Katie Tsuyuki - Pro Snowboarder

No Matter the Weather

2012-02-29T12:16:00.002-08:00

When I turned up at practice on Monday morning I was readyfor anything; thank goodness because of the 80km wind gusts and sometimes whitesquall conditions were unfavourable. Practice started late because the pipe maintenance people had to dealwith the six inches of snow in the bottom and when the course did open we hadto ride in the gusty cross winds.

Many athletes left training with only a few runs under thembut our crew, Lauren Shanahan, Coach Roberto Marfia, and myself, stayed untilthe end. I had heard a storm was comingin and I wanted to get a good feel for the pipe. The pipe its self had a beautiful shape…itwas just the stubborn weather that was adverse.

I awoke Tuesday morning to sun out my window but still therewas that pesky wind. I had a bad feelingabout practice. Sure enough the messagecame down the line that practice was cancelled for both snowboarders andskiers. This was going to be the lastday of practice before qualifiers. A bitannoying but I was okay with this, I had Bob Palmer that evening, so I wasgoing to ride in my mind anyway.

This extra time gave me the opportunity to get some muchneeded work done. I started my athletepage on Facebook and sent the word out to my FB friends. I updated my website with news and somepictures. In addition to all of that I setup a meeting with the Make-A-Wish foundation to see if I could be a part of theirRope for Hope event. In this event 90participants who raise the most money repel from a 30 storey building in theheart of downtown Toronto.

When Roberto came back from the riders meeting that night itwas said that if the skier qualifiers were cancelled on Wednesday then theformatting would be changed to a one run qualifier including both skiers andsnowboards, opposed to the separate days for skiers and snowboarders who gettwo runs each. Again this was all goodbecause I have Palmer in my corner.

My meeting with Bob Palmer was great. We went through some preparation exercisesthat will give me the edge on my competitors. To me I had a great day in the pipe, working my passes and runningthrough new tricks I want to land. Iended the meeting in a state of readiness.

That night I went to bed listening to the howling of thewind outside my window and even was woken up by it in the middle of thenight. I had a feeling that the skierqualifiers would be pushed back and the alternative format would beimplied.

Sure enough today, the now 160km winds cancelled the skier qualifiersand there was no practice for anyone. Hereis a picture taken with my Sony NEX-5 with a fisheye lens.

Once again I am left to snowboarding in my head where it isalways sunny and with a perfect pipe. Tome, I have already performed my run about twenty times and practiced a bunch ofdrills.

Tomorrow it should be sunny out, go figure. I might only have one run, but I am ready forthat run and will make it count!

http://www.ktathletics.com/

Between Contests

2012-02-27T16:08:00.000-08:00

The last couple of days in Toronto were good ones. I met with my web manager and spoke aboutchanges to be made on my website. Ivisited my favorite hot spot in Toronto,Iyashi. I found a new love with ChefAlex Burgess at recently opened resto-lounge Bloke and 4^th, andspent valuable time with family.

If you arrived at the blog through www.KTathletics.com then be sure toreturn there soon as some changes are going to be made. It was exciting to meet with my web manageras we shot the new intro video for my homepage and discussed changes that willoccur over the next month. I always havefun being on camera which makes it easy to shoot these things, and I am proud to say we captured what we neededin only a few takes. Maybe in the futurethe next chapter of my life will include more on camera opportunities as I seem to have a knack

I was lucky to get into Iyashi Bedrock Spa fortreatments. Torontonians are finallycatching on to this unique spot, therefore spots are quickly filled. One treatment was a traditionalstyle where I enjoyed just laying on the heated black silica rock soaking inthe healing properties of the rock’s emissions. The second treatment was hot yoga where I benefited by the lengtheningof my muscles getting them mountain ready. Both gave me time to relax my body and mind and left me rejuvenated andready the upcoming events. To me thisplace is a little piece of magic!

If you are in the Torontoarea you have to check out Bloke and 4^th at 401 King St W. This new resto-lounge is the talk of the townproviding beautiful food and drink in a catchy atmosphere. I am fortunate to have Executive Chef AlexBurgess as one of my longest known friends and he provided hand picked selectionsoff his menu. My favourite was thescallops and risotto main, but everything I ate made my taste buds and opticnerves buzz with excitement. Not onlywas the food delicious but so were the drinks. Drink specialist Jeremy made it seem as though Dr. Suess stepped behindthat bar and started maxing drinks, every sip was delectable. Here is their write up in Toronto Life, takea read and get hungry.

