Copper Mountain – A lot has happened to Jonny Moseley since he won an Olympic gold medal and introduced the world to the 360 mute grab in 1998.
As his once-signature freestyle skiing trick has evolved into a stock maneuver for the reigning jib generation, the former big-air bump specialist has evolved right along with it, working his way back to the Olympics in 2002 before landing steady gigs with MTV, Sirius Satellite Radio and, most recently, as ski ambassador for the Telluride resort.
But if there’s one thing life in the real “Real World” has taught the 31-year-old from Tiburon, Calif., it’s that even the inventor of the Dinner Roll is not immune to the rigorous demands of skiing.
Two weeks out from graduation at the University of California, Moseley suddenly finds himself feeling more like a working stiff than a world-class skier.
“What’s interesting is that I’m figuring out what it’s actually like for a person who doesn’t ski for like a full-time, everyday job – because I’m in school full time now – to try to keep in shape,” he said before his first day on skis at Copper Mountain last week. “I used to think I was really disciplined, but the truth is that I just had all kinds of coaches and trainers and other stuff disciplining me. So you sort of figure out how hard it is to maintain your fitness level without that, especially preseason.”
Moseley was in Denver recently working with his newest sponsor, Duofold base layers, to help educate skiers and snowboarders of all ages with tips on how to prepare for ski season. One lucky group, headed up by raffle winner Zack Martin, 13, of Littleton, received personal instruction after winning a day at Copper with the Olympic champion.
“Zack called…and asked if (my son) Gaines and I wanted to go skiing with Jonny Moseley,” said Dan Adams of Littleton, who chaperoned his son, Martin and friend Nolan McDonald on the slopes last week. “I was like, ‘Is this a prank call?”‘
Since joining Telluride, Moseley expects to spend more time in Colorado this winter, taking the early-season opportunity to prepare and share advice with budding skiers such as the Martin posse.
“Trimming it down to the bare minimum, the one thing I found that’s critical – your base if you’re only going to do one thing – is your trunk and back exercises,” Moseley said. “I’ve discovered that if I find a good Pilates class, where I’m one of maybe two dudes in there, the girls running it know how to work the stomach and just crush me. It’s embarrassing because I can tell that the women are looking at me like, ‘This guy’s an Olympic champion and I’m kicking his butt.’ My excuse is that, for a guy, some of the exercises aren’t as easy, but they work.”
If your ski season is still a month or more away from starting, Moseley suggests augmenting the core workouts with some legwork. If you’re already skiing, don’t bother.
“If you have time before the season, the gravy for skiing is trail running or just running in general, and if you have access to one, the trampoline,” he said. “Jump on the trampoline for 10 minutes and you’ll be in sick shape for ski season. It does it all.”
