It may be difficult to imagine the day that the urban-styled personalities of the action-sport generation are a common sight working out at your local gym. Imagine a skateboarder sweating next to a fitness mom. Extreme athletes typically prefer the pavement of the streets or the local half-pipe to train for their sports. Their training consists of hours and hours of repeated attempts to master the latest sick trick. Little consideration generally is given to the benefits of cross training or lifting weights.

However, as corporate sponsorship, TV coverage and professional opportunities grow, even the unconventional athlete is searching for that extra edge needed to beat the competition. That edge can come from adopting the standard principles of training for conventional sports to action sports. Skateboarders, in-line skaters, surfers, snowboarders, etc. are athletes, and like all other athletes, they are pushing their bodies to perform at the extremes of their limits. Proper training can reduce the risk of injury and help raise the athlete's performance to the next level.

Training the extreme sports athlete requires the personal trainer to take a fresh look at all the traditional methods for training athletes. Extreme sports demand tremendous coordination and balance in order to complete rotations or nail a run. Competition runs are short, and skill plays a much greater role than fitness in determining the outcome. Here are the best areas to address in a training program for the extreme athlete.

To create a coordinated strength training exercise, place the athlete in an unstable environment and ask him to perform the primary strength move while maintaining stability. Another option for coordinated strength training is to use the unstable environment while the athlete performs multiple movements simultaneously.

For example, instead of using a flat bench and barbell for a chest press, place the athlete in a supine bridge on a stability ball. Using one dumbbell, have the athlete perform a single-arm chest press while holding the bridge position. This exercise stresses the core and glutes for stability while working the chest. During the execution of the press, the muscles must learn how to coordinate their actions while simultaneously handling an overload. This strengthens the extreme athlete against the rotational forces he is likely to incur during a trick like a 540º or 720º.

Another option for this exercise is to perform it in a single-leg standing position using an adjustable pulley set at chest height. This variation stresses the same muscles for stabilization but places a larger emphasis on the hip.

The concept of coordination can be incorporated for any muscle group. The idea is to challenge the athlete to stabilize and/or coordinate more than one area of the body while performing the primary exercise. A disadvantage of this approach is that it reduces the overload on the primary movers and thereby may decrease the amount of hypertrophy. However, the benefit of providing a learning opportunity that can improve the athlete's coordination is far more beneficial to the extreme athlete's performance than hypertrophy alone.

Smaller medicine balls and a mini-trampoline offer the opportunity to do rapid single-arm exercises. Also, standing on a balance board or foam roller challenges stability during any exercise. When using a balance board or foam roller, stances should be alternated between regular and goofy (with the right foot forward instead of the left).

Plyometrics can significantly enhance extreme athletes' performance by training the fast-twitch muscle fibers and teaching quickness. Teach safe plyometric technique before increasing the exercise intensity. Landings should be soft, with the force absorbed through flexion of the hips, knees and ankles, and contact with the ground should be made on the ball of the foot - not a flat foot. Once technique is mastered, intensity and complexity of the jumps can be progressed. An error in progression can lead to injury, so be conservative with the number and intensity of jumps.

Plyometric training should be performed only one to two times per week, with the number of jumps starting at approximately 50 to 80 contacts (each landing is one contact). Start with low-intensity jumps - pogos, rocket jumps, squat jumps, split squat jumps - and progress to higher-intensity jumps - tuck jumps, bounds, box jumps. Careful progression of intensity and volume is critical to help prevent injury. Sport-specific plyometric exercises can also be developed to address the demands of the individual sports. An example would be an "ollie-like" lateral box jump, where the body orientation and foot placement mimics the position on a skateboard.

To best prepare the athlete for training and competition, a good aerobic cardiovascular base is recommended. Creativity is the key here since traditional programming is not likely to be favored by these athletes. For skateboarders or in-line skaters, try using progressively increasing timed runs that include very simple skills. Avoid difficult tricks during conditioning runs to allow the athlete to focus on pushing him toward fatigue without the risk of missing a tough trick. Encourage aerobic conditioning as the last thing to do - after skill work or anaerobic conditioning. Ultimately, building an aerobic base will make anaerobic conditioning easier.

Extreme athletes must build their anaerobic tolerance. The length of a run for half-pipe, vert ramp or street course is 45 to 75 seconds. In a competition, multiple runs are scored, but the runs are separated by significant recovery time. In training, athletes typically will take turns on the ramp or course, but recovery between runs is usually much shorter than in competition.

Anaerobic conditioning should focus on elevating athletes' lactate threshold so that their entire run is performed below threshold. To do this, training runs should be pushed to 1.5 to two times their competition time (90 to 150 seconds.) Reducing recovery between runs also stresses recovery and elevates fitness levels. Traditional training modes (i.e., running or cycling) can be used as well for anaerobic conditioning if the athlete is willing to participate.

Balance training is already standard for the extreme culture. Special balance boards have been used by skateboarders, snowboarders and wakeboarders to improve their balance. These boards are shaped more like a skateboard and have a roller on the bottom to make the balance demand dynamic instead of static.

However, static balance training, especially when incorporated with weight training, is beneficial as well. As mentioned, balance training should be done in both regular and goofy stances to minimize the potential of muscle imbalances.

Flexibility is another important issue to address when developing training programs for extreme athletes. Many tricks require full range of motion to successfully complete. Some athletes gain the necessary flexibility through repeated attempts at the trick or compensate motion in order to perform the trick. Compensation can lead to injury and should be avoided.

Static stretching may be necessary to gain muscle length, and should be performed daily. Conventional static stretches for the major muscle groups are effective here. Be sure to include stretches for the lower back and abdominal region, as these are significantly challenged in extreme sports.

Dynamic flexibility can be used to encourage the use of the available range of motion. To perform dynamic flexibility, the movements should be performed actively, but they should always be controlled. An example of dynamic flexibility is the monster walk for the hamstrings. The athlete walks while swinging her leg up to touch her outstretched hand. As the athlete's flexibility improves, the leg will kick higher with better form, such as the leg straight (not bent at the knee) and the back upright.

Butt kicks and high knee runs work the quads and glutes, respectively. Trunk rotation with various arm and foot positions helps prepare athletes for the intense demands of their sports. Analysis of the movements used in specific extreme sports also should be done to develop other effective dynamic flexibility exercises.

Training the extreme athlete can be quite challenging and enjoyable for personal fitness trainers. These athletes are not likely to feel comfortable using traditional methods to condition and train - traditional is not part of their life mantra. Creativity, flexibility and outside-the-box program design will ensure that working with these clients is a successful and rewarding experience for both trainer and client.