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Health and fitness, Travel

Pilates and fitness for Skiing and Snowboarding

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Pilates fitness skiing snowbaording barcelona bienestarwww.barcelonabienestar.com

Pilates and fitness for skiing and snowboarding

I am a snowboarder. Anyone who either snowboards or skis will know that the two sports, whilst closely related, are very different in technique and especially mentality. One thing they do have in common (apart from snow) is the training that you need to be able to enjoy the coming season on the slopes.

When I fly from Barcelona, more often than not my route is directly over the Pyrenees Mountains. They look serene in the summer months but even more dramatic with a big dump of snow on them in winter. I get excited just looking at them!

Specific training for skiing and snowboarding

Skiing and snowboarding bring their own special demands on the body. If these demands are not adequately considered, then the skier or boarder, whatever their level, will reduce their performance potential, and thus reduce their enjoyment. By carrying out a specific training program, benefits can be gained such as:

• Improve endurance, so ski and board for longer
• Improve strength in the appropriate muscles
• Improve flexibility and agility
• Improve balance and control
• Reduce the risk of injury by strengthening areas such as the lower back and knee joints and muscles.

The fundamental skills needed to ski or board successfully are balance, rotary movements, edging movements, and pressure control. Most muscles of the lower body are used, as are the abdominal muscles and some upper body muscles. A planned training program carried out during the off-season can make dramatic improvements when the season arrives. It is also improtant to learn warm-up and warm-down routines which you should use before and after you ski.

Chris Snowboarding 21.2.14 2Happiness is a snowboard in your hands… This is me in February in La Molina.

Why Pilates?
In order to complete a turn, there must be adequate strength in the core, buttocks, lower back and legs. Flexibility is needed, especially in the hips. We use specific Pilates exercises to target all these areas.

Pilates is a revolutionary full body conditioning program, which focuses on training the mind and body to work together more effectively and efficiently. Pilates dramatically transforms the way the body looks, feels, and performs. It incorporates modern exercise science and rehabilitation principles, eliminating contraindicated movements while emphasizing neutral alignment, core stability and peripheral mobility. It builds strength without excess bulk, creating a sleek, toned body and a flat abdomen. It teaches body awareness and good posture. Pilates improves flexibility, agility and economy of motion, and is a safe form of movement making it optimal for clients that need to rehabilitate injuries.

Pilates exercises train several muscle groups at once in smooth, continuous movements. By developing proper technique, you can actually re-train your body to move in safer, more efficient patterns of motion – invaluable for injury recovery, good posture and optimal health. No other exercise system is so gentle to the body while giving it a challenging workout.

Injury Prevention
Skiing and boarding place great demands on the lower body, which can lead to overuse injuries. The most obvious place for such injuries is the legs, and especially the thighs. It is not so obvious that the core has a vital role to play in keeping the body upright and balanced, and enabling the hips to turn.

The shoulders and back can also become fatigued, and are prone to falling injuries. Such injuries can be reduced by strengthening these areas. This also applies to hand and wrist injuries, which can again be reduced by strengthening the forearm and wrist.

The time to start training for the coming season is now. If you are in Barcelona, then give me a call because Barcelona Bienestar offer specific training on a group and individual training basis. Sessions take place on the beach, in our studio or at client’s homes.

There are other functional exercises that great as well, and they can be done on the slopes as a warm up. Check out my video below. I shot a sequence of Pilates/functional movements in La Molina last year.

There are lots more exercises on my YouTube channel that you can watch by clicking here.

I love the sun and the sea, but I love the snow just as much. This is one of the many reasons why I love living in Barcelona. Where ever you live or plan to ski or snowboard, you really must start to plan your fitness routine now, before it’s too late.

Chris is an international Pilates presenter and educator based in Barcelona, Spain. He is the creator of Pilates EVO©, bodyFUNC©, and CEO of Pilates Rehab Limited and Sport Core Strength.  He also organises Pilates Carnival and Fitness Carnival, conventions where all profits go to local children’s charities. For more information about Pilates with Chris in Barcelona, please click on Barcelona Bienestar. To learn more about Chris, please read Just who is Chris Hunt anyway? You can also subscribe by completing the form on the this BLOG to receive articles and special offers straight to your inbox.

Chris pays all profits made from this BLOG to his charity partners. More details can be found by clicking on www.chrishuntwellness.com and selecting the “charity partners” tab.

 

Health and fitness

Criss Cross Exercise Chris Hunt Pilates

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My latest Snap Video is Criss-Cross, which focuses on the abs and especially on the obliques, all essential if you want to be the best boarder of skier that you can.

Lie on your back with a neutral spine. Bend your knees and bring your shins up so that they are parallel to the floor. Place your hands behind your head. Keep the neck relaxed and your elbows nice and wide. On the out breath curl the chin and shoulders up to the base of the shoulder blades. Keep your arms relaxed, let the abs do the work. Take the right shoulder towards the left knee ensuring a good rotation, then on the in-breath return to the starting position. Repeat on the left.

Health and fitness

Getting to the Core of the Winter Olympics

www.skicorestrength.com

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The more medals that are won at the Sochi Winter Olympics, the more medal winners come out of the closet and admit a dark secret: they regularly practise Pilates. From medal winners Kaetlyn Osmond to Julia Mancuso, it’s becoming very apparent that core exercises in general and Pilates in particular form a vital part of the athlete’s training. As a Pilates presenter and snowboarder myself, I know from personal experience just how true this is. But why is Pilates so relevant for alpine sports?

Skiing and snowboarding bring their own special demands on the body (check out http://www.skicorestrength.comfor more). If these demands are not adequately considered, then the skier or boarder, whatever their level, will reduce their performance potential, and thus reduce their success and enjoyment. By carrying out a specific Pilates training program, benefits can be gained such as:

·               Improved endurance, so ski and board for longer

·               Improved strength in the appropriate muscles

·               Improved flexibility and agility

·               Improved balance and control

·               A reduction in the risk of injury by strengthening areas such as the lower back and knee joints and muscles.

The fundamental skills needed to ski or board successfully are balance, rotary movements, edging movements, and pressure control. Most muscles of the lower body are used, as are the abdominal muscles and some upper body muscles. A planned training program carried out during the off-season can make dramatic improvements. Also, warm-up and warm-down routines can help before and after skiing and boarding.

In order to complete a turn, there must be adequate strength in the core, buttocks, lower back and legs. Flexibility is needed, especially in the hips. Pilates gives all of these things. Skiing and boarding places great demands on the lower body, which can lead to overuse injuries. The most obvious place for such injuries is the legs, and especially the thighs. It is not so obvious that the core has a vital role to play in keeping the body upright and balanced, and enabling the hips to turn.

The shoulders and back can also become fatigued, and are prone to falling injuries. Such injuries can be reduced by strengthening these areas. This also applies to hand and wrist injuries, which can again be reduced by strengthening the forearm and wrist.

I will be hitting the slopes of the Spanish Pyrenees this weekend, and whilst I will never have the ability or talent to snowboard for team GB, as a Pilates and functional trainer presenter, I know that my body is giving me the best possible chance to enjoy the mountain experience. If there was a competition for drinking Hot Chocolate, then I would definitely be in with a shout!

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Health and fitness

Reverse Woodchop: Chris Hunt

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In the latest of my series of snap videos shot in location at La Molina, here is nice way to use your snowboard to get your obliques and your quadriceps warmed up for Snowboarding.

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Reverse woodchop is an exercise you have probably seen in the gym. There are many ways you can perform it using cables or weights (my favourite is using TRX). The rotation and lift builds a connection between your upper and lower body that is ideal for boarding or skiing, and it also strengthens the core.

If you want to know more about how Pilates can help your snowboarding or skiing then click on www.skicorestrength.com

 

 

Travel

Snowboarding La Molina stylie

Chris Snowboarding 21.2.14

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A quick rest in between runs yesterday at La Molina. Crazy warm day but a good day spent shredding the back country and try to annoy the skiers 🙂

Shot some snap videos for www.skicorestrength.com, how to prepare for boarding. Beautiful scenery up the mountains.

 

 

Current Affairs

Michael Schumacher, my F1 hero

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As a keen snowboarder and a life-long fan of Ferrari, I have many reasons to read about Michael Schumacher’s condition tonight with a heavy heart.  Michael who is still only 44, was airlifted to Grenoble after falling heavily and hitting his head while skiing on an unmarked slope at the Méribel resort with friends and his 14-year-old son.

Of course I want to begin this blog by hoping that Michael will make a full recovery and all of our thoughts are with him and his family, especially his son.

There has been a lot said about the dangers of skiing, but skiing itself has proportionately fewer fatalities than cycling or swimming. The figures suggest that the death rate for skiing is 2.07 deaths per million people skiing, compared to 29.4 per million cycling, and 72.7 per million swimming. When it comes to injuries, there are about 2-4 injuries per 1,000 days spent on the slopes.

Backcountry skiing, also called off-piste skiing is skiing on ungroomed and unmarked slopes or pistes, including unmarked or unpatrolled areas either inside or outside of a ski resort’s boundaries, sometimes in the woods. Unlike groomed cross-country and alpine skiing, the land and the snow pack are not monitored, patrolled, or maintained. It is considered by some to be more dangerous than staying on the usual runs. The reasons are that there are more avalanches off-piste, there can be more hidden rocks and precipices off-piste, and off-piste slopes are not groomed by snow ploughs, so rocks, precipices and cliffs may not be easy to spot, especially in poor visibility. Off-piste is booming as more people look for the thrills it provides, but having said that, it is reported that the off-piste area where Michael was skiing was close to a Blue Run and in quite gentle terrain, so not way off the beaten track in the wilderness. The picture above is allegedly the area where Michael fell. If it is, then clearly this looks like a freak accident and not anything reckless.

Having said all of that, collisions with people are far more likely on crowded pistes, and there are many who believe that off-piste skiing and boarding is actually safer than sticking to the runs partly because the majority of people who go off-piste are more experienced and use better equipment. But without doubt the biggest risk off-piste is avalanches. Skiers were warned as recently as last Saturday to exercise extreme caution after a series of deadly avalanches across resorts in the Alps claimed seven lives in just two days. Heavy snowfall and mild temperatures over Christmas have meant that whilst conditions are near perfect for skiing, they are also particularly conducive to triggering avalanches. The French authorities did not ban off-piste skiing outright, but they advised skiers and boarders to stay on marked runs.

Whilst Michael hit his head, this is also common on piste. In 2009, the actress Natasha Richardson died after hitting her head on a beginner’s piste, supposedly the safest place to be. Of course she was not wearing a helmet which would have almost certainly saved her life, and Michael’s doctors have confirmed that had he not been wearing a helmet then he would have almost certainly died immediately.

Head injuries can happen whenever there is a fall, on or off the snow. But there is nothing cool about not wearing a helmet on the slopes and there is no excuse not to wear one.

My very best wishes to you Michael, you I hope you make a full recovery. I have so many memories of you behind the wheel of a Ferrari, and I hope you will have the chance to create more memories in the future.