I was especially thrilled to spend time with family. I took my nieces for an afternoon, one whento gymnastics and the other was entertained with Rock Band. My eldest niece is excelling in gymnastics,among the other sports she participates in, and the changes in her personality arenoticeable. Sport has given her morefocus and a needed outlet for her inherent abundant energy. It can be seen that sport will play a bigrole in her life as it has in all my family member’s lives.

I also had a couple good meals with my parents, who arealways up for giving me the pep talk. Inthose pep talks my Dad always references Rocky by saying “what does Rocky dowhen he’s knocked down? He gets right back up”. This is always followed by the singing of the Rocky’s theme song. Priceless.

As you can tell it was a busy two days in my hometown but itwas a great time. Work, rest, play andfamily were what filled my time. To me,these past days have been about balance. I have preached this before and I will continue to in the future, butbalance is huge in any career. Itrealigns my concentration and boosts my focus. Now I am ready for the next step of the Mammoth Grand Prix and for theultimate goal of excellence.

The Quebec World Cup

2012-02-24T12:36:00.001-08:00

Getting to Quebecwas a little crazy. First was the flightfrom Denver to Toronto, which was the best part of the trip. We upgraded to First Class and it wasgreat. Truly a more civilized way totravel, being fed and lots of moving around room is the way to go. Thank goodness I had upgrade credits thatneeded using.

We arrived at Pearson airport on time but it always takes solong to get luggage, plus clearing customs, we ended up spending an hour in theair port. This was not good becausecoach made the decided to drive to Montrealthat night so we could hit up the first day of practice.

Once all was said and done, eating and saying hello to the parents,it was already 7pm, we had a 515km drive a head of us and I knew my Aunt wouldbe waiting for us to arrive. We neededto get to Montrealquick.

The 401 highway was our main route and about 40kms in to thetrip the speedometer went out, so I had to drive according to RPMs. I am used to this because of my boattraining; sometimes the speedos didn’t work well on the boats, so you would dowhat you can. Driving fast, I wasdriving with my head on a swivel. Ladyluck was on my side and I made it safely to my Aunts in less than 5 hours.

The next morning there was practice at the resort, Stoneham, at 10am, and wewere still 280kms away. Roberto drovethe rest of the way while I got some sleep so I would have some energy for the3 hour practice I would have to ensue and perform in.

We made it and were on course, with accreditation and bibs,by 11:45am. Phew! I was a bit surprisedto have such good practice. I thought Iwas going to just do straight airs but I was able to pull it together and getmy run down a couple of times.

It was also great to see good friends at the top of thepipe. I have slowly befriended Chineserider Xuetong through her coach, my friend, Christopher Clark. “tong tong’ is her nickname on their team andshe’s always smiling and high-fiving when we meet up. Her and ‘crazy Dr. Loo’ are very patient withteaching me Mandarin, it’s taken me a while to learn ‘how are you’ and ‘I amfine’. It’s much different from theJapanese that I have learnt in the past, and I have troubles with theintonation, but I am happy to try.

Coach and I were relieved to finally get checked into thehotel, unpack, eat, and catch some Z’s.

Tuesday’s practice when very well, with the sun shining andpipe having a much better shape, I practiced various runs with ease, and Icould feel the energy building for the contest. That night I had a meeting with Bob Palmer to getmy mental game up too. It was great, andI was fired up.

The late morning of Wednesday was a snowy one with light fogin the half, the men rode first and there ended up being a half foot of sugarsnow in the bottom. Neither of thismattered to me because I was so in the ‘zone’. It’s hard for me to describe to you exactly what happened or what I wasdoing because it was almost dream like. I was on auto pilot that morning. I did my runs and nothing else mattered. This is what the ‘zone’ is like. I didn’t even notice anyone else’s runs…I leave that up to mycoach. At least I got that right thatday; that I definitely found the sweet spot in the zone.

When I reached the bottom of the pipe I heard from theannouncements that I had made semi finals and I was so stoked. On to twitter I went telling everyone aboutmy accomplishment. I had made it though…orso I thought I did.

