Ski Fitness
Whether you plan to cruise the blues or get in some serious mogul bashing, you will need to prepare yourself for the demands of a skiing and snowboard holiday*. Not only will you decrease the risk of injury; you will increase your chances of lasting the week!
Top Tips
- Before your holiday try and do as much cycling as possible - you use almost all the same muscles in your legs for cycling as you do for skiing.
- Know your level of fitness and do not try and push your body into doing something that it is not conditioned for. This may result in a long-term injury.
- Keep moving when you stop for lunch to avoid stiffening up and make sure your muscles are warm when you start skiing in the afternoon.
- Do not push yourself at the end of the day when you are tired and your body may not react or respond in the way that you expect.
- If you pick up a minor injury, apply ice to the affected area or, at the end of your shower, put the affected area under cold water for 30 seconds.
"Leg strength and mobility is essential but the really important thing that people forget is core stability."
Core stability is a bit of a buzzword among fitness instructors. Improving your core conditioning involves working on the smaller, deeper muscles of your trunk and lumbar spine. These muscles hold the lumbar spine in a neutral position, allowing you to maintain the right alignment when exercising. Essential when executing turns and skiing down steep runs. Having proper control of these muscles will also improve endurance and help generate power more efficiently.
This doesn't just mean sit-ups. Expect to be balancing on a Swiss ball (large inflatable ball) and sucking your belly button to your spine. Improving core stability is one of the main components of Pilates and Yoga.
You will also need to work on your aerobic fitness for high altitudes. The higher you go, the less oxygen there is, meaning your heart and lungs will have to work harder.
Try interval training rather than a long, steady jog or cycle. This will give you an intense workout and shouldn't take more than 15 minutes. On a running machine, run flat out at the steepest gradient you can manage for one minute, then slow the pace for a minute. Repeat up to five times. Alternatively, choose the hill-programme and set a speed and gradient that will take you out of your comfort zone.
Spinning is also an excellent way to kick start your cardio vascular system. If you don't have access to a gym, try the Rocky Balboa routine - alternating between sprinting and jogging up flights of stairs.
But let's not forget those legs. During downhill skiing the quadriceps take the brunt of the work, with the hamstrings playing support. Effective stand-alone exercises include lunges, wide and narrow squats, step-ups, squat thrusts and knee tucks to the chest. If you're in the gym, do repetitions on the leg press and leg extension stations.
If you've never skied before, expect your inner thighs to take a