ULTRASLIDE/Varisport, Inc. is an Environmentally Friendly Company

The ULTRASLIDE® Slideboard has achieved a 20 year history of helping athletes and fitness enthusiasts achieve game-changing results in their training, conditioning, and rehabilitation programs.  But did you know the ULTRASLIDE is also ULTRA-sustainable?  We incorporate sustainability principles into every aspect of the business, from product development to energy use to packaging and delivery.  Let’s take a look at our sustainability principles in practice.

We Make ULTRASLIDE Slideboards With Salvaged, Recycled or Certified Materials

Salvaging a resource means giving it a new purpose after its original lifecycle ends.    We utilize salvaged ash trees in the Chicago area that are lost due to infestations, storms or disease and give them new life as wood bumpers on the ULTRASLIDE.  Did you know that the non-slip rubber pads under the slideboard might have kept you from slipping off the road at one time?  They are made from 100% recycled car and truck tires.

We use Forest Stewardship Council certified plywood to make the baseboard on the flagship ULTRASLIDE slideboards so that old or rare species of trees are saved and maintain their ecological value. The glue on the laminate backing is water-based and contains no chemicals.  Even the instruction packets accompanying the ULTRASLIDE are printed on 100% recycled paper. 

Many of these components are  produced within 50 miles of our facility in Northbrook, IL.  We know that using local materials and suppliers means less transportation and the need to use non-renewable energy sources.

Our Carbon Footprint is Small and Getting Smaller

Businesses cannot operate any longer without considering their effect on global climate change.  We are certainly no exception and take this responsibility very seriously.  Avoiding conventional energy sources such as coal and oil keeps our carbon footprint low. For that reason, we decided to invest in electricity from renewable sources by receiving that energy directly or purchasing offsets.

 

In addition, we use the UPS Carbon Neutral option (at our expense) for every ground shipment, which accounts for 98% of the boards shipped.  Inherently, the ULTRASLIDE doesn’t require any electricity to use because it’s human powered.  We are always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint even further, with the ultimate goal of becoming a carbon neutral company.

Every ULTRASLIDE Ships in 100% Recycled Packaging

Post-consumer containers and packaging make up more than 30% of the average American’s trash bin, most of which is not recycled.  We are doing our part to change that.  The ULTRASLIDE ships in custom board and surface boxes made from 100% recycled corrugated cardboard. We entirely eliminated the use of Styrofoam and Ethafoam three years ago.   All packaging is sealed with water-based paper tape and all boxes and tape are both 100% recyclable.  This ensures that our packaging materials never need go into the waste stream or a landfill. That’s our “cradle to cradle” packaging philosophy.

We Consider the Environment in All Aspects of Our Business

Our company’s overall environmental consciousness is of greater importance than any single action.  As an environmentally-friendly company, it is ingrained in our culture. We think about the repercussions of everything we do.  Our landfill waste typically does not exceed one trash bag per week because we know where that waste is going – and we reuse or recycle things that others throw in the trash.  We have a recycling dumpster – not a trash dumpster.  Our employees often telecommute to save on fuel and maintain efficiency.  We print only when absolutely necessary, or do so on double-sided recycled paper whenever possible. We keep the lights out unless we need them.  We market our product digitally and utilize print and promotional materials only in rare instances.  You will never see an ULTRASLIDE four-color brochure at a trade show.

Visit www.ultraslide.com to learn about new ways we are staying committed to environmental sustainability and incorporating  these principles into the ULTRASLIDE and Varisport culture.

ULTRASLIDE for Cheerleading Training

Football season is well underway and you can be sure that many of those athletes, from quarterbacks to linemen, use the ULTRASLIDE® slideboards for pre-season, in-season, and post-season workouts. However, it's important not to forget the other athletes that are often on the football field - the cheerleaders. Cheerleading has come a long way from its beginnings with many cheerleaders competing year round. Today's cheerleading often entails more than being enthusiastic and getting the crowd on their feet. Depending on the level of competition, these athletes are performing complicated gymnastic and stunt exercises that require them to be in peak condition.

Zach Vargo of Vargo Trained, LLC works with these types of athletes and has incorporated various ULTRASLIDE exercises into his program. Sometimes these athletes are in such good shape that they need special modifications to certain exercises to challenge them even more. He recently worked with a competitive cheerleader with a very strong core so he got creative with an abdominal and oblique exercise to push her training further.