Later that night, after preparing all evening, I received acall from Canada Snowboard telling me there had been a tabulation mistake and Iactually missed finals by a point and a half. I was SO BROKEN!!

Just heartbroken with this news! I was in the dumps. My balloon had been totally deflated. This contest meant a lot to me, and thismishap made me feel as though I was on the brink of quitting. I know a lot of people envy what I do, but Ialso envy what everyday people get to do too. Life is way easier to punch a clock, get a steady paycheque, and sleepin your own familiar bed every day. There is so much ambiguity in my life that at times it drives me crazyand the people around me crazy.

So, with all that happening I am lucky I have the support ofsome great people in my life. My Mom andcoach who help keep things in perspective; friends who make time for me when Iam around and fully understand when I need to work. I get a lot of love from these people. At least how I live helps separates the realfrom the fluff. No matter what the resultof the contest I know I am always winning at life with these people aroundme. There will be more contests and it’sa build to greatness. It is a hard road,but would be much harder alone.

Hearts, Guns and Training

2012-02-16T08:01:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day is always a funny day of the year. Statistically it's not the day with the most breakups, actually two weeks before Christmas takes that title, but it's third on the list just behind Spring Break. Actually I was surprised when I looked into some stats on Vday. The biggest one that surprised me was that approximately 40% of the 180 million Vday cards purchased is done so by parents. I believe this because I have gotten more cards by my Mom on Vday than by boyfriends. I also suppose that parents also buy cards for their partners as well.

My Vday was spent at the gun range unloading magnums of bullets at cans and targets. Then on the slope with the snow feature I love the most, the half pipe. I made chicken noodle soup from scratch, yes I love to cook too. And cuddled down with the special person in my life to watch movies. I guess to me it's not about spending money or doing lavish things, although flowers don't hurt but I feel that way with any day of the year. Valentine's Day is about doing things I love to do. I was sure to call my parents and let them know that I love them.

The last two days have been training intensive working on drills, visualizing and trying to get more breakthroughs. I also have been playing travel agent booking flights, cars and hotel rooms. There has also been the dealings with Canada Snowboard about confirming spots for contests which are a couple weeks away. I was amazed at how I could not get a confirmation for contests that I needed to book logistics for. Or a concise schedule for Canadian Nationals at Canada Olympic Park, I wonder if they know that flights do not get cheaper closer to the date? Well this is nothing new to me, just a little frustrating when you are trying to snowboard on a budget. My sponsors are awesome Sony is really supportive for what I need. More sponsorship would be great to cover a training/competing years which costs over $50,000, non Olympic, and over $80,000 for a Olympic qualifying year. Canada helps with a couple thousand, which is a grant, that I apply for every year and haven't ever benefited from. Thus is life. When you get lemons, make lemonade as the story goes.

I am thankful my parents raised me to pursue and that I really love riding half pipe. There are ALWAYS challenges and triumphs and new things to learn. I feel I am expanding as a person in life, love and labor.

Still, this week is flying by so quickly, the Quebec World Cup will be upon me soon. It will be a great contest!

Driving home, Hot Springs and Snow

2012-02-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

The drive back from Utah was a beautiful one, with the road twisting and turning through canyons and beside mountains. We passed the time by following the remainder of the Dew Tour through Twitter, along with learning about Whitney Houston's death. It was entertaining to see how the Tweeps out there knew more then CNN did. I love Twitter. It was a solid 8 hour drive back to Colorado and when we passed by Glennwood hot springs it put an idea in my head. I want to go to the hot springs!

So, on Sunday we tried to ride, was snowed out of the pipe, then packed the car and left for Strawberry Park Hot Springs near Steamboat, CO. I came upon this place around three years ago and it's just amazing. Natural pools, only slightly commercialized and I was there at night. I had only been there during the day before, a night time experience was extra special. After a couple hours in the pools, going from the hot to the cold, I was cooked and it was time for dinner.

I was weary to find a noodle place in Steamboat but thanks to Goggle Maps it told us there was a little shop, Noodles and More, score. At first I was skeptical about ordering Pho from there, but I was happily surprised with the very authentic Pho soup I was served. While eating, my Mother was so kind as to send me updates of the Grammy awards since I was missing them. Sounds like my hometown boy, Deadmau5, killed it. Go Toronto! Along with a strange performance by Nicki Manaj, I YouTubed it later and it was weird.

