Suunto Welcomes Julian Carr to the Team!

We're proud to announce the addition of Julian Carr to our Suunto pro athlete team. Julian's original skiing style, jaw-dropping cliff jumps and success as a burgeoning ski industry entrepreneur have earned him a permanent place in the ranks of the sport's most progressive riders. His feature film appearances and awe-inspiring cover shots showcase how far freeskiing has come while giving us a glimpse into the future of the sport.

Known as "The Flying Yeti," Carr is an active member on Suunto’s online sports community, Movescount.com, where he uploads workouts, tracks fitness progress and connects globally with other online members. Carr will use Suunto training wristops to gear up for the grueling ski season and maintain his fitness level during the winter schedule. He’ll use Suunto altimeter, barometer, compass watches to log his vertical feet hiked and skied, and to monitor weather trends for backcountry safety.

“Suunto is a huge part of how I work and play,” says Carr. “It’s great to secure a partnership with the best watch company out there. To be able to track and maintain my fitness with a training watch and also use an outdoor watch equipped with ABC technology to keep me safe in the backcountry is vital.”

“It’s huge to have Julian on the Suunto athlete team,” says Chris McKearin, Suunto Consumer Marketer and Events Coordinator. “He was an avid Suunto user long before we signed him, which means he truly understands our products and the brand and can help spread the love in the ski community.”

Photo courtesy juliancarr.net

Suunto Shout Out From Utah Outside

Suunto had an amazing weekend at Outdoor Retailer Winter Market! We were excited to unveil some sweet products including our new 75th Anniversary Special Edition Core Watch, a redesigned foot pod and Movestick. We got a great shout review of these products from Utah Outside who visited us at our booth. Read the article by Jared Hargrave of Utah Outside:

Suunto is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, and in honor of the milestone, the company has built a special edition watch. In addition, they’ve redesigned the Foot POD and Movestick so that they are both much smaller and easier to use. All of this was on display at Suunto’s booth at the Outdoor Retailer 2011 Winter Market in downtown Salt Lake City.

The Suunto Core Anniversary Edition honors Suunto’s long history in the outdoor adventure and sports precision watch market. The Core is an all-in-one watch that is packed with features like an altimeter, barometer, and compass, as well as functions such as a depth meter, sunrise and sunset times, storm alarm, and a menu in four different languages. Of course it tells the time pretty good as well. The Anniversary Edition has a 75th anniversary edition engraving on the back.

The Suunto Foot POD has gotten a lot smaller this year, which means you’ll be less likely to even know it’s there when you attach it to your shoe for a run. The Foot POD clips right on the shoelace and automatically goes on and off when you start moving. It wirelessly transmits your running information to your Suunto watch so you can keep an accurate track of mileage etc.

The Suunto Movestick has also lost a lot of weight this year. In fact, it’s tiny. The Movestick allows you to transmit all your training information stored on your watch to your computer. It attaches to your computer’s USB port and allows you to keep tabs on daily training management with Suunto’s sports community website, Movescount.com.

Thanks for this great write up Utah Outside! These new items will be available this spring. For more Utah Outside click here. The foot pod is featured on a Salomon trail running shoe, for more like it click here. For more Suunto products click here.

Come Celebrate 75 Years of Suunto

If you are attending the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market be sure to stop by the Suunto booth (#19015) on Friday 21^st, from 5-7pm to help us celebrate 75 years of Suunto! We will have hors d’oeuvres and beverages with a chance to win an awesome Suunto Core Anniversary Edition watch.

Keep Motivated with Rebecca Rusch

What keeps you motivated to stay fit during the winter months? We asked Suunto athlete and two time Leadville 100 record holder Rebecca Rusch what keeps her going.

I spend much of my training time in the winter skate skiing and backcountry skiing. Skate skiing is the best workout in the world and is a really good supplement for cycling training. I do all the same interval and intensity workouts on Nordic skis as I do on a bike. I use the backcountry ski days to put in my slow, distance workouts. Those days I end up hiking uphill for hours and get rewarded with powder on the way down.

Where I live, it's impossible to ride a bike outside in the winter and I just don't get super-stoked to spend hours on the trainer inside. So, I spend a couple hours a week on the bike trainer inside just to keep up my muscle memory for cycling and to work on cycling specific pedal stroke drills. I also get to catch up on movies and TV watching while on the bike.

The other training components I add during the winter are strength training, yoga and a little bit of swimming to make sure I stay healthy and balanced after a season hunched over the bike.

All the cross-training is great for my body and mind. Come Spring, I can't wait to get on my bike.

Thanks Rebecca for your insight on staying pumped in the off season. You can follow Rebecca on Movescount.com and see exactly what keeps her moving.

What Motivates Suunto Athletes to Stay Fit in Winter?

Training in the winter comes with its own special little challenges, like simply getting out of your warm cozy bed to face the bitter cold for your morning run. It’s not always fun to face the frigid air, but finding different ways to get and stay motivated are key in having a successful winter training season. We asked Suunto athlete Kim Havell what motivates her to stay fit in the winter. Kim writes:

For me, fitness is about getting strong enough to do all the activities that you want to do with the highest level of performance. In the winter that means cross training by lifting weights, running, indoor biking, yoga and other activities in order to have the most fun and related return when alpine skiing, ski touring, ice climbing, and mountaineering.

Kim even offers up some great tips for triggering and keeping that drive:

1. Set goals- what do you want to accomplish this season, what makes you happy—DREAM BIG!
2. Make a list of ideal training exercises/routines/sports and find classes, time slots, or equipment that gets you going
3. Make it happen- put yourself, your health, your fitness first—your time for you makes you better at everything else. Happy New Year!

Kim has plenty of reason to stay motivated--she's got a lot on her plate this winter! And while she's traveling the world skiing and mountaineering for the world's top adventure brands, she's also got her heart and head in the right place. She's currently advocating this sweet calendar raising money for suicide prevention and mental health programs. Help Kim bring awareness to this important issue.

Kim trains with a Suunto t6d and keeps up with travel fitness by following a workout schedule on her Suunto M5, part of the new Suunto M-Series. You can see Kim's training and fitness moves by clicking here www.movescount.com/members/kimhavell.

Just a couple more days of the 12 Days of Ragnar

And on the 12th day of Christmas my true love gave to me...?

Don't miss out! There are just a couple more days to enter Ragnar Relay's "12 Days of Ragnar." They are giving away some amazing prizes from their sponsors. Every day is a new surprise prize. Hint, hint, did we mention Suunto is a sponsor? Hmmm. Interesting...

Hurry and enter right now by clicking the link here.

Follow These Athletes On Movescount.com

Do you love keeping up with your favorite athlete? Then Movescount.com powered by Suunto is the thing. With Movescount.com you can follow some of the most interesting, accomplished athletes and see how they train. Movescount.com allows you to get tips and become part of growing online sports community. Want to know what makes two-time Leadville champ Rebecca Rusch tick? Or what the workouts are like for XTERRA Champion Conrad Stoltz? We have a list of some top athletes who are on Movescount.com and sharing their moves.

Rebecca Rusch: www.movescount.com/members/RebaRusch

Conrad Stoltz: www.movescount.com/members/Conrad_Stoltz

Kilian Jornet: www.movescount.com/members/kilianjornet

Daron Rahlves: www.movescount.com/members/Drahlves

Julian Carr: www.movescount.com/members/juliancarr

Kim Havell: www.movescount.com/members/kimhavell

So who are you going to start moving with?