Face plants are painfully funny...when someone else does 'em

Balance training conditions your body to find stability on unstable surfaces: crud and ice on the hill, and possibly (when it really counts) at the lodge after 4pm, and a couple of drinks. It's also an exceptionally good warm up activity. Precede every workout with these three exercises! Use your balance board and balance planks to give yourself the advantage of proprioception (knowing where you are in space without looking) and spatial control to make your winter vacation a whole lot more fun, safer and less comical to your friends.

	Balance Squats, w/ 2 x 4 Balance on the balls of your feet, with your heels slightly elevated and arms outstretched, in front of you. Lower and raise your body, slowly and smoothly. All the while, your knees must track over the first two toes of their respective feet. Focus on maintaining precise body alignment. Shoot for 20 to 25 perfect reps. Do two sets, daily. The load (weight) is not as important as the stability. But, if this is way too easy, close your eyes and try again. Still too easy? Place the plank on an exercise mat. Still too easy? Hmmm. Want a job?
	Single Leg Squats, w/ 2 x 4 Do the same thing with single leg squats on the plank. The (obvious) difference is that you place your foot length-wise onto the board instead of at a right angle. Now, feel the board beneath your entire foot. Make sure your knee (of the working leg) is aligned with your first two toes. Keep it that way. Lower and raise your body, slowly, smoothly, while keeping good body alignment. Though this may appear solely ski specific it isn't, really. The structural integrity that is developed (from your ankles to your ears) improves snowboarding equally as well as skiing. You'll be so stable your checkbook balances itself!

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