We drove through a snow storm to get home. One of those ones that made it feel like we were going warp speed. Finally we made it home rolling over the two mountain passes and into Copper Mountain. With no regrets I went to bed relaxed from the magical sulphur waters I soaked in.

I awoke this morning to half a foot on the tress outside my window. I didn't know whether to be delighted or frustrated. I know this would make riding the pipe difficult. After sending out the bat call to Leslie Glenn there seemed to be around half a foot in the pipe a long with the trees outside, although Breckenridge's website was only reporting two inches.

I didn't let this stop me from heading to the pipe to see for myself if I could get work done or not. Yes, there was half a foot in the pipe, but thank goodness it's Colorado snow and i could just blow through the stuff. That would never happen in BC. In 7 runs I was able to knock off some some 360 drills and boost some airs, along with some good pow turns at the end of the run. In the end the cold got to me and I had to head home.

I went home and looked at the weather to see what this training week would look like. Snow, snow and more snow. Not the most optimal conditions for what I need to do, but I will do my best to stick to my plan. I do have a backup plan, I got Sport Excel on my side and visualizing is just important.

I have the World Cup coming up in Quebec City and I am going to be ready for it. It will be an important contestant and a great contest. I am excited to compete in my home country and in a World Cup, I love representing Canada.

Winter Dew Tour - Toyota Championships Part II

2012-02-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

The contest is over for me but it was a good one. We had an extended practice of 3 hours but I only practiced for 1 hour. I was afraid of over training, which is a real problem in contests like these. The sun was out and the pipe was soft, almost spring like conditions, for the beginning of February. Everyone looked pretty on point today.

Here is the top of the pipe with coaches Roberto Marfia and Chris Clark, with riders Xuetong, Leslie Glenn and I. Taken with my Sony NEX-5 with Fisheye conversion lens.

I was too, landing some great runs in practice, including putting down my cab 540 after my frontside 720, a breakthrough run. I have not done this in my full run yet. I even added a last trick of a switch backside 540. Roberto my coach was so pumped, I should have been too but I knew it was only practice.

When it came to my run I was in the "zone" with a little Beyonce remix on my Walkman. First run went great with a little butt check on my last hit, but I was relieved to finally get that cab 540 down in a run in a contest. FINALLY. The run was good but scored a little low, to be expected as I was near the front of the pack in dropping order.

Second run was smooth, I changed it up with a hand plant and backside 360. I bumped up my score by 12 points. I was frustrated that I didn't make the cut for finals but I can't dwell on this.

With every contest, bad or good, I have to see what I can improve on and what the small steps were that goes towards the goal, the Olympics. For this one it is that I did a trick I haven't put into contest run yet and I succeeded. That cab 540 had been plaguing me for over a year now and now the fight is over. I did it, I know I can do it, and now it's been done. I also look at what I need to improve on and practice. The next week is without contest and I will have a chance to improve on my run and take that to the World Cup in Quebec on the 24th.

So, in the end I will celebrate my accomplishment and create a plan for the improvements needed. This is not just for contest but also for life.

Dew Tour - Toyota Championships

2012-02-09T20:08:00.000-08:00

I have had my first day of practice here at the Dew in Utah at Snowbasin Resort. The weather was partly cloudy and the pipe was full of energy. It was great to see all the women riding the 615ft long pipe well, including Kelly Clark and Gretchen, who are almost always in top form.

Right now I am battling a cold that is probably due to overuse of my body and mind after the Canadian Open and hanging out with my friends who I haven't seen in years. So it was a struggle at times to get into the "Zone", as my mental trainer Bob Palmer explains the mind state. I have learned a lot from Sports Excel and continue to learn and try new things with every session.

Most important thing I have learned was to get excited for the contest. I used to worry about what the contest would bring me, having anxiety about a million different things. Now I see it as a chance to showcase all the things I have learned over all these years of riding half pipe...the most frustrating discipline of them all.

So I must say that I am excited for tomorrow's qualifiers. I am going to put in my new trick and it's going to be great!! As my friend Joyce Castle said "you are going to fly today"!

