Above: Eric Seymor and Brenden Cronin put the 8 weeks of  suffering they endured in the gym and the cold Snake River during our Kayak/Paddling pre-season training program to work in Wyoming's Big Horn Mountains.

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CONFRONTING THE BRO BRAH
Since I started Mountain Athlete 5 years ago, I've fought the Bro Brah, and more generally, the Mountain Sports culture when it comes to professional, gym-based strength and conditioning to prepare for mountain sports. 

I'm troubled by the elements of the Bro Brah culture, when it comes to skiing and snow boarding, which discourage off-mountain training, and seem to discount the obvious danger and risks of their sports. If you read and pay attention to the media, blogs and websites, the goal is more about looking cool, and partying, than respecting the sport and the mountain. 

Gym training to prepare for these sports is "uncool." 

But on the other side, many of these athletes are pushing their sports both technically and athletically. But also, they are pushing the risk. 

Helmet cams and youtube are a huge part of the growth of these sports, but also the move into more and more risk to the point of recklessness.

And the risk is so huge. I went to the FreeSki World Tour stop at Snowbird last March, and in two hours, witnessed 2 severe injuries, and one near miss. Last year, at least one skier was killed in a comp. If this had happened on the football field, basketball court, or even NASCAR track, it would have been huge news. But the news of this death didn't reach beyond the skiing community. 

Yesterday we started our offseason strength and conditioning for my FreeSkiers - I've got to get them strong and durable. Over the course of the next 6 months, we'll hammer their leg, hip and core strength, build in explosiveness and confidence, and get them instruction on adavanced avalanche safety, mountain risk decision making, and on-snow technical coaching. 

Many of my skiers tell me other skiers they know scoff at the work and committment they make to being professional about their fitness. 

One snowboarder who trains with me had another, famous snowboarder in town tell him it was "cheating" to train in the gym for snowboarding. 

Can you believe it? 

Certainly, we are performance driven here. My aim is to build FreeSki, and Big Mountain Snowbaord Champions. But also, I want to keep my athletes as durable and safe as I can. 

I believe this gym-based, offseason strength and conditioning shows respect for the sports of FreeSkiing and Big Mountain Snowboarding. I believe it shows respect for the mountain. 

I also believe, because their sports are so dangerous, these athletes owe it to their friends and family to be as strong and fit and technically proficient as possible. 

- Rob Shaul
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MOUNTAIN ATHLETE IN MEN'S JOURNAL
www.mensjournal.com/everything-you-know-about-fitness-is-a-lie/