Curling has long been a sport of obscurity for most of the world. For some reason, the sight of burly men buffing sheets of ice to slide 42 pound stones at rings never gained widespread appeal. But over the last few decades of Winter Olympic games, curling has climbed out from the ranks of anonymity and captured the curiosity of viewers worldwide. With more recognition came more responsibility for the curlers, and there eventually came a time for the pioneers of the sport to put down the pale ales and cut down on sausage in exchange for protein powders and vitamins.
Curling takes muscle
While curling has long been referred to as "chess on ice," the sport has transformed into more of a finesse game than just a mental exercise. For starters, it takes a lot of muscle to swiftly maneuver the brooms back and forth across the curling sheet to create a smooth path for the stone- or the rock, to glide towards the house – or the goal. Have you ever felt a little sore after shoveling the driveway or mopping the floor? Well those sweeping motions are constantly being used by curlers. Curlers attribute their sweeping stamina to plenty of push-ups and bench presses during training.
Another favorite exercise for curlers are lunges. It's hard to remember that at the end of the day, everything that curlers do depends on their ability to maintain balance on the ice. This means they need to have stability in their legs, which can easily be provided through lunging exercises. Lunges target your legs, quads and glutes. A simple exercise is to stand with one foot flat on the ground in front of you, while you stand on the ball of your other foot on the ground behind you. Slowly drop to one knee, bringing it as close to the ground as possible, then walk forward, rotating each leg until you've reached a wall. This exercise is the most essential for any curler.
Fitness isn't just a fad for these curlers. Veteran curler and Canadian Olympic medalist John Morris is the author of "Fit to Curl", a book that focuses on his intense workout plan to maintain his elite athletic status. In his book, Morris attributed the change in curlers' attitudes toward exercise to that of golfers:
"Tiger Woods credits his fitness levels for some of his extraordinary success, and most professional golfers are no longer strangers to the weight room," Morris said. "I believe that fit curlers can enjoy an even bigger edge over less fit players than golfers do."
You can get a good look at how these curlers' training impacts their 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics performance beginning Friday, February 7th.