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 35: The Ranch Wake Park

2011-08-08T20:52:00.001-07:00

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Fly with Katie at The Ranch Wake Park in Newmarket, ON Canada. Filmed with a Sony Cyber-shot DSC HX5

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 34: Underwater Fun

2011-07-21T15:52:00.001-07:00

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Katie has some underwater play time with friends and family. Filmed with Sony T series cameras

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 33: Surfing Muskoka

2011-06-23T18:39:00.001-07:00

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Katie Tsuyuki surfs Muskoka on the endless wave!!Sponsored by Sony Canada

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 32: Global Cutter

2011-05-22T17:22:00.001-07:00

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Katie speaks with Brett Nakamoto, lead hand at Whistler Parks, about the Global Cutter. ;Filmed with Sony Cyber-shot DSCHX5 and Handycam HDRXR150

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 31: Whistler Springtime

2011-05-19T23:40:00.001-07:00

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Katie shreds Blackcomb park in Whstler, BC. Filmed with Sony Cyber-shot DSCHX5 and Handycam HDRXR150. ;

Camping Weekend!

2011-05-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been to natural hot springs? Ones where you can see the boiling water spill out of a crack in the earth? That’s where I went last weekend with Berto and my good friends from Whistler Yohann Melissa and Astro Boy (dog).

They are called Sloquet Hot Springs and are about a four and a half hour drive from Squamish. First we followed highway 99 through Whistler, Pemberton, D’arcy, and until it starts to climb towards the Duffy. Then we took a logging road on the right, there is a sign for Lilloet Lake Lodge, and followed it south for about 80kms. It was another 8kms of a rough pot holed filled road into the camping site. It’s a trek, but worth the drive.

When you get there it’s a camping paradise with plenty of lots and a huge tree canopy that covers the whole grounds. We were lucky to get one with a big tarp already set up because the forecast was rain for the weekend.

Setting up camp was easy because we were car camping due to the rain. Blowing up an air mattress is quick with an electronic pump; I guess not really roughing it. We had enough food and drinks to feast like kings and queens. With camp set it was ready for the springs.

The hill down is long and a bit rocky, but the view of the huge evergreens against the near snowy peaks was breathtaking. Before I knew it I could hear the babbling of the small river that flows beside the springs. The land drops down beside the river and we followed the pathway, already we could feel the heat.

The rocks are smooth around the pools, but the waters themselves are shallow. The deepest parts are about two feet. Blue tarps with rocks on and around them form barriers that separate the cascading pools from the heat source to the glacier river below. The pool up top is almost boiling in temperature and we needed to sit a good distance to be in comfortable hot water. When you get too hot you can just jump in the river…if you can stand the frigid cold. I did.

Nature had grown around the pools with fallen trees, moss, ferns and the budding trees of spring. Night time is especially magical when tea candles are put on the wall and you can watch the shadows dance.

We had a great camping weekend with campfires, smoores, good conversations and relaxing in the springs. The road out was long but good friends always makes the journey go by quicker.

Back in Action

2011-05-09T18:23:00.000-07:00

It’s great to have internet back. It’s amazing the things we take for granted and access to the web is one of them. When I got my modem on Friday I was so delighted to have my Shaw Cable debacle over with.

Saturday was a wet but awesome day at Whistler on Blackcomb Mountain. Roberto my coach and I rode jumps and pipe most of the day. There was also some hiking of the pipe to get down a few tricks in the slushy spring pipe. It’s a good thing I had my goggle wiper blade to get all the water off my lens because it was raining/snowing a bunch.

After riding we headed over to Crispin Lipscomb’s house in Pemberton just north of Whistler. We had a great barbeque and watched the Canucks in a Play Off game against the Nashville Predators. Sadly the Canucks lost the game but not the series. It was a heated battle though and we all ended up getting into it.

Sunday was great with broken cloud providing lots of sunny breaks. The Blackcomb Park was in full swing and busy. There were many decent laps riding jumps and hips. The ride down was full of natural features and spins off the edges of snow groomer roads. The mountain really is one big play ground.

