With ski season approaching, we wanted to get in early with the tips for you to start preparing yourself. Skiing is a taxing sport, and requires endurance, strength, balance and coordination. Like any sport, the body needs to be prepared ahead of time, so here are our top 3 tips:
1. Start to build up aerobic capacity in the 3-6 months (depending on current fitness level) prior to your ski trip. If your fitness levels are relatively low then start light with some walking, and build up slowly using cardio equipment such as the sled, which is fantastic for both cardio and leg endurance and the ski erg which typically replicates the action of skiing. Making your sports preparation exercise similar to the sport your will carry out is key!
2. Use strength training to build up your leg strength; predominantly working the quads and hamstrings and the glutes! Due to the sustained ’squat’ type position we adopt whilst skiing, it is really important to build these leg muscles prior to your trip. Again, your ski prep strength training should mimic skiing! Think of slow and controlled banded squats, lunges and also wall squats, also known as ’Ski Squats’.
3. Combine your leg training with lots of core work. Remember, your core is your power house, generating strength to support upper and lower limb movement and function. Having a strong core is important for all sports, especially sports like skiing which require sustained full body activation! Think of adding in arm and leg movements to your core exercising to make them specific to skiing. Think of Dead bugs, Hollow Holds, Planks and so on!
If you’re not sure where to start, or how to perform these exercises please do get in touch. We are here to help!
