Finding the FUN in Summer Fitness and Cross Training Activities
Written by Heidi Ettlinger
PSIA-AASI official suppliers are geared-up to support your traditional summer activities and new ones! If you are seeking ways to stay fit, healthy, and enhance your preparedness for the upcoming season here are a few things to consider:
- How will you change up your routine? Research continues to support the benefits of trialing new sports (and acquiring the necessary motor skills) which strengthen our brain as much as our body. Maximize your cross training with activities that grow your physical and mental agility. This could be as simple as adding a “wing” to a Stand-Up Paddle Board with a Slingshot SUP WINDER.
The SUP WINDER is the first of its kind stick on keel which converts any non-inflatable Stand-up Paddle Board into a “Wing-Surfing Board” in minutes. Check-out this video to see how easy this sport is for everyone! I started using my Slingshot Wing this past winter on cross-country gear, and now I’m practicing wing-surfing using my paddle board. One of the best places to learn how to use the wing or try kiteboarding is with the help of Outer Banks Kiting, who helped me recognize how I could transfer my winter skills to summer and support their school. The learning curve is fast, fun, and encouraging to open more pathways to other water/wind sports. As Slingshot states, “It’s all about doing something new and different.”
2. How can you practice being a brave beginner again? A beginner mindset is open, eager, and often free of preconceptions. Sometimes as experts in our trade we need a refresher course to experience the significance of motivation through problem solving. Often the missing link to committing to a new sport is finding the yippee along with a deep yearning to just “figuring it out.” The folks at Rollerblade have invested an enormous amount of effort in their Skate to Ski program by harnessing the vantage point of a true beginner. On the Skate to Ski page you can access everything from online videos, a free App for your phone, print materials, and a hearty guide to drills and exercises. Regardless of whether you are a newbie or a revival, inline skates have been redesigned and innovated to accommodate interests and skills ranging from cruising your favorite paved bike paths to tricks in the local skate park!
3. Don’t miss a beat in your fitness program. Step off the snow and improve your fitness with these indoor and outdoor exercises from PSIA-AASI’s Fitness for Skiing and Snowboarding guide, available for free as a digital download and for sale as a print edition through the PSIA-AASI Catalog. This resource, written by former PSIA Alpine Team member Chris Fellows and Resilient Performance System co-owner Douglas Kechijian, offers guidance for a fitness training regimen that promotes improved movement and body longevity for snowsports instructors.
Heidi Ettlinger is a member of the PSIA-W Education Staff, Women’s Initiative Task Force, and 2-term National Alpine Team Alumni. She has spent over twenty years building women’s adventure programs for professionals and the public, many of which have served as a catalyst for helping more women successfully pursue recreation and professional endeavors in the snowsports field. Heidi is also the producer of Gearing to Go, a small business that develops educational resources to help convert families into outdoor enthusiasts.
Interested in Mountain Biking? Check out a few Mountain Biking Opportunities for Members taking place this summer. Don’t forget, after participating in an official formal education program offered to the public by an educational organization a member can also apply for PSIA-AASI CEU’s.
