September 10, 2011 (Silverstar Mountain, BC) – “If only we could bottle this stuff” “he said surveying the early morning landscape. With a smile on his face he turned back to take a swing. As his ball flew silently from his golf club into the quite early morning air I couldn’t help but think he is so right….

I am speaking to a moment, shared recently, on a golf course with Silver Star Mountain Cross Country Camps co-founder and resident coach, Norm Crerar. Our conversation had been on the importance of “stretching.” Often when we read about stretching we think of stretching our bodies. The essence of our conversation, this particularly fine Okanagan morning, was about stretching both our bodies and our minds.

The physical benefits of having good flexibility as a Nordic skier isn’t necessarily a common topic when discussing our summer cross training ideas. Improving our strength, cardio and agility normally captures our attention instead. These topics are much flashier and more exciting to discuss. It’s a bigger, faster, stronger kinda-a-thing. The reality is though, without a decent range of flexibility, our new, bigger, faster, stronger muscles and our mobility will become more and more restricted. With this restriction, we increase the likelihood of injury such as muscle strains, pulls and worse yet ruptures. Incorporating activities such as yoga and/or Pilates into our routine is a great investment towards all of our other physical conditioning. Recently, I have made a more concerted effort to incorporate yoga/Pilates into my own training plan and have been very happy with the results. Increasing my range of dynamic movement has been something I struggled with for years. Now, as a Masters age skier (47) and having started to increase my flexibility again, my sense of confidence is renewed.

As for stretching our minds, I believe Norm summed it up when he said “It seems people are in too much of a hurry to slow down and learn. I can’t see how a person can relax enough to get into the right frame of mind, let alone enjoy themselves when they rush to the ski area, rush to the trail head and hurtle themselves into skiing for the short time they have allowed themselves”. Slowing down to speed up is an adage used in a number of sports. Stretching our mental approach to incorporate this into our Nordic skiing is equally important. Having just enough time to “squeeze in a run or ride” while we cross train is commonplace. Taking the time to warm up and pre-visualize what we want from our workout, as well as reflect on our successes during our cool down, is easier said than done. Learning to “stretch” both our bodies and our minds is something we all need to spend more time on.

Ski to you door convenience at Silver Star Mountain Cross Country Camps just got better. Book your Silver Star Mountain Cross Country Camp between now and October 31 and receive 20% off your on-mountain accommodation. Now that’s something to smile about. Did you know? Silver Star Cross Country Camps incorporate yoga / stretching sessions in our camps given by fitness experts. Two more great reasons to come to our camps this fall. For more information and to book your Silver Star Cross Country Ski Camp please contact our Central Reservations at info@skisilverstar.com / 1-800-663-4431 / 250-558-6083