Russian women and Sports

[Lily]

Happy New Year, Happy Sporty Rear 

I am an avid visitor of all kinds of online sports related groups. However, not sure whether I saw many sport related threads on this forum.


One of the best things that I noticed about Canada is a lot of opportunities to spend quality outdoor times. I was excited to find nice and comfortable clothes and accessories for active people, lots of sport clubs and community groups, a number of options to learn and to get advanced skills in sports.

Canada is a real paradise for amateur athletes!  Recently I discovered downhill skiing, and yesterday purchased a season's ski pass. Now I am excited about leaning new things, and hopefully getting new skier friends! 

How about your Russian wives and girlfriends learning any sports in Northern America?

Any skiers here? 

[alex330]

Happy NY Lily!


Since we live in the Arctic circle most of the outdoor activities are more water related. Lots of boating, wake boarding, kayaking, and paddleboards here. Bikes rides are common. We also go to the gym 5 days a week.

[msmob]

Happy New Year, Lily !

You DO know some of us have Russian Wives / G/fs and we don't live in N.America ?

I have friends - he is married to a lady from Crimea  - on a skiing hol in the Austrian Alps..

We will hit the slopes in Sochi ...Moby is a sight to behold on skiis

My younger daughter did Rhythm Gymnastics and her coach - in the UK  - was Russian, originally

FSU folk living abroad  - if they are  'half good' -  esp. Winter sports and Gymnastics  - often find they make the locals seem like novices.

 

 

[Miquel Westano]

Happy New Year, Happy Sporty Rear 

I am an avid visitor of all kinds of online sports related groups. However, not sure whether I saw many sport related threads on this forum.


One of the best things that I noticed about Canada is a lot of opportunities to spend quality outdoor times. I was excited to find nice and comfortable clothes and accessories for active people, lots of sport clubs and community groups, a number of options to learn and to get advanced skills in sports.

Canada is a real paradise for amateur athletes!  Recently I discovered downhill skiing, and yesterday purchased a season's ski pass. Now I am excited about leaning new things, and hopefully getting new skier friends! 

How about your Russian wives and girlfriends learning any sports in Northern America?

Any skiers here? 

Happy New Years to you Lily.  You are one of the nicest posters on here and a great addition to the forum.  Be safe on those slopes and have a great 2017.

MW

[2tallbill]

Happy New Year, Happy Sporty Rear 

I love, love sporty rears!

How about your Russian wives and girlfriends learning any sports in Northern America?

Any skiers here? 

I'm an avid skier, Angel Eyes isn't. Angel Eyes likes almost every sport or activity.
Her favorite is hiking around looking at the mountains, trees, flowers, butterflies
or whatever.

[Chicagoguy]

Last time i was in Aspen there were lots of Russians. Became friends with two women from Moscow who were in my lodge.

[SANDRO43]

Happy New Year, Lily!

Recently I discovered downhill skiing, and yesterday purchased a season's ski pass.

Hope you also secure a good instructor .

Any skiers here? 

I skied for nigh on 30 years, here at a school-end slalom test on our Marmolada glacier (3.343 m) in July .

Among the reasons for my quitting the sport, the increasing numbers of snowboarders on the trails, descending while "blind" on one side and being a menace to others . Watch out!

[Anotherkiwi]

Since we live in the Arctic circle most of the outdoor activities are more water related. Lots of boating, wake boarding, kayaking, and paddleboards here. Bikes rides are common. We also go to the gym 5 days a week.

Huh?  I though you lived in Florida?    That's an awfully long way from the Arctic Circle.

[alex330]

Huh?  I though you lived in Florida?    That's an awfully long way from the Arctic Circle.

Da, I was playing. South Florida. We had our one day of winter last week.

[Gator]

Happy New Year Lily!

Good to know you took up a sport, a winter sport.

You asked about RW wives learning sports.

My wife was a professional athlete for two years.  Her old friends describe her as a "sport woman."  So I take her to the golf course.  My pro gave her three lessons and informed me she could beat me in year!  One example, she made three 15-foot putts in a row!

It was apparent that I had a future partner for mixed doubles competitions.  Her interest in golf failed to materialize..  She does not consider golf a true sport and finds it torture in Florida's hot weather.   I attempted to pique her interest by taking her out when cool weather arrived.  We went to the putting green.  After 10 minutes, she stopped putting and picked up four golf balls, demonstrating to everyone how to juggle four balls (not easy because the juggler must always keep two balls in the air at the same time).  Uggling is more fun than golf.

