From surf to snow: Evan shredding Snowbird in Utah.

Lower Body

Speed racer: Anthony catching some major speed while carving through all the fresh powder.

1. Lean against a solid wall 
2. Lower your body down, acting like you are sitting on an invisible chair. 

Squats

1. Stand up stright with your feet flat on the ground. 
2. Lower yourself into a squat, hold for 5-10 seconds
3. Slowly stand back up.

Do 8-10 squats every day

Lunges

Lunges strengthen the quadriceps & hamstrings. Improves proprioception & balance.

1. Stand with feet together & your hands on your waist.
2. Step forward 2-3 ft, then lower your rear leg to create two 90-degree angles (one with the rear leg & one with the front leg).
3. With the majority of your weight on your front leg, stand up and bring your feet back to the starting position.
4. Step forward with the opposite leg and repeat the exercise.

Start with 6-7 lunges on each leg. Work up to 10.

Key tips for lunges:

• Make sure the shin of the rear leg stays parallel to the ground, and keep your back leg off the ground.
• Don't let the knee extend past your foot -- this will cause strain on the patella.

Driving Skips

Skipping improves biomechanics, power & heel-to-toe transitions

1. Begin by skipping easily, the way you did as a child, for 20-25 meters.
2. Drive through the toe to explode higher into the air.
3. Swing your arms upward to help build momentum

Skip 50 meters. Repeat drill 2x.

Key tips for driving skips:

• Exaggerate the arm swing to give you more power as you drive.
• Face forward to center your hips & keep your posture in line.

Step-Ups

This drill increases flexibility & strengthens the glutes & hamstrings.

Equipment: Find a stable chair or platform

1. Stand with one foot flat on the platform in front of you & your other leg on the floor. The knee of your lead leg should be at a 90-degree angle when your foot is on the platform.
2. Push through your elevated leg. Pull your body & opposite leg onto the platform.
3. Step down & return to the starting position.
4. Switch legs & repeat exercise.

Do 8-10 reps on each leg.

Key tips for step-ups:

• After you step down from the box, make sure both legs are on the ground. Reset your feet & check your position before repeating the move.

Core

You need strong stomach muscles to get from a sitting to standing position when you snowboard. Strengthen your stomach muscles.

Anything boys can do, the girls can do better: Erika, Ally & me caught in a blizzard while cruising back country.

Superman

• Lay on the floor on your back. Keep your head & arms on the ground, straighten your legs, & raise them 5-10 inches off the ground. This will strengthen your abs while decreasing your waistline. Hold this position for 10-20 seconds

Planks

• Lay face down resting on the forearms, palms flat on the floor. Push off the floor, raising up onto toes and resting on the elbows. Keep your back flat in a straight line from head to heels. Tilt your pelvis and contract your abdominals to prevent your rear end from sticking up in the air or sagging in the middle. Hold for 1 minute, lower and repeat for 3-5 reps.

Side Planks

• Lift your body off the ground with one arm and relaxing your other arm on your hip. Hold this position for 1 minute with your back straight. Switch sides and repeat.

 

1. Tarzan Swing (basically, grab a rope and hold on for dear life)
2. Cool Runnings (hop on an inner tube  throw yourself down an inflatable slide and crash into a pool. This obstacle completely brought us back to our childhood days musing the movie Cool Runnings. We couldn't help but chant "Jamaica, we have a bobsled team" during this entire obstacle.
3. Belly Flop Drop (don't think about it -- just say a prayer and go)
4. Wrecking Ball (by far my favorite part of the course, closely followed by the World's Largest Inflatable Slide. Just as in American Gladiators you must maneuver your way across rotating balance beams as a giant ball tries to whack you into a pool of water.
5. World's Largest Inflatable Slide (This was the final obstacle and definitely the highlight of the run. You don't just merely step past the finish line like most races... in the R.O.C. Race, you sliddeee across it as you go down the world's largest inflatable water slide. They let our team all jump off the same time and slide in tandem down as the drenched us in water. It was so fast, it sent us spinning and rolling the entire way down)

My sister and me jumping down one of the inflatable slides at the R.O.C. Race

3, 2, 1 Blast off: My brother-in-law showing off his skills getting some major air.

Ready or not, here she : My sister's graceful slide down the inflatable :)

Honolulu, Hawai'i at Aloha Stadium