Getting in Shape for Ski Season

I would love to have some feedback and suggestions on what you do to get ready for water ski season.

Now that ski season is approaching for us northern skiers, it is time to think about warm weather, bathing suits and yes, water skiing, at last. Every year, it seems to get a little more difficult to haul your body out of the water, if you are 40 something. So I knew it was pay now and drop some weight or pay later and get frustrated because I was out of shape. I seriously started working out in January because I knew I would be water skiing at the end of March, in Florida of course. My training helped a lot. I felt pretty strong on the swivel ski. It is still difficult to replicate the muscles you use when skiing, so there's always a few sore muscle areas that you have not used when working out. I am going to share with you some of the exercises that worked for me.

First, weight is always an issue for me. So basic cardio exercises are the best for burning fat. Of course, diet is important, but not always easy for me. But, I try to do 30 minutes of cardio every other day. I usually use the tread mill, but it is good to alternate equipment. I use the bike and stair stepper too. It's good to use different muscles and give other muscles a rest. Now that the weather is getting nicer, even walks are a great way to burn calories and clear your mind.

One of the newer trends in exercise equipment is the bosu. This is half an inflated ball on a round base. What makes the bosu unique, is it allows you to work on balance, strengthen core and when doing abdominal or side crunches, it helps support your back.

I was concerned about balance, since I am not real "coordinated on land". I would start by balancing myself with one leg on the bosu. You may find that one leg is definitely stronger than the other. I would also do squats on the bosu. After I felt comfortable, I started working out with weights. Balancing yourself and doing bicep and tricep curls really fires your muscles without you realizing it. I would use lighter weights and do more repetitions, rather than heavier weights and fewer reps. I was more concerned about toning, rather than building muscles mass. Another exercise I did was having another person hold a band. The band is like a stretchy jump rope with 2 handles. I would do a lot of ski rope exercises on the bosu with the tension of the band. And of course, you can always tie your ski rope to a sturdy base and practice hand turns and other tricks with the ski rope. I really felt it helped when I got on the water for the first time in many months. My balance on the ski was much stronger than last year.

In case you are interested in purchasing a bosu, I got my bosu from Target for about 70.00. You can find them at most sporting good stores too. Well, I hope this motivated you to start working out or just reminded you that you had that bosu in the back of your closet somewhere. Have fun. Remember, "no pain, No gain." I am going to talk about Pilates next time. Core, Core Core!

Cypress Gardens and the All-American Ski Tournament

Cypress Gardens hosted the third annual All-American Show Ski Tournament over the weekend of March 29-30. The reason I was there was a girl from our team was skiing in the 14 and under 180 class. Well, if that weekend did not make you proud to be a show skier, I don't think you have a pulse. The small crowd of parents and friends watched and cheered from the stands for all the skiers. Whether you were doing 1080, like Cheryl Orloff , with no effort, or just doing a toe hold as your big trick, this was a great opportunity for all swivel skiers to get in front of a crowd and perform. What seemed to appeal to the judges was showmanship. If your act was neat, and you appealed to the crowd, that really was a winning factor to the judges.

Visiting Cypress is always a lot of fun. There is so much history to show skiing. We watched the ski show on and off through-out the weekend. What struck me while watching their show was the few skiers they have to put on the show. Every person is in at least 2 to 3 acts. They do all the standard acts without a lot of hoopla. The acts are clean and the show moves at a great pace. I'm sure many show ski teams are challenged with getting enough skiers. Our team has always struggled with guys. We have plenty of wonderful swivelers, but we need guys for so many of the acts. Cypress is a great inspiration. Small teams can pull off a great show and you don't need a lot of skiers. I think you just need to make it clean, simple and entertaining, if you are a small team. Showmanship goes a long way.

Congratulations to all skiers! What a great weekend!!!

Freestyle Jumping

• Erik Berglund

• Andrew Proses

• Pete Kuhlman

Open Doubles

• Lindsey Schmidt/Andrew Proses

• Lauren Henry/Nick Vickers

• Rebecca Rembert/Mike Tenda

Regular Doubles

• Samantha Hanabass/Dalton Blantin

• Darien Le Blanc/Brad Satterlee

• Michelle Mark/Clint Gordon

Open Swivel

• Cheryl Orloff

• Rebecca Rembert

• Anne Phillip

360 Swivel

• Katrina Sawaska

• Jacklyn Kumlien

• Erica Johnston

Swivel – 15 & over

• Christina Maglione

Swivel 14 & under

• Stephanie Peters

• Kristin Hannabass

• Tori Johnston

Bonifay Ski School

I just spent a week in the Winter Haven Florida area. If you have not been and you like show skiing, this is the place to be, whether it is slalom, show skiing, bare footing or wake boarding. There are a lot of great water sport teachers and schools in the area. Everyone should make the time to visit the area. It's like paying homage to the birth place of show skiing.

Just got back from a week with Betty Bonifay. This is the third year I have been there. It is not only a memorable experience being with a swivel ski legend that helped develop most of the swivel tricks we use today, it's also a great learning experience. Betty is a wealth of knowledge. She breaks down every element of a trick. She knows how to help you make the slightest change in your position on the ski to help you learn or smooth out your tricks and movements. What's always interesting is watching your video tape after a set. You can see what she was explaining to you on the water and then try to work out the kinks on land.

What was really cool was the helmet you wear while skiing. She can talk you through what ever you are doing on the water. Most importantly, she is very positive and encourages you through all the falling and frustration. The helmet microphones save so much time and allow you to correct while skiing, saving a lot of falls too. Thanks Betty for the great week. My girls and I came back psyched for the ski season. Too bad it's two long months away.

Swivel Girl is 'born' at Think Tank 2008

Swivel Girl is launched! Our first show was Think Tank 2008 in the Dells, and we met a lot of great people and had fun showing our new line to the ski team community.

We had a chance to participate in the fashion show, which was really exciting. I was also able to add 2 great gals to the Swivel Girl Team: Deb and Sandie (shown enjoying trying on our sunglasses). I look forward to meeting even more Swivel Girls throughout the summer. With Swivel Girl you can Unlock the Possibilities!