Today the mountain was a cloud sandwich. Clear in the valley, cloudy in the middle, and bright sun shine up top. Unfortunately the park sits in the middle of the mountain. It was nice sitting in the sun up top, but there was no work that could be done in the park, that was a white room. I met up with pro snowboarders Alex Duckworth, Caitlyn Irwin, and Sarah Conrad at the top of the lift where Alex and Caitlyn were sun tanning. It was good to catch up and chat for a bit, however I couldn’t sit still.

I headed back down to Squamish and hit the gym, where you can always get work done now matter the weather. I had a great satisfying workout.

Now time to catch up on computer work. Blogging being one of them. Still, I can’t complain, it was a great weekend.

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 30: Powder Riding @ Vail

2011-04-20T18:41:00.001-07:00

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Take powder turns with Katie Tsuyuki at Vail Resort, CO. ;Filmed with Sony Handycam HDR XR150 and Cyber-shot DSC HX5

Shoot Away

2011-04-13T21:32:00.000-07:00

I am so happy my site is finally up and going. Thanks to all of those who have visited and if you got to this blog from there…thanks for checking it out.

Days have been going quickly and I was able to get in a photo shoot this week. My good friend Shannon August came out to shoot and we had great weather for it.

The Focus Snow boys were out in full force slaying jumps and rails in the beautiful sun. They were able to get some shots too.

Here are a couple extras, but the good ones are going to Allian, my snowboard sponsor and Anakie whose outerwear I am in.

Lastly I am happy to get out my new video blog of the bowling that took place last Friday. It was great to see a great mix of international people. Check it out on my site. www.ktathletics.com .

Day off tomorrow, which I am happy to take. There’s another snow storm outside and around a foot of snow is expected. Although, I never trust the weather people.

Sunday = Day of Rest

2011-04-10T13:54:00.000-07:00

It's great to have a day off. Nothing is better than a winter storm to warrant the time for relaxation. This is a great time to catch up on knocking off levels on Super Mario Bros. WII and going to see a movie. I think Limitless is going to be the selection for the afternoon.
The weather looks great for tomorrow and my photographer friend Shannon is coming up to take some pics on my new Allian board. Sunny days are great for fun and photos.

I am waiting for my site to go live, my web guy said it would be going within 24-48hrs, waiting for the DNS to clear. But, that was on Friday. I'm excited because it's going to be awesome!

Living by the Bar

2011-04-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

I am SO hungry all the time! What a pain it is to be eating every 3-4 hours every day. I am thankful to have gone to all those Dew Tours, which are sponsored by Power Bar, I managed to get a whole shopping bag full of an assortment of the latest and greatest in Power Bar technology.

I must admit that it is convenient to just reach into my bag, pull out a bar, and have a snack on the chair. My favorites right now are the Prima 100cal bars..mint chocolate. As I type I am munching on the Protein Plus, cookies and cream, bar to replenish after a vigorous workout.

And how far have the flavors come...I remember when they all tasted like different colors of chalk...

Although all these bars are an easy fix with no cooking required and a quick clean up; I wish I could just eat Japanese food all the time. I highly doubt they will be making miso flavored bars anytime soon. Japan has ruined me for all other food. If anyone trained in traditional Japanese cooking wants to come be my personal chef I would be in heaven.

Skier Halfpipe is in 2014 Games!!!

2011-04-06T13:13:00.000-07:00

Today IOC announced that they voted a YES to having freeskiing halfpipe event in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. This is such good news for all my skier friends who have been training for this since skiers started seriously riding pipe...about 10 years ago.
This means I will be seeing more friends at an already amazing event. Thanks IOC for seeing the light...To all my skier friend...Enjoy.

Try Katie's Workout!!

2011-04-05T15:24:00.000-07:00

For all those workout savvy people, here are two weight workouts I did this week.
Since I have taken some time off I decided that volume is more important to get back into it!!

