The US Snowboard Team tells Her Campus how to keep up this season!
Whether you’re a competitive or recreational skier or snowboarder, it is very important to work out in order to get your body in shape for ski/snowboard season. But did you know that it is just as important to continue your work in the gym once the ski/snowboard season actually begins?
Someone who knows all about the importance of being in shape for ski season is snowboarder Alex Tuttle. Tuttle is the world’s highest ranked International Ski Federation (FIS) Snowboard Cross (BX) competitor for his age and is taking the snowboard world by storm as he continues to excel and tear up BX courses everywhere.
Over Thanksgiving break, Tuttle had just gotten back to his home mountain Sugarloaf, from training out west with the U.S. Snowboard Team, (yeah, he’s that good), and I was able to talk to him about his fitness routine and how he stays in shape.
He explained that it is “important to maintain your fitness throughout the season to not only make sure that you are performing as well as you did at the start, but to protect yourself when crashes do happen.” Whether you’re on the BX course or taking pow-shots to the face, you know you take falls.
To help you Her Campus ski bunnies prevent injuries this season, I have gotten you an exclusive look at one of the U.S. Snowboard Team’s core routines, thanks to Tuttle.
“A strong core is the foundation of all fitness and should
always be a central focus.” – Alex Tuttle
Tuttle ran me through the routine and let’s just say “ouch” is an understatement…
You will do 20 of each of the eight exercises simultaneously for 10 minutes. So if you make it through all of the exercises and 10 minutes isn’t up, start back at the beginning!
-Sit Up
-Sit Up Alternating Hip Flexion (A more exaggerated, slower version of bicycle crunches)
-Straight Leg Sit Up (Sit ups with leg out straight)
-Seated Rotation (With or without medicine ball, knees bent with feet slightly off the ground, twist and bring ball or clenched fists to right side then left side)
-Back Extension [Alternating] Arm-Leg Raise (Lay flat, arms straight out ahead of you, lift left leg & right arm into the air & put back down, alternate)
-Back Extension Arm-Leg Raise (Same flat position as above, lift both arms & both legs into air at same time & lower back down)
-Side Sit Up (Back flat on ground, hands behind head, knees bent at 90’ & stacked on left side, crunch up feeling burn in your side (oblique). Switch sides after 20)
-Straight Leg, Leg Raise (Hold onto bar or put hands behind head, legs out straight, lift legs straight up into air & slowly lower back to ground, repeat)
Keep track of many times you complete the entire cycle and try and beat it next time!
And good luck to Tuttle and all the others representing the U.S.A. this week as they compete in Telluride, CO!
Workout compliments of Alex Tuttle & the U.S. Snowboard Team
Photo Cred: Google Images