I told my golfing friends of my experience.  All agreed I should have got down on my knees, looked to heaven and thanked God for a wife who does not like golf.   (GOLF - Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden).  Besides, she does not drink pivo. 

She invited me to her yoga class. I told her they don't drink beer afterwards. 

[GQBlues]

I love ‘sports’ whether competitively or recreationally. I’m an avid skier, a surfer. I skied quite a bit in the Nastar circuit. I represented our HS as a basketballer (my passion), fencer, and baseballer. I was once a nationally-rated chess player during my collegiate years. I played soccer/football on neighborhood leagues…

Sport with my wife…the first 4-5 years, I introduced her to all sorts of sporting activities and let her explore her ‘love’ on her own. Anything from tennis, surfing, rollerblading/skating, hiking, biking/spinning/peloton, skiing/snowboarding, golf, swimming, yoga, Tai Chi, hell even MMA.

Our garage can rival Dick’s Sporting goods at the collection of equipment we amassed throughout the times we spent for the ‘introduction’. I still have a brand new Silent Partner tennis ball machine still aching to be charged much less used. We even have a punching bag still swaying back and forth, but…my client’s wife even gifted her a brand new set of golf clubs, but again….

She did gave all of them her honest effort. Of those, what stuck the most so far is boogie boarding. Partly because she enjoy her summer beaches. She can long board, and likely prefers it much better except she isn’t too keen trotting her own 9-footer in and out of beaches. She’ll surf with me as long as I load them up on my SUV and carry her board for her, too. () Consequently, she boogs most of the summer and be content being everyone’s speed bump.
 
Lately, she did ask if we can go back and ‘ski’. She gave snowboarding time to gel with, but eventually hated it, so she’s thinking maybe skiing is ‘easier’. She just asked me recently if we can go to Mammoth this spring so she can ‘ski’. We'll see what that chapter holds...

She enjoyed beachbody’s Insanity and P90X immensely for a while. I still remember how she’d get up 5-6 AMs and I’d hear her downstairs doing those beastly exercises, and charting her own personal accomplishments. But now those are a thing of the past, too.

'A' for effort. My wife is as wonderful as they come. But *sporty* just isn't one of them...still love her to tears!

For those who would like to ride bikes with their wives who had never ridden one before, try this….lower the seats as low as you can without tangling their legs when pedaling. It brings the equilibrium down and their sense of balance will be much easier to acquire. From there, they'll pick it right up.

Anyway, enjoy skiing, Lily. It won’t take too long to get the hang of it, and you’ll immensely enjoy not only the thrill of it, but the social aspects of the sport and the ever present views from the snow-laden mountain tops.

Oh I wanted to add: She was intimidated with horses before. She fell off a horse during a photoshoot when she was in Russia before and developed an aversion to these equine creatures. I took her to my old stable and got her properly acquainted being around and handling of horses, then we rode. She was bit. She now even loves going to racetracks. We occasionally ride up in Malibu when we can. I just refuse owning another quarterhorse so 'rent' we do.

[alex330]

Of those, what stuck the most so far is boogie boarding.

Probably my wife's favorite as well. Easier to catch the wave when you can kick and wakeboarding was a bit more tricky with the initial pull. Paddleboarding in the inland waters also a favorite.

[GQBlues]

I wonder how your experience was with this, Alex. But I had a difficult time convincing her that it's so much more fun to ride at the point and not at the white wash. Granted I had a tough time fitting her the right size fins, but when we finally got her the right size, she still wouldn't paddle out because she was getting pummeled by incoming sets. I kept trying to show her the proper way to duck dive.Took a while for her to finally learned to trust the nose of the board to lead it, and do a dolphin kick instead of paddling with her feet..

Anyway, when she finally got the hang of it, I could barely get her out of the water. The biggest 'joy' was when she came home from the beach with her GFs one day, and shared me a story about how she was 'teaching' the girls how to properly board. Even her Mom a few summers ago.

[alex330]

I wonder how your experience was with this, Alex. But I had a difficult time convincing her that it's so much more fun to ride at the point and not at the white wash. Granted I had a tough time fitting her the right size fins, but when we finally got her the right size, she still wouldn't paddle out because she was getting pummeled by incoming sets. I kept trying to show her the proper way to duck dive.Took a while for her to finally learned to trust the nose of the board to lead it, and do a dolphin kick instead of paddling with her feet..

