Prepping for Snowboard Season - The Get Fit & Stay Fit Guide

Bear Mountain 11/30 Instagram post
Gretchen Blieler and friends snow
boarding at "Bare Mountain"

Pre-season Exercise:

All southern California resorts have had their opening day this last month in November, but not all the mountains have prime snow boarding conditions. Bear Mountain in particular has been called by its Facebook and Instagram followers "Bare Mountain" due to the limited amount of open runs and dirt that is surrounding the only runs that are properly groomed for the beginning of the season. Unfortunately the snow season is off to a slow start at the mountain I chose to buy my season pass at this year (Bear Mountain, see photo on right) in contrast to Mammoth Mountain which has gotten DUMPED ON with 12.1" of Fresh Snow in the past 24 hours and 34.6" of fresh snow in the past 72 hours and a base of 50-70 in. of packed powder! Mammoth has officially gotten 113 inches of snow so far this season in comparison to Bear Mountain which is currently only reporting 8-16 inches of hard packed snow.

I'm not going to drive 2.5 hours up to Bear Mountain for a crowded, slushy and less than ideal so cal snow day when I know how wicked mammoth is at the moment in comparison. Only 2 out of 9 chairs @ Bear are currently operating. So for now, I am praying for a cold front and a huge snow for Bear Mountain while I am continuing my preseason excercise routine that I have decided to share with you :)

What have I done to stay fit over summer and train to keep in shape for the winter season? Well in between seasons and trips to the mountain my regimen consists of a combination of keeping active throughout the year with cardio, muscle strengthening, exercises that increase flexibility (think hot yoga and pilates) and, of course, eating right. 

Cardio

Although you can find me in the gym year round I prefer to workout outdoors such as hiking with friends and going for jogs and walks with my pitbull on the local pathways in town. Using the stair master  elliptical and treadmill in the gym is definitely great on days that are too hot, cold or when weather is less than perfect. But on a beautiful, sunny Socal day you can find me hiking on the trails in the mountains by my home. 

Hiking is a fantastic way to get out in nature, enjoy the fresh air and get a great leg work out.  The uphill kicks your butt, calves, and quads; while the downhill hones your shins, feet, and knees. Because the terrain is varied your legs are always correcting, always moving in new ways, always challenging themselves and strengthen more effectively than any gym cardio machines. I try to do 30 min to an hour of cardio about 4 times a week.

When hiking, I opt for the longer trails that run 5+ miles. Most often I go to Ed Davis Park in Towsley Canyon which is only a few miles from my home in Valencia. I also enjoy going up to Runyon Canyon in LA or Vasquez Rocks Canyon in Agua Dulce when I feel like straying out of the valley for a hike. As with hiking anywhere in Socal, beware of wildlife! Rattlesnakes are bound to be out on hot, sunny days and at most of these places you are bound to run into other wild animals. Don't go on hikes alone and don't aggrivate or entice the wild animals, I have never had a problem with them on hikes, just let them be and carry on!



Towsley Canyon Hiking Trail



Step training

Outdoor stair workouts are phenomenal for a quick cardio blast that you'll feel all day. This exercise targets leg strengthening but also does a nice job tackling your core section as well. I try to set realistic goals and increase them over time. Starting with 10 flights and increasing over time to 15, 20, 25, and then 30 is a great way to increase stamina and train your way to excellence. By adding squats, crunches, sit ups, push ups dips, body builders, jumping jacks and lunges in between flights you can tackle more areas of the body and increase the effectiveness of your workout.


 

Some Tips for Step Training: Always stretch before and after to avoid injuring yourself. Try walking the steps for a flight once so that you can get adjusted to the height and spacing of each step. Don't forget to drink water and stay hydrated. Don't push yourself too hard, its about progress not perfection, start small and increase number of flights gradually.





Pico Canyon Park Stairs



My favorite place to hit the stairs is at the local community college in Valencia, College of the Canyons. The stadium has LOTS of stairs, and on weekends if your lucky, you will catch the fire department and police academy trainees getting their morning workout on the staircases too ;) Sometimes the stadium is locked early in the AM, if I dont feel like trespassing to get to the stairs, I go to the Stevenson Ranch stairs. Pico Canyon Park has a nice big stair case of a little over 150 steps, the stairs are usually pretty crowded in the early morning hours.

