WHEN I FIRST HEARD about "Conditioning for Outdoor Fitness," I thought this new book published by The Mountaineers might be a nice resource for all those people who, unlike me, hike and climb and cycle and paddle and ski and snowshoe. (I tend toward city workouts and indoor exercise.) The book's cover didn't change my impression, with photographs front and back of an ice climber, kayaker and mountain runner and biker.

But right from the first sentence, I had to revise my assessment. "This is an exercise guide for everyone," write David Musnick, a Seattle sports-medicine physician, and Mark Pierce, a Bellevue athletic trainer.

And they quickly demonstrate it. The first two-thirds of the 300-page paperback provides a clear, concise overview of conditioning principles, body regions and exercises, including a nice integration of a concept that's currently popular but perhaps not widely understood: functional exercise.

Musnick and Pierce designed exercises, co-authored some chapters and edited others by 25 mostly local specialists. Consolidating viewpoints seems to come naturally to Musnick, who practices out of Ballard's Sportsmedicine Clinic and Bellevue's Northwest Center for Environmental Medicine and is on the clinical faculty in the University of Washington's Department of Orthopedics and teaching faculty for Bastyr University. In his spare time he enjoys hiking, bicycling, cross-country and telemark skiing and snowshoeing.

Musnick had written articles about outdoor-sports conditioning and injuries for The Mountaineers' magazine, but when they asked him to write a book, he intended to cover more territory. "I wanted one that would educate the lay person on the concepts that they needed to understand about exercise, all the concepts that trainers and sports medicine doctors have, so they could be involved in designing their own program, figuring out what they want to do and why."

Part I covers basic principles, including exercise physiology, aerobic conditioning and strength and balance training. I especially liked a spreadsheet showing how 15 common fitness activities can be used for specific and cross training to support 17 outdoor activities. A cross-country skier can learn, for example, that in-line skating and slide-boarding trains muscles and joints in similar ways, stair climbers and rowers make different demands, and swimming can help balance the body by working other muscles.

The strength section incorporates concepts of conventional training with the newer ideas of functional exercise, which positions the body to simulate the movement demands of real life. Some principles: Work with gravity. Protect the safety of the low back, shoulders and neck. Strength-train for sports-specific body regions or skills. Improve muscle balance. Develop body balance. Integrate different regions in exercises, such as ones that activate the buttock, hip and thigh muscles along with the shoulders, just as they're used in picking up a backpack or loading a bicycle onto a car's roof rack.

"You have to do the activity to get better at it, that's for sure," Musnick told me. "But if you train specifically for the gravity issue, the balance issues, the integration of speed and load requirements, you're much more likely to do it better with less effort, and less likelihood of injury." He practices what he writes, using many of the book's 155 exercises in 90-minute workouts he does five or six days a week to support his outdoor-exercise habit.

Part II of the book outlines anatomy, muscle balance and injuries and then presents seven chapters with exercises for specific body regions.

Satisfying the promise of the book's title, Part III includes sections on hiking, backpacking and snowshoeing; scrambling and rock climbing, mountaineering; snowboarding and skiing (alpine, telemark and cross-country); canoeing, kayaking and rowing; road and mountain bicycling; running, and windsurfing. The sections address the musculoskeletal demands of each sport and the muscle imbalances they tend to create, and propose appropriate aerobic, strength, balance and agility exercises. Another chapter outlines a general aerobic-conditioning and strength-training program suitable for just about anyone and the last deals with special conditioning issues for women.

I can't fault The Mountaineers for wanting to title the $21.95 book in keeping with their mission, but it will be a pity if what could be considered a quintessential Northwest training book is overlooked by many folks who aren't avid outdoors exercisers. "If it didn't have this title," I asked Musnick, "what would you call it?"

His suggestion: "Conditioning for The New Millennium."

Molly Martin is assistant editor of Pacific Northwest magazine. ------------------------------- NOTEBOOK

Holiday stress busters

# The new Jeremy Todd Wellness Spa and Salon in the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel (206-262-9000) is targeting its services to men as well as women. Options includes manicures, pedicures, skin treatments, body masks, waxing and massage techniques include aromatherapy, detoxifying, pregnancy and hot/cold stone massage. The spa also can be rented out ($350 an hour, $500 minimum) after regular hours for private parties.

# Samadhi Yoga Centers (1205 East Pike, Seattle; 206-329-2070; www.samadhi-yoga.com) is celebrating the season with three classes to help refresh body and mind: Restorative (7:30 p.m. Wednesdays), Kundalini (9 a.m. Saturdays) and Moving Through Anatomy (noon Tuesdays, 6 p.m. Fridays, 4 p.m. Saturday).

Smart e-mails

Why is where you store fat important? Can a pill make you lose weight? What should you consider before taking herbal supplements? These are just some of the subjects covered in Ronda Gates' weekly e-mail message "Smart Lifestyles," where the motto is, "Fitness - it's more than a physical workout! It's a mental, emotional, social and spiritual workout, too." Gates is a health-promotion educator and promotional speaker in Beaverton, Ore., for programs and products that support lifestyle change. To register for the e-mail, go to www.rondagates.com (where you also can gain access to former messages) or e-mail rgates@teleport.com