full body with 2 variations; variation 1 lifting 3X10-15 reps rest 1 min, next set; variation 2 3X15 reps at lighter weight 10 sec rest between each set)

4. running (3km - 6km distance, this is the easy day)

5. balance board 5 min rocking back and forth

6. (ok one more) specific core training including the plank for 1-2min at end of each training session; 2X15-50 crunches/sit ups; 50X knee raises each side

Would like to think I won't struggle too much but I know it will be tough so that's why I'll take Bordy's advice, and get time on the snow plus some good hot tub apres ski action early season, and then later in the season hopefully a trip to a proper hill like Mammoth or Squaw.