 

Core exercises

Over the summer I attempted the p90x and Insanity excercise videos. Although I did notice a difference I couldn't quite get motivated to put in a tape daily, work out in my hot, unairconditioned home that I lived in with 4 roommates and keep myself accountable for the full recommended amount of time to do the work out routines. Although I did keep the ab workout routine from p90x as my clutch "go to" ab workout. I found these instructions @ http://www.ehow.com

These are seriously intense and you will feel it the next day! Start out with 15 of each of these excercises every other day and move up gradually to 20 and 25 of each.
DO NOT PUSH YOURSELF TOO FAST AND DO NOT DO THESE DAILY!

Instruction
 

1
First Exercise of the routine: In & Outs (25 repetitions)
In & Outs is a Core Workout. This means the exercise strengthens more than just your abs. Your hands are placed near your buttocks to support your weight. Your legs are placed together as you bring your knees to your chest as close as can go. You will feel it in your thighs as well. I felt my muscles tingle on my lower back as well. Moderate speed. Should take you about 25 seconds.

2

Second Exercise: Bicycles (forward motion)
Bicycles involves rotation of your legs like the motion of a bicycle. You will really feel a burn in your thighs from this exercise. Variation of the exercise is raising your arms, which adds balance to the routine. 25 repetitions.
Third Exercise: Reverse Bicycles (reverse motion)
Reverse Bicycles is the same motion as in Step 2, however in the opposite motion (rotating backwards). By now if this is your first time doing this workout, your legs will feel like mush. 25 repetitions.

4

Fourth Exercise: Crunchy Frog
Crunchy Frog is a combination exercise where your arms are spanned open like the Butterfly Swimming Stroke to cup your knees which you will be bringing in towards your chest. This is a Core workout as well. Remember to stretch your arms straight as you extend outward from your stroke. 25 repetitions. If you need to take a break, this step would be a good time. It's ok if this is as far as you go the first time. For those who can continue, proceed to step 5.

5

Fifth Exercise: Cross-Leg/Wide Leg Sit-ups.
Sit down Indian-style or Easier Variation. Extend Legs from position into a Y-Shape.

Tense your abs as you raise your arm to the ceiling. Keep your head and neck up towards the ceiling and not towards your legs. This protects you from straining your neck. When you are up, extend your fingertips to your toes (or the floor). Return back to your original position. That is one repetition. 25 Repetitions. This will take a while, so now is a good time to take a few water breaks in between.

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Sixth Exercise: Fifer Scissors.
Extend one leg as straight as possible slightly above the floor, and the other leg straight up to point to the ceiling. With each second bring legs down so that each one will take the position of the other leg. So there will always be one leg that is straight to the ceiling, one leg straight, parallel to the floor. Do this exercise according to Tony Horton's cue (youtube link at the bottom to the exercise). It is roughly 25 repetitions.

7

Seventh Exercise: Hip Rock and Raise.
Have your feet together by the bottoms of your feet like clamping your palms together. Raise legs up, knees to chest. The key is where you point both your feet to the ceiling to get that extra umph to your abs.

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Eighth Exercise: Pulse UPS
Both Legs are Straight to the Ceiling. Raise as if you're trying to land your heels on the ceiling. Try not to rock too much. You may want to cushion your lower back with a pillow because the return to the floor after each rep can be hard (personal experience)

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Ninth Exercise: V-Up/Roll-Up
Lie straight on the floor. Raise your torso up to do a toe touch, and as you slowly lower yourself down bring your lower legs up slowly, keeping them straight. When the torso has returned to original position, with feet in air, bring your arms up in a more difficult toe touch (because toes are in air, not on the floor). Return to prone position. That is one repetition. (Look at the video for more guidance).

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Tenth/Eleventh Exercises: Oblique V-Ups
Lie on one side, hand behind head. Weight should be placed on your hip and butt. The other hand in front of your body for balance. Bring up your body in a way where your elbow of the hand behind your head reaches your knee as its being raised. That is one repetition. 25 repetitions of those. Repeat on the other side (to keep your abs looking evenly worked out).

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Twelfth Exercise: Leg Climbs
Raise your legs up like you did in Hip Rock n Raise. Bring one leg down so the heel is as close to your butt as possible. Do Hand grabs up your leg to your toe, tap foot, and come back down. By this time your muscles should be at their limit. (Honestly I skip this step plenty of times because I don't feel too much from it/too tired.)

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Last Step: Mason Twist

Clasp hands into a fist in the middle of your body. Bring your legs up above the ground. Begin with the clasped fist reaching one side of the floor, tap it, and bring fist over to other side of body and tap the floor, return to your original position. That is one repetition. Do 30 repetitions. To follow Tony you will have to do a bonus 10 reps (If you still have it in you). Done!