Ski fitness is a crucial aspect of skiing development that is frequently disregarded. To enhance your parallels and carving turns this winter so you can style it out from the first run, use the tips below to help your balance and build strength.
Any ski fitness programme should focus on building strength, flexibility, and endurance. In reality, by day three of the vacation, the majority of us are beginning to feel the burn from vigorous exercise! Over time, soreness and joint stiffness accumulate, making it difficult to enjoy yourself while you’re on the slopes and limiting how often you can go skiing.
Spending relatively little time on the correct training programme can significantly increase your endurance and lower your risk of suffering an injury that could (literally) cripple your valuable slope time.
Depending on your skiing goals, choose 1-2 of the exercises below.
To allow your body enough time to adjust, begin 4-6 weeks before your vacation.
Each week, watch the videos (giving yourself a few days off between each workout)
Strengthen your core
Whether you’re pushing a grocery cart or putting on shoes, you use your core to accomplish a lot of everyday activities. It also affects your balance, posture, and stability.
Contrary to popular belief, your core doesn’t just include your abdominal muscles. It also consists of muscles in your back and around your pelvis.
Your posture and a large portion of your skiing balance are governed by your core. Working on this can help you to maintain a more stable stance while skiing new terrain and give you the control to position your body more effortlessly.
Static exercises will aid in the development of strength, while dynamic activities are crucial for increasing endurance and preventing injuries.
Bird Dog
The bird dog is a great core-strengthening exercise since it works both your back and abdominal muscles. Your stability, balance, and coordination are also put to the test.
- Begin on all fours with your knees beneath your hips and your hands beneath your shoulders.
- Constrict your core. Straighten your right leg up to hip height. Lift and extend your left arm at the same time, palm facing down. As you stretch your arm and leg, maintain a neutral spine and avoid letting your back arch.
- Pause.
- Do the same with your right arm and left leg.
- Start with 1 set of 8–12 repetitions.
Bridge
By using your glutes to lift your hips in this pose, you’ll strengthen your core and tone your thighs and butt at the same time.
- Start on your back. Bend your knees and plant your feet on the floor at hip width. Place your hands at your sides, palms down.
- Tighten your core and glutes.
- Raise your hips until your knees are in line with your shoulders.
- Hold for 10–30 seconds.
- Repeat 3–5 times.
Plank
The plank is a full-body exercise that targets your core muscles. It also strengthens your arms, back, shoulders, glutes and legs.
- Begin by getting down on all fours with your knees and hands beneath your hips and shoulders.
- Legs behind you should be straight and hip-width apart. Constrict your core.
- Hold for 10 to 30 seconds.
- Repeat 3–5 times.
Build your legs
You’ll be relying on your leg muscles every day on the slopes. Increasing your leg strength and flexibility will increase your endurance, enable you to turn more forcefully, and support you in challenging situations.
Squats are the focal point of any leg strength training because you’ll be in this position a lot on the slopes, so it’s important to get comfortable with it now. To increase flexibility, incorporate some dynamic workouts like glute bridges.
Skiers who are more experienced should start practising workouts on one leg to develop the strength necessary for their outside leg to withstand the stresses placed on their body during carving.
Back squat
A back squat targets your posterior chain, or the back of your body, which includes your glutes and hamstrings.
How to execute:
As you stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, load a barbell onto your traps. Your toes should be slightly turned out, your chest should be proud, and your gaze should be front.
Knees bent, sit back into your hips, and lower yourself to the floor. Make sure your knees are slightly out and not crooked.
As far as your mobility will allow, lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Then, push yourself back up to the starting position.
Front squat
A front squat will focus on your front body, specifically your quads.
How to execute:
- Keep your head up and your elbows raised while bending your knees.
- Knees bent, sit back into your hips, and lower yourself to the floor.
- Keep your chest up and your knees apart while you fight the urge to sag forward.
- As far as your mobility will allow, lower until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
- Then, push yourself back up to the starting position.
Walking lunges
Challenge your balance, as well as your quads, hamstrings, and glutes, with walking lunges.
How to perform:
- Start with your feet together. Hold a dumbbell in each hand if you want to do a weighted walking lunge.
- Keeping your chest proud and looking straight ahead, step forward with your right leg until your thigh is parallel to the ground.
- Place your hand on your right heel, and return to the starting position.
- Step forward with the other leg.
Lateral lunge
As humans, we travel primarily on the plane of motion and back. Doing side movements like side lunges helps increase stability and strength.
How to do it:
- Start with your feet wider than hip-width apart.
- Bend one knee, sitting back into the same side hip and keep your torso upright. Keep your other leg as straight as possible, and lower down on your bent leg until your knee forms a 90-degree angle.
- Push back up to the starting position and repeat. Complete the desired number of reps on each side.
Bulgarian split squat
Work legs and core with the Bulgarian split squat.
How to execute:
- Stand about 2 feet in front of a knee-level chair, bench or some kind of support, facing away.
- Lift your right leg behind you and place the top of your foot on the chair.
- Lean slightly forward at your waist and begin to lower down on one leg, bending your knee. Stop when your left thigh is parallel to the ground.
- Push up through your foot to return to a standing position.
