2006 | Shape up before shipping out
CRAIG HILL AND RUSS CARMACK; The News Tribune
Unless you plan on holding down seat cushions in the lodge this season, it probably will pay for you to do a few exercises to get in shape before you hit the slopes.
The best training you can do are plyometrics and exercises that strengthen your core and lower body. Plyometrics improve your explosiveness.
Troy Nesby and Lisa Hunt, personal trainers at the YMCA, recommend the following workouts. Try three sets of 20 reps two or three times per week. If that’s too much, slowly work your way up.
“Plyometrics isn’t something you just want to jump into if you aren’t active,” Nesby said. “Make sure you are warmed up, and take it slow if you’re just getting started.”
STRENGTH
ROMAN TWIST
Lay on your back with legs up and bent at a 90-degree angle. Put your arms at your side for stabilization. Slowly rotate your legs from one side to the other, making sure not to bring your shoulders off the floor. For a tougher workout, hold weight between your knees.
TRAVERSE LUNGES
Starting with your feet shoulder-width apart, imagine you are standing in a square. Lunge backward with your right leg toward the opposite corner of the imaginary square, and dip down. Repeat with the left leg. For a bigger challenge, add weight and do curls or overhead presses with the lunges.
PLYOMETRICS
ICE SKATERS
Starting with your feet shoulder-width apart, jump to your right, landing with your body leaning forward with your left leg sliding behind and across your right leg. Jump to the other side with your other leg sliding behind you. As you jump back and forth, you’ll look like an ice skater. To intensify the workout, make your jumps progressively more explosive.
SCISSOR JUMPS
Place one leg forward, bent at the knee, and the other leg straight back. Keeping your waist in the middle and your upper body upright, jump and quickly alternate your legs. Dip down as you land. For a tougher workout, make circular motions with your arms and jump higher.
LATERAL HOPS
Start low in a squatting position and explode upward as you jump to your side. When you land, immediately repeat the jump back to where you started. For the more advanced, increase the power and distance of your jumps.