She just recently learned on a trip to Puerto Rico. The waves were decent that day, so we borrowed a few boogie boards from the resort and went out. She loved it, but yes, it was hard for her to understand the difference between riding the whitewater and dropping in.... 

I did start to teach her to duck dive and she caught on pretty quickly. By the end of the day she did not want to get out and we almost missed our plane.

I have yet to take her surfing. We need to drive several hours up coast and fight the crowds so boards are yellowing in the back yard. Surfing may be harder for her like wakeboarding. She could not get up when the boat pulled so became discouraged. Seems many of the RW we know have smaller more delicate arms and shoulders.

She loves to snorkel and we have been here in the Keys and Mexico. What worries me with her is that she does not respect the Ocean having grown up on the Black Sea (basically a lake). She does not understand rip currents and the dangers of not being a strong swimmer. In Mexico she was so involved in filming with the Go Pro that she kept drifting off...
 
She loves to hike. She travel for work and while the pilots drink she wanders off on hikes everywhere to take photos. A legit RW 

In April we will be in Costa Rica, so will let her have fun then.

[GQBlues]

I concur regarding having *delicate* shoulder strength. At least true on our end. She was sore for days the first few times she paddled out. She had gotten stronger since however.

Snorkeling: Last we were in Maui, I took her to Honolua Bay nearby Kapalua. it's a marine preserve and lots of marine life everywhere. Sadly, she had a really difficult time swimming to the bottom and staying down. She epitomizes the principle of buoyancy. I did managed to take lots of pictures of her from underneath being surrounded by fishes in dazzling array of colors and shapes.

Last time her entire gang were here with us, I took them to Catalina Island and went snorkeling, too. Beyond the colorful Gibraltar's orange (only found in Catalina Island), there were multitudes of *predatory* bass (Calico and Sand). I'd throw slices of bread all around her so they'd go into a feeding frenzy resulting in her calling me a few choice 'endearing' words in Russian.

Have fun in Costa Rica.

[LiveFromUkraine]

GQ, how is skiing on the knees?  I have been wanting to try it but hurt my right knee in judo.  It never healed right and still locks up once in a great while. 

[GQBlues]

GQ, how is skiing on the knees?  I have been wanting to try it but hurt my right knee in judo.  It never healed right and still locks up once in a great while. 

Skiing is quite taxiing on the knees. However, it doesn't require *too much* lateral force. Not sure what level skier you are, and the injury you sustained on your knees. You said Judo, thus presumably ACL/MCL strain/tear?

Anyway, your doctor's instruction will always supersede whatever I say here since I don't know the extent of your knee damage. If tendon or cartilage damage, maybe I'd recommend you get it fix first (assuming they can actually fix cartilage damage).

Ligament strain/tear (full or partial), my feeling is (speaking from personal experience), wear a support brace and try to stay away from mogul skiing if you can. Or even deep powder skiing (unless dry).

A lot of skiing is keeping your upper body always facing the downhill plane, with your hips actively transferring load (weight) transfer unto your thighs to ankle to boots to edges. With the knees almost always press together. Like a hopping motion - heel to heel. More pronounced on less than groomed surface or rutted snow, less on freshly groomed surfaces. Leaning a bit forward for better control. This promote and assures great force transfer on your ski's edges.

But if this is your first time out, try to make sure and figure out what your injury is. You'd be on the bunny hills and will definitely be snowplowing quite a bit. This really put a lot of strain on all parts of your knees. The lessons they'll show you first is how to get on and off your skis. Names of the part of your skis. Safety practices. How to get up after a fall. Getting on and off the lifts, Familiarizing yourself on conditions, ski maps, trails, symbols, etc..Actual skiing will mostly be snowplowing for quite some time, etc.

[LiveFromUkraine]

I have no idea what damage was done.  Last year was the first year in over 20 that I have been to a doctor.  haha 

After reading your post, I will definitely get it checked out before attempting to ski.  I never skied before and no doubt there will be a lot of falling.  For the most part, my knee really didn't stop me from doing much of what I wanted.  It would pop out and lock once in a great while. 

