Hop, lunge, squat, sit: Get in shape to ski!

This time of year in the northeast there is a new opening day announcement almost every morning. The big mountains opened in time to burn off Thanksgiving turkey while the smaller places are hoping to provide post-Christmas ham activity. So with only a few weeks before hitting the slopes it is time to whip ourselves into shape. This year, since my VCR is dead I can’t draw inspiration from my Jane Fonda fitness tape, so I wondered what encouragement I could find on the internet. A YouTube video by health and fitness coach Amelia Burton gave me lots to think about. I mean, should I really engage in an exercise that can improve my leg strength while being “one of the worst exercises for your knees, for your back, your lower back…” and on she goes? I was tempted to do the squats because she calls them “incredibly good” even though “bad squats are really dangerous!” She’s describing an exercise that doesn’t even involve lifting my feet off the ground and yet she cautions it may require that I confer with my personal trainer, fitness instructor, chiropractor, or physical therapist. Never mind those experts—I’m thinking if I engage in this activity someone should place an emergency call to my shrink! I may resign myself to just hitting the slopes with limp legs and risk falling a few times. How much more can it hurt? I just love Amelia’s description of her favorite exercise—it’s the one wherein you do not move, and yet, you should do it until your “legs are screaming.” Her lilting British accent hides a masochistic soul!! Bunny hops, traveling lunges, squats and wall sits. A fitness routine that includes these elements will see me down the mountain a few weeks hence with fashion flair, flawless technique and energy to spare. I need to get hopping, squatting, lunging, and sitting—so that I can hurl myself down a mountain with minimal risk of injury.