December 19, 2007 (Park City, Utah) – Athletes at any level, in any sport can train like Olympic-class performers with the Competitive Core Training DVD, a new DVD set featuring top Olympic athletes produced by the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA).

The three-DVD set includes 91 essential exercises and nine workouts aimed at developing balance, stability, rotation, extension and flexion, for the functional core development required for athletic excellence in any sport. They’re broken into sessions for beginner, intermediate and elite athletes.

In the first DVD, the 91 exercises are demonstrated by a stellar cast of Olympic athletes, including Olympic champion Ted Ligety, World Cup downhill winner Steven Nyman, Olympic medalist Shannon Bahrke, moguls skier Landon Gardner, freestyle aerialist Lacy Schnoor and World Championship medalist Bill Demong. The DVD also includes ski jumpers Jessica Jerome and Alissa Johnson, as well as bobsledder Ivan Radcliff.

The second DVD is comprised of nine workout sessions demonstrated by top athletes from a spectrum of Olympic sports, including kayaking and archery. The workout sessions were taped at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, CA.

The third DVD includes all the exercise and workouts in a format that can be easily downloaded to iTunes or a video iPod. Athletes can play them back on their computers or create a customized workout they can use at the gym.

“These are real exercises and workouts demonstrated by real athletes, not Hollywood celebrities or fitness gurus,” said USSA Education Services Director David McCann. “They’re specifically designed to develop core strength and flexibility in athletes of any level or age and for any sport.”

“The exercises and workout programs will help any athlete and coach improve core athletic function,” he said. “Weekend warriors can do most of the exercises, but the advanced stuff is really geared for our Olympic athletes.”

The challenging series of exercises was developed by Per Lundstam, longtime manager of the USSA training facility in Park City and a veteran strength and conditioning coach. The workouts were developed by Zack Weatherford, formerly with USSA and currently with the U.S. Olympic Committee. Both Lundstam and Weatherford work with top-level athletes every day. “All the exercises and workouts were tested and proven by Olympic and World Cup team members,” McCann said.

The Competitive Core Training DVD is the latest multi-media educational/instructional DVD/CD developed by USSA Education. Others include Successful Sports Parenting, Strength Training, Sport Nutrition and Psychology, Physical Assessment, as well as sport technique DVDs/CDs on alpine, cross country, disabled alpine skiing, and snowboarding.

All of the DVDs/CDs are used in USSA coaches’ education and certification programs. They are also used by coaches and athletes of other sports because of their quality and cutting-edge information. Coaches in all sports are benefiting from the DVDs. “They help them do their jobs better. It’s gratifying to hear back from coaches and athletes who say they’re getting better results,” said McCann.

The Competitive Core Training DVD set is available at the USSA online store with a retail price of $39.95. Discounts are available for USSA partner organizations and members.

The Competitive Core Training DVD set offers great value, according to McCann. “We try to keep the cost down so that coaches and athletes in our program can get the material at a reasonable price. We use any money we make to fund new DVDs/CDs. Our sport science training material is aimed at making younger athletes healthier and stronger so that not only are they more successful, they are less likely to become injured.”

The Competitive Core Training DVD set was produced by Big Rig Creative, a cutting-edge video production studio in New Jersey. “Big Rig has produced all our CDs and DVDs, and does a great job in capturing the important elements for our audiences,” according to McCann. Six months in the making, the project was supported by the U.S. Olympic Committee and other national governing bodies for U.S. Olympic sports.

USSA is always looking to the future, providing support and direction to young athletes through its development programs. The Competitive Core Training DVD set is an outstanding new addition to the USSA Education library.