Hitting weighted squats seemed to help strengthen them.  Now it pops when I tried to sit on my heels doing stretches.  I was never able to sit back on my heels even when I was a kid.  That makes me think it could be my popliteus. I have been doing some stretches for the popliteus.   Funny thing is those stretches helped with a back pain.  lol


Man, getting old is tough work.  haha

[GQBlues]

I have no idea what damage was done.  Last year was the first year in over 20 that I have been to a doctor.  haha 

After reading your post, I will definitely get it checked out before attempting to ski.  I never skied before and no doubt there will be a lot of falling.  For the most part, it really didn't stop me from doing much of what I wanted.  It would pop out and lock once in a great while. 

Good call. It sounds like you may have damage your cartilage. It's like a 'cup' that holds you knee bone firmly in place like a socket. Same stuff with your shoulders.

Hitting weighted squats seemed to help strengthen them.  Now it pops when I tried to sit on my heels doing stretches.  I was never able to sit back on my heels even when I was a kid.  That makes me think it could be my popliteus. I have been doing some stretches for the popliteus.   Funny thing is those stretches helped with a back pain.  lol

One of the best stretches you can do (hugely beneficial for lower back pain sufferer) is, sit upright with your legs together. Slowly lift one leg and cross it over your other leg with the heel resting just outside the other thigh - knees pointed upwards. Then slowly press the knee towards the opposite shoulder as close as possible while inhaling / exhaling. release the tension, then do it again. Slowly return to place. Repeat with other leg. That stretches whatever you call that ligament that's attached to your hamstring, goes under your booty, and connects to the backside of your hip. Works wonder to ease the tension on the lower back. Great stretches for golf, too.

[BillyB]

How about your Russian wives and girlfriends learning any sports in Northern America?

Wife likes to hike on trails and mountains. I'll do some walking with her in parks. She joined a fitness club to stay in shape.

Any skiers here? 

Not me. I tried to ski once and I may have been doing it wrong and my knees were sore. What's the secret to painless skiing?

[SANDRO43]

What's the secret to painless skiing?

A good ski school . My former BIL tried skiing from a manual, was a hopeless disaster and soon abandoned the idea .

[GQBlues]

Antidote for painful skiing? A good shot of peppermint schnapps. Preferably before coffee, and another just before ski school.

But seriously, beginning skiers these days have got it made. Thanks to NASA, skis are so much more responsive and controllable than they used to be since the innovation of shape skis (parabolics). To give this some perspective, my last pair of skis just prior to parabolics were K2 Extremes - 215cm, Stiff Tail. Very fast. These days, I can get that same 'speed' on parabolic skis 165cm or less without sacrificing *control*. The tips and tails of today's skis are actually *fatter* than they used to be. The contact area of a 160-165 cm parabolics is equal to the contact area of those 215cm, so your speed remains the same, but since the tip/tail are wider, the skis are so much more responsive.You'll even notice this change on winter/Olympic competition racing.

In short, learning how to ski is so much more easier now than they used to be. Falling is hardly an option these days.

Lastly, always keep in mind you're doing something rigorous up in a higher altitude. Be in reasonably  good shape, and bring tissues with you, you're going to need it.

[Lily]

Wow, what a lot of information! At some point I heard voices that we Russians are more of a lazy glamour type, or kind of ski bunny 

Now I see that your women love sports and outdoors, which is heartwarming!

Right now I will be exploring the closest slopes, with occasional excursions to larger skiing resorts. On Saturday, I am going with a local ski club for a test drive. On two buses, a group of Toronto skiers will go for ski assessment and lessons. Should be fun 

So far I am comfy doing ploughs on the beginners' slopes. Fell down every four meters on the intermediary slope in my local ski resort, as it was an rather icy surface, and once on the same slope type in the better resort. Learning how to control my speed!

Yeah there are too many snowboarders around! Many seem to be really well schooled on their boards, so it is a pleasure to watch their good technique. So far I see little problems sharing a slope with them, unless no one is disturbing others. Besides, the snowboarders have really cool boots!



My very happy sporty rear!

[GQBlues]

Have a great time Lily! You likely already know this, but may be worth while repeating...

One of the toughest thing during my learning phase was the ability, or trust, to control my mind's instinct to 'protect' myself. Coming down the hill gives the mind the sensation of 'falling', especially when you start picking up speed. Thus the mind automatically commands the body to grab a hold of something, or worst in skiing, lean back in an attempt to hold unto the mountain. In skiing, leaning back is the worst thing you can do. You have given up control on your skis as the tips of your skis raises up as you're falling back, however slight.

So fun, fun...

[jone]

Bend those knees.