Zach added a Bosu ball to a swing exercise to relieve stress on her wrists and really target the shoulders. "The addition of the ball didn't only relieve the stress, but it also brought another dimension to the exercise by increasing shoulder stability. In addition to working abs and obliques with the swings, that exercise also requires lower back strength to stay in the plank position and tricep strength to remain in the pushup position" he says. During this exercise, the Bosu ball wants to rotate with the swing motion so the athlete must keep the core tight and remain stable with the shoulders. This trains the shoulders in a way that many exercises cannot, which is extremely beneficial for a cheerleader performing stunts.

Modified Swing Exercise on the ULTRASLIDE

Here are Zach's instructions for his modified swing exercise on the ULTRASLIDE Slideboard:

1. Wearing the ULTRASLIDE slippers, get into the plank position placing your feet in the upper right corner of the ULTRASLIDE slideboard. 
2. Place the Bosu ball in front of the slideboard underneath your shoulders. Be sure to give yourself enough room lengthwise extending out from the board. Turn the Bosu over and hold on to the outside of the base.
3. Keep your feet together and swing in one full movement from one edge of the board to the other.
4. Maintaining good form and engaging your core, swing your body as fast as you can in each direction, minimizing the transition/pause time when changing directions.  
5. Repeat the swings for the prescribed reps. If you're new to this movement start with a low number such as 2 or 3 on each side until you gain more overall strength and stability. 

NOTE from Zach: Be sure to keep a flat back, as any sagging will cause lower back pain as with any plank position exercise.

Watch this to see it all put together.

Why is this effective for cheerleader training?

The basic lateral sliding movement is of great benefit to cheerleaders because that is primarily how they move. This swing exercise is specifically designed for cheerleaders as it can help them become more powerful in their rotations during stunts.

The purposes of the ULTRASLIDE are practically endless, no matter your sport or end goal. Regardless of the movement, exercising with the ULTRASLIDE is always a full body workout. To see what else Zach and his team are up to, visit them on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Fuel for Speed: ULTRASLIDE Slideboard for Skiing & Ice-Based Training

With the onset of fall weather and only 137 days until the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, anticipation is mounting for some of the most popular competitions including skiing. The ULTRASLIDE Slideboard lends itself inherently well to off-ice training for athletes who compete in ice-based sports given the occasional limitations on access to ice. Skiing is no exception. 

Marc Digesti,
Founder of PerformancEDU Training Facility 

Marc Digesti, former U.S. Disabled Ski Team Strength Coach and Director of Performance of PerformancEDU Training Facility utilizes the ULTRASLIDE Slideboard for multiple diversified training programs in his in Tahoe, NV facility. Recently Marc shared his perspective on why the ULTRASLIDE is so effective for his skiers, elite athletes and more.

U: What is your experience with skiing? 

M: I grew up in the Tahoe area ski racing until high school. After playing baseball in college and graduating with a degree in Exercise Physiology, I was hired as the Strength Coach for the U.S. Disabled Ski Team. In this role, I traveled, designed and implemented training methods for our athletes including testing protocols.

U: What are the most important training objectives for skiers in general? 

M: The most important training objective is to get ski athletes powerful while not limiting their mobility and stability movement patterns. They need to be solid and strong but flexible to anticipate the changes in direction and terrain.

U: What are the most challenging training aspects for skiers?

M: The most challenging aspects of training skiers is their rigorous in-season travel schedule. We have to create a very objective periodization for their off-season dry land training. More importantly we have to create a program for their in-season maintenance. The ULTRASLIDE has been a perfect fit for meeting these needs given that it provides 24-7 access to a training mechanism and is versatile in function to support a variety of training needs. This one tool can address the needs of many.

U: Having incorporated the ULTRASLIDE Slideboard into your training and conditioning, do you find that it supports conditioning in one central area or multiple area(s)?

M: The ULTRASLIDE is a training tool we use for many areas of our training. It's not just great for our metabolic systems with interval work and lateral sliding; we incorporate it into all of our upper and lower body mobility/stability movements and torso stability patterns (for the core).

U: What differences in performance did you notice after you began using the ULTRASLIDE in a more targeted way?

M: Based upon periodizing programs with and without loads on the upper body (using weight vests and med balls), our skiers were able to hold their turns with more power and stability.

U: Why do you think the ULTRASLIDE is most effective for skiers?

M: The ULTRASLIDE is the best training tool that mimics the lateral demands placed on the body while skiing. The slideboard bumpers are sturdy and allow the athlete to achieve speed and access the same force they leverage in competition. The bumpers really force the athlete to load their inside hip during the push-off which directly translates to loading the inside hip while initiating the turn in the true competitive environment.

U: What is your go-to exercise or routine when utilizing the ULTRASLIDE? 

M: At PerformancEDU, one of our go to movements with the ULTRASLIDE are reverse loaded lunges. You get the best of both worlds for great single leg strength and upper body stability.