Book Review: Open Your Heart With Winter Fitness

One great thing about snowboarding is that it can provide the motivation to get fit. And if you want to get into shape, one good guide to doing so is "Open Your Heart to Winter Fitness," by Lisa Marie Mercer.



I'm only sixty or so pages into it, but it provides both inspiration and instruction. The techno-babble can be a bit heavy in a few spots, but if you can understand that, you'll have a better appreciation for what the exercises will do for you. If you're not interested in understanding biomechanics, read the first few chapters and then plunge into part 2 for specific exercises.

Adult Snowboarders in the News

One of my favorite types of news articles are the ones about adult snowboarders. They have this "Holy Cow! Can you believe that?" quality to them.

I'll grant that it's a rather old story now, as adults have been snowboarding for years now. Then again, you'll always find stories telling you that winter is here and guess what, there's an outbreak of the flu. In both cases, old news can be informative (get that shot! give snowboarding a try!), and at least with snowboarding, it can make the winter go (too) quickly.

The latest publication to catch on to the grays on trays phenomenon is Crains Detroit Business. It features Patrick Becker (age 40); Greg Flowers (42); Brad Hynes (44); and Oliver Dixon (42). These men are no slackers, working (respectively) as a vice president of sales and marketing; an automotive designer; a vice president of operations; and a marketing manager.

They've got some pretty good skills for grown-up riders. Becker is an experienced instructor; Hynes teachers a snowboarding team at a local high school; Dixon has participated in USASA competitions; and I suspect that Flowers is no slouch, either.

The story offers several benefits of snowboarding:

• Innovation is the spice of life;
  
• It's a resume boost [really?];
  
• A thrill of competition;
  
• A rush from big air [sorry, I can't relate];
  
• Joy of playing in the snow;
  
• Families can enjoy it together;
  
• The equipment is lighter (no back strain!);
  
• There are plenty of opportunities to try something new;
  
• A community of people with a shared passion.

So dads, moms, and just anyone 30 and up, if you haven't tried snowboarding but find it interesting, find a snow sports school and take a lesson or three. (You might benefit a lot from getting a private lesson from another adult.) It may be one of the best purchases you've ever made.

Riding in Faith

I found another blog that has an interesting post about the role of faith in snowboarding. Not religious faith--that's something I may want to write about later--but something of equal value.

Snowboarding, like so many other things in life, is about owning one’s fear. Every day I go ride, I grow. My greatest joy comes when I overcome my fear and have faith in my own ability to ride through the moment.

Indeed, progression in snowboarding (and some other sports) presents us with many avenues for personal growth. As they say, read the whole thing.

Spirituality and Sport

Given the season (Christmas), it's appropriate to think about the intersection of sport and spirituality. The latest issue of SkiPress World offers a short blurb on

West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origin of Belief.

The magazine says that the book is "just your average mix of surfing, searching, science, myth," and so forth, but says "the boy can write."