Day 1 - Legs and Shoulders
8min warm up
Round 1
Deep Squat with 95lb barbell Paired with Push Press 25lbs dumbbells
7 Sets for 10 reps
Round 2
Dead Lift with 95lb barbell Paired with Bent Over Fly 10lbs dumbbells
7 Sets for 10 reps (Dead) and 15 reps (Fly)
Round 3
Sumo Squat with 95lb barbell Paired with Alternating Lateral and Front Shoulder Raise with 8lbs dumbbells
6sets of 10 reps (Sumo) and 20reps (Shoulder raise)
Round 4
3mins of Death (30s burpies, 30s deep squat jump, 30s alternating lunge jump, 30s skater hops, 30s 1 leg hops and turns, 30s other leg hops and turns) for 2 sets
Round 5
Core and Stretch

Day 2 - Chest and Back
8min warm up
Round 1
65lbs Bench Press Paired with Chin-Ups
7sets of 10 reps (bench) max reps (chins)
Round 2
25lbs dumbbell Chest fly on bench Paired with Bent over row with 65lb barbell
7sets of 10 reps
Round 3
Push ups Paired with Inverted Chin ups
4sets of max
Round 4
Spin Bike 10 sets of 30s on and 30s rest
Round 5
Core and Stretch

These are just two days out of my workout week!! Fun Fun

WARNING!! Only for advanced athletes!! OR try with personal trainer!!

Allian Girls Donates

2011-04-04T10:25:00.000-07:00

Great News from the Allian team!

A charity event took place last Sunday at Kagura, Niigata organized by Allian girl rider Sae Kawasaki and her shop Global Crew!

Over $5,000 were donated to relief efforts from the girl snowboarders participated!

Great Job SAE!!

I'm proud to be with Allian!!

My Dew Tour 2010:I'm Obsessed!

2011-04-03T13:44:00.000-07:00

Just found this! It's about the Winter Dew Tour. Enjoy

My Dew Tour 2010:I'm Obsessed!: "Create your own video at: www.mydewtour.com"

Summary of 2011 Competitive Season

2011-04-01T15:32:00.000-07:00

This season started with a bang! Almost literally, I hit a tree and severely sprained my ankle and tore some tendon from the bone. I missed the first Winter Dew Tour of the season and was crutch ridden for about a month. Luckily I have a good doctor who patched me up to heel and I was back on snow 7 weeks later.

The second Winter Dew Tour was at Killington in Vermont. The turn out was great for this invited riders only contest, I got in on a wild card spot. Almost every female pro snowboarder was there, including the famous Kelly Clark. I placed 9th in the contest, which I was happy with because I took all that time off snow.

The next, and last, Winter Dew Tour Stop was in Utah at Snowbasin and I again was the wild card. This place was baller, with a huge base lodge and a world class half pipe. The last contest was the championships for the series and everyone was here for the big pay out. I still held my ground to grab a 10th place overall finish and an invitation to next year's series. A coveted spot to say the least.

After Utah I traveled to Japan to check out Tokyo, Nagano and ride at Oze Tokura. My time there was amazing, Japan is such a cool and advanced place; you should take a look at the video blogs about it. My travel from Japan to the Burton US Open was hectic.

I went from Heneda, Japan to LAX; had a six hour layover then hopped on the rest eye to Toronto. I landed in Toronto at 5:30am and went to my parents place to sleep. I woke up at 12pm, said hello to some family, ate and was on the road driving to Vermont by 3pm. Hit a snow storm at 9pm and had to stop driving due to freezing rain and winds at midnight. What was supposed to take eight hours to drive was extended to twelve hours of driving and a overnight stay. UGH!

So, the Burton US Open was the last stop for this season. This contest is one of the biggest and attracts the largest number of riders. This year I had to qualify for the contest and out of 32 riders for qualification I placed 2nd. This meant I moved onto the next round with 16 invited riders. Semi-finals was a wet snow and low light day; after my last run the course was put on hold for two and a half hours because of fog. I placed 12th, which is my best finish at a US Open. The fact that my family came down from Toronto in a snow storm to support me was the best part of the weekend. I was grateful.

Overall, I'd say the season went pretty well. Minus an injury, which is just part of the game, I had a lot of fun. Now it's spring and I am starting the season where I learn new tricks, hit the gym more consistently, and enjoy the soft snow and sun. This is the best time of the year!

Lou's DASH

2010-09-17T12:28:00.000-07:00

Lou was a great inspiration in my life and he will always be remembered in my memories. And this video.

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 5: Wanaka Skydive

2010-09-13T15:33:00.000-07:00

With bad weather and Cardrona closing I decided to spice up my trip. Watch me as I drop from the sky with Wanaka Skydive. It was an amazing experience that was worth doing. Enjoy.

Video Blog 4: Wanaka Have a Shot

2010-09-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

With the weather not coopperating, again, I went with my friends to Wanaka Have a Shot. There you can shoot just about anything from guns to golf balls. A great alternative to snowboarding. Thanks to Soko, Moto, Taku Check out all our fun.

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All Shots are filmed with a SONY Bloggie!

Video Blog 3: Sasanoki

2010-08-31T02:46:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone...This week I am at Sasanoki, my favorite place to eat ramen, and I am learning to speak Japanese. A big thank you to Hisachi, Take, Sawa and the rest of my friends at Sasanoki for helping me. I am a beginner, please forgive my pronouncation :). Enjoy!

Video Blog: Jr. Worlds at Cardrona

2010-08-24T05:56:00.000-07:00

Here is my new Video blog. It is taken with Robert Joncas who is the Director of Canada Snowboard high performance program. He is speaking about Jr. World Champs. We are at the Cardrona pips during training. Enjoy!

Video Blog1 New Zealand

2010-08-20T03:51:00.000-07:00

Here is my first video blog with my SONY Bloggie. It features Sophie Meade who is an up and coming rider from NYC who rides the southern Vermont series. I am coaching her for a couple of weeks in New Zealand for Focus Elite snowboard team, www.focuselite.com.
I hope you all enjoy

Taking Home Bronze

2010-03-31T08:01:00.001-07:00

With nationals over I feel like a load has been lifted from my shoulders. I accomplished a podium finish at the Canadian Championships and I am satisfied with my third place finish. It was a close contest but in the end it was Palmer Taylor and Mercedes Nicoll who took first and second place.
It was a beautiful day for the contest with clear blue skies accompanied by crisp temperatures. The pipe was firm and the snow became more granular over the course of the day. I was really pumped that my parents were there to support me; I could almost see my mom’s puffy hat from the top of the pipe.
I did some great runs, improving on every score through out the day. My podium run consisted of a back side air, front side 720, cab 360, front side air, back side 540 and a front side 540. I was especially happy with my consistency; I landed every judged run.
The only thing that bothered me was the attendance at the contest. The big names were there, almost all the national team and development team but there were only 14 ladies and 23 men. It was disturbing to see such small numbers.
I decided to give half my winnings to the most developmental beginner girl pipe rider. It went to 17 year old Stephanie Meagher of Nova Scotia; she was very excited to have been chosen. I made sure to reiterate how important it was for her to keep riding half pipe.
That night my coach, family and I had a memorable dinner at the historical Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City. We could see the twinkling lights on the St. Lawrence River as we ate our delicious dinner. I was so happy to be there with the people I love.
Nationals were a great time for me.
Now I head to Toronto for some meetings with sponsors and to enjoy some rest time at Iyashi bedrock spa. It’s a great place relax the body and mind while lounging on the heated healing rocks. If this sounds interesting to you check out their website at www.iyashibedrockspa.com . Their web site is informative on the treatments and its benefits.
I am looking forward to seeing friends while in Toronto for the week and to get in some good workouts.
Check back next week for another blog.

Katie Tsuyuki - Pro Snowboarder

No Matter the Weather

Between Contests

The Quebec World Cup

Hearts, Guns and Training

Driving home, Hot Springs and Snow

Winter Dew Tour - Toyota Championships Part II

Dew Tour - Toyota Championships

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 35: The Ranch Wake Park

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 34: Underwater Fun

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 33: Surfing Muskoka

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 32: Global Cutter

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 31: Whistler Springtime

Camping Weekend!

Back in Action

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 30: Powder Riding @ Vail

Shoot Away

Sunday = Day of Rest

Living by the Bar

Skier Halfpipe is in 2014 Games!!!

Try Katie's Workout!!

Allian Girls Donates

My Dew Tour 2010:I'm Obsessed!

Summary of 2011 Competitive Season

Lou's DASH

Katie Tsuyuki's Video Blog 5: Wanaka Skydive

Video Blog 4: Wanaka Have a Shot

Video Blog 3: Sasanoki

Video Blog: Jr. Worlds at Cardrona

Video Blog1 New Zealand

Taking Home Bronze

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