Hey Everybody – I am going to be traveling to British Columbia this weekend for some snowboarding at Whistler. I tweaked my exercise routine over the past few weeks in order to be in tip top shape for the slopes. My key focus was to improve the strength and balance in my legs and core as well as the twisting motion of my abdominals. I knew a free weight workout would be the best way to see some gains since it would attack all three of those areas simultaneously. Here are the four moves I added to my routine that will help carve your abs for carving the slopes.

1. Med Ball Lunge With Ab Twist – Lunge forward getting your thigh parallel to the ground and knee right above your foot. Hold your lower body in that position while you twist the medicine ball to the side. Return to the lunge position and then stand straight up. Repeat for reps before switching legs.

lunge 1 lunge 2

Make It Harder: Do the move in reverse by stepping backward instead of forward.


2. Single Arm Single Leg Deadlift – Begin by stepping forward and placing most of your weight on your forward leg with your rear leg barely touching the ground. Lower by bending your hips and knees. Keep your back flat and look straight ahead as you lower the weight to the ground. Tap the weight to the ground and then return to the original position. Repeat for reps before switching legs.

deadlift 1 deadlift 2

Make It Harder: Keep your back leg off the ground and get it parallel to the ground with each repetition.


3. Goblet Squat – Stand up straight while holding a weight slightly away from your body. Breathe in as you squat down while also keeping your back flat and looking straight ahead. Make sure that your thighs get parallel to the ground and that your knees do not move past your toes. Exhale as you stand back up.

goblet squat 1 goblet squat 2

Make It Harder: Hold the weight further away from your body.


4. Russian Twist – Lie on your back while holding a weight above your chest and create ninety degree angles at your hips and knees. Slowly twist your upper body to the right as you twist your lower body in the opposite direction. You should get a slight stretch and then begin to do the twist in the opposite direction. Make sure not to twist so far that your lower back lifts off the ground or you cannot twist the other direction without losing good form or having to drop the weight.

rt 1 russian twist 2

Make It Harder: Keep your legs straight while twisting.


Sample Snowboarding Circuit Workout

Warm-up – 2 to 3 minutes of jumping jacks or jump rope followed by one minute of rest. Then perform the following with no rest in between exercises.

10 Repetitions of Med Ball Lunge Twists (on each leg)
8 Repetitions of Single Arm Single Leg Deadlifts (on each leg)
6 Repetitions of Goblet Squats
12 Repetitions of Russian Twists

Rest one minute in between circuits and repeat for a total of two to three circuits.