3 Great Ski Prep Exercises - Hit The Slopes With Confidence!
Ski season is fast approaching with stunning landscapes and invigorating runs round the corner. Are you physically ready to get the most out of this season?
The snow is a challenging physical environment – cold temps, uneven surfaces and crowded pistes. Not to mention lots of torsional stress for knees to handle and fatigue from consecutive days on the slopes. Ski prep really helps reduce injury risk, stiffness, and fatigue so you can tackle the slopes with confidence and fully enjoy your trip.
Read on for essential tips and ski specific exercises suggestions.
6-8 Weeks Out From Your Trip (At Least!)
- Ski (if you can). Nothing replaces actual time on skis to work on technique and balance.
- Add in some ski specific workouts
Once You're in the Mountains
- Hydrate well – water is great, yet coffee, hot chocolate and other beverages also count as tasty options.
- Eat enough to stay fueled during your ski days.
- Prioritise rest and recovery (like good nutrition, good sleep, a bit of stretching and maybe a sauna).
Ski Specific Workouts
Whilst skiing the legs predominantly work eccentrically in the squat pattern to maintain your position, absorb forces and stabilise yourself from any change in surface. So when it comes to training…
- Focus on the thighs, butt, hamstrings and core.
- Working the squat pattern is a must.
- Better rotational control of your trunk will help carve those parallel turns and change direction.
- Good eccentric quad strength and muscle endurance, plus the ability to absorb forces (plyometrics) will always be useful.
- Upper body strength in the push pattern helps shoulders and wrists handle a tumble and get you back on your skis with more ease.
- And a bit of balance work helps to improve reflexes.
This will go a long way to skiing well, with confidence, building resilience into knees and backs (because no one wants a sore back or to injure their ACL or meniscus!).
Now that you’ve got the big picture, let’s dive into some specific exercises to prepare for the demands of skiing.
Ski Specific Exercises
1) Swiss Ball Kneeling Balance.
Good exercise to work on balance, proprioception and reflexes. If you’re unsure or feels a bit scary – scale it back to a 4 point balance or even just a belly balance.
2) Squat with a 3-2-1 tempo (3 seconds going down, 2 second hold at the bottom, 1 second stand up).
Good exercise to build up the legs. Regress to a KB goblet squat or progress adding more weight.
3) Swiss Ball Bridge with Twist.
Good core exercise to improve rotational movements and muscles. Progress to hold a dumbbell or med ball to work on better deceleration.
As with any generalised blog, these may not be the best choice or appropriate level of exercise for you. If you want help figuring out your start point or for personalised comprehensive guidance, to minimise injury risk and make the most of your ski season explore our 1-1 coaching!
Be proactive, add some ski specific workouts to prepare your body, boost resilience, and hit the slopes with confidence!
Fingers crossed for good snow conditions!