Ever since reading the chapter in my Outdoor Emergency Care book about ACL tears on the ski slope, I’ve been consciously amping up my pre-ski season workout to improve balance and agility, decrease my chances of tearing an ACL, and increase my chances of not making a fool of myself in front of my fellow ski-patrol candidates during ski and toboggan training this winter. I’ve been doing lots of jumping lunges, incorporating stability balls and BOSUs to my planks positions and adding weight to my leg presses (on the 45-degree machine, I’m up to 270 pounds, or more than twice my body weight, thankyouverymuch!).
I think about these ...
... when I'm doing these.
In this month’s SKI magazine, the legendary ski-movie maker Warren Miller has a column addressing this very topic, and offers the following tip about shaping up before ski season:
“Never talk to anyone about losing weight,” he writes. “All I ever hear about is the 12 pounds that a friend lost while he was on a diet of cabbage and beets for three months and working out three times a week with a trainer who charged $100 an hour. The only thing that much exercise will get you ready for is to die healthier.”
Amen, brother. I’m still going to push myself at the gym, fueled my images of me breezing down mogul runs with a toboggan in tow. But thanks to Miller’s tip, I’m also going to enjoy my S’mores and wine during a camping trip to Harpers Ferry this weekend—the beets and cabbage can wait.
Amy Reinink 
Ditto on the “Amen!” to that statement…. that’s brilliant! Enjoy those leg presses AND s’mores!
Holy Macaroni! 270 pounds. And I thought I was famous at 150! (lol)
I need to do some of those jumping lunges ; )
I sat next to a guy on the plane this week harping on me for eating potato chips and drinking pop (HFCS = death). I told him that I have Celiac, and its either potato chips or no lunch some days. And then I proceeded to lace into him about how I need 4000calories a day to maintain my weight. And he shut up. Snickers bar? Yes please! 🙂