2015-2016 USASA SBX Year-End Re-Cap

Sunrise Over the Boardercross Course

The regular race season ended up being much shorter than usual with my relocation to the East Coast to work as Snowsports School Director for Seven Springs Mountain Resort.  The winter didn’t really get going until early January and ended quickly in early March.  The USASA Appalachian Series only had one weekend of racing at Massanutten in Virginia.  I was lucky to get time off to make the 2nd day of competition and qualify for Nationals.  Big thanks to the App Series for running the event even though it was pouring down rain all day.

2015 USASA SBX Year-End Re-Cap

While my goal for this year was the same as the past few (win Gold at Nationals), I had a little more incentive to succeed, as a Gold in April would have made it 3 in a row.

Lined Up for Time Trials

Leading up to Nat’s, I had won 5 Rocky Mountain Series regional races where I was often racing against younger age group competitors.  I was riding really well and had consistent, strong starts throughout the year.

2015 USASA SBX Race Update

This has been an unusually warm and dry race season - luckily no races have been cancelled, but all of the scheduled practice days at Ski Cooper were scratched.  Speaking of which, Ski Cooper was a new race venue and provided a fairly technical course with over 20 features (even with the low snow totals). 

Ski Cooper Course Start

Ski Cooper Start Section

Fight Club on Snow - Part 3

Be sure to read Part #1 and Part #2.

So do our racing efforts line up with the movie themes listed earlier?  Decide for yourself:

- Racing provides a regular opportunity to participate in intense competition.  Preparing for racing (gym training, practice,etc.) and striving to be better each race gives an added focus to daily activities and SBX/SX athletes seem to have a certain passion for living that others may lack.

Close Competition Over the 1st Feature
Photo VAST::vastaction.com

Fight Club on Snow - Part 2

Be sure to read Part #1.

Unfortunately the media hasn’t really helped foster better understanding of our sports by describing Boardercross (and Skicross) as the NASCAR of snowsports – this analogy is completely wrong by the way – and I can offer up a few sports that make for a much more accurate comparison (read more about this topic on a previous post).  Even though these sports are, and have been in the Olympics since 2006 (SBX) and 2010 (SX), most people are not totally clear on what races are like and know even less about the athletes who compete in each discipline.

You Actually Tune Your Own Boards?

Fight Club on Snow - Part 1

If you’ve seen the cult classic movie, “Fight Club”, then you are already familiar with some themes the characters embrace:

          -       A routine opportunity to fight recreationally (think: physical outlet for competitive efforts)

          -       A chance to break out of the mundane, humdrum life and have ‘real living experiences’ (beyond just being a consumer that lacks a soul, that’s part of a soft and lazy culture)

          -       Development of strong bonds and camaraderie built through intense competition (fighters would routinely hug and thank each other after bouts)

In addition, there were generally two reactions to learning about Fight Club and/or interacting with one of its members:

          -       After watching one (fight) you want to join in

          -       Confusion from co-workers and colleagues as to exactly what it is they were doing (and why) with their weekends/nights

Eager Crowd Waiting to Hit the Course

Client Success Story

Before relating one of my client’s success stories, I want to describe a few standards I follow when training and working with people:

-     It’s my experience that no matter how great you perform in the gym, none of that matters if your improved strength, endurance, etc. does not translate to results outside of the gym.

-     I also believe that one’s overall health and wellbeing are just as important as their sport specific goals and achievements.  You should look and be (inside and out) a real example of fitness, health and athleticism.

Both these ideas match with my business mission:

Develop/administer effective, creative, specific and safe exercise programs/training sessions to help my clients achieve their personal health/fitness, athletic performance and competition goals.

Ale Getting SBX Ready

What I Eat

Most people think I eat super-strict and never have foods like pizza, ice cream or cheeseburgers.  I often get comments like “I wish I could be as disciplined as you with food” or “You must eat kale sandwiches all day long”.  I don’t feel like I’m “disciplined” when it comes to food in any special way.  I eat a lot and like to eat good food as evidenced by my Tweets of SBX Gold Medalcelebration meals.  What I do have is a certain level of consistency with following some simple food guidelines over a significant period of time.  You too can apply these principles and experience a significant improvement in your health and physical condition (this is assuming you do not have any specific medical conditions that require a specific nutrition plan).

Hungry Yet?

A few things go along with eating the way I do:  intense physical exertion in the gym and on the snow/trails along with adequate recovery time (sleep/rest).  It’s not enough to just work out in the gym - you can’t out-work crappy nutrition.  You also won’t get the most benefit from quality foods and solid training without appropriate rest and recovery.  The results of eating well will help and have an effect, but you can have a much greater impact on your physical state with all 3 elements working together.

How About Now?

Boardercross (SBX) and Skicross (SX) are not like NASCAR

No matter how many TV ‘talking heads’, newspaper/magazine articles, or random chairlift conversations make mention of it, Boarder/Skicross is not like NASCAR.  This comparison is inaccurate and using the reference as a talking point demonstrates a limited understanding of our sports and shows a complete lack of any research done before one assumes their role as ‘expert commentator’. 

Ever See This in a NASCAR Race?

One might argue that the two sports are alike in that they both are races, sometimes have crashes/collisions during the events and there’s a lot of sponsor logos floating around on equipment.  This is a flimsy line of reasoning as most motorsports are races, have occasional crashes and almost all gear is covered with lots of sponsor logos.  Not nearly enough unique similarities to declare an official ‘match’.

2014 USASA Nationals Re-Cap #5

Be sure to read Nat’s Re-Cap #1 + #2 + #3 + #4.

Nationals Race Day was generally overcast with moderate temperatures and some occasional snow alternating with sun, then back to clouds.  Wax selection was perfect and the boards were running fast even with the varied weather conditions.

Oxess Ready to Go Fast

2014 USASA Nationals Re-Cap #4

Be sure to read Nats Re-Cap #1 + #2 + #3.

Final preparations for race day include tuning and waxing boards (lots of waxing), some gym work, visiting with friends and family, and of course the traditional Nationals lasagna dinner.  How you manage your time and activities during a longer break (I had 3 days off before race day – technically 4, but I worked the day after practice was done) makes all the difference in staying in the peak zone for performance.

Ale's Board Getting Some Speed Mojo

2014 USASA Nationals Re-Cap #3

Be sure to read Nationals Re-Cap #1 + #2.

SBX Practice days, hosted by the Rocky Mountain Series, are awesome.  You’ve got access to the course for 3 hours each day with a limited number of participants.  Most of the skiers/riders there are pretty good and are working with a Coach/Race Team so you get to watch a lot of solid riding during practice as well.

Copper Course - Practice Version

2014 USASA Nationals Re-Cap #2

Be sure to read Nationals Re-Cap #1.

As you’re working through an off-season training program it’s sometimes hard to see/feel how the efforts are going to benefit your performance during the season, especially when the snow is 5 months away.  It can be difficult to imagine how doing mega-rep squats on a random day in June is going to set you up for success in March, but that’s exactly what is happening.

Deadlifts = Simple, Effective and Fun

2014 USASA Nationals Re-Cap #1

This year marked the 25^th Anniversary of the United States of America Snowboard Association (USASA) National Championships hosted at Copper Mountain,Colorado.  Close to 2000 athletes spread across 14 age divisions (for both Men and Women) were on hand for events in 5 disciplines - Boardercross, Halfpipe, Slopestyle, Giant Slalom and Slalom.

Earned the Top Spot on the National Rankings

2014 USASA SBX Race Update #2

Snow, snow, snow and more snow.  That was the theme of last weekend’s RockyMountain Series SBX Races at Copper Mountain.  In fact it seems like it’s been snowing in Summit County since the beginning of January.  RMS did a great job keeping the course in solid shape for racing both days and other than super-low visibility, the conditions were pretty good.

Powder-Cross?

2014 USASA SBX Race Update #1

The first weekend of SBX Racing is in the books and things went pretty well.  I won two Gold Medals and felt like my riding picked up right where it left off at the end of last season.  Gym training has been solid and I feel physically strong, though there’s still a lot of work to do before Nationals.

Copper Course

12/5/13 Training Session Highlight Video

Here are a few excerpts from my last Mountain Athlete conditioning session:

If that looks like fun to you, contact me to start your training program today!

Pre-Season Conditioning

How’s your pre-season conditioning going?  I just finished up the second wave (8-day cycle) of the first round of my pre-season conditioning (PSC) phase and feel really good.  I enjoy the extra work that’s involved this time of year:  increased frequency of Plyometrics, Balance Work, Olympic Lifts and even the Metabolic/Conditioning aspects are fun too.

I can tell from recent Twitter/Facebook video posts that a lot of other athletes around the globe are in PSC mode as well.  To be totally prepared for the snow season one needs to be at peak levels in strength, endurance, speed, power, balance, agility/coordination and mental focus, especially for competition settings.  If you’re not addressing all these needs in your PSC program you need a new program and maybe a new coach. 

20-Minute Squats

Over the past several weeks I’ve been working with a supplement company (Generation UCAN) to finalize a partnership and subsequent affiliation.  I started using their pre-workout nutrition about a month before the 2013 USASA Nationals and have experienced great results.  I had hoped to make the announcement in my next (this) blog post, but all the final details and webpage stuff (where you can purchase at a discount, etc.) aren’t quite dialed in yet.  In the mean time enjoy this 20-minute squat article and keep an eye out for the upcoming supplement news.

If You Want to Improve Your Speed + Agility You Need to Get Stronger First

There are several vital qualities a Cross Athlete (Ski and Boardercross) must possess to consistently be a top performer from race to race.  Strength, balance, endurance, power, quickness/agility, technical skills and mental focus are a few of the more obvious.  Becoming faster and quicker over features on the racecourse is a common result that athletes I train want to gain from their off-season gym work.

PHOTO VAST:: vastaction.com

These athletes at first are a little surprised when I prescribe a steady diet of weight training for strength and size before we come close to doing anything that even remotely resembles traditional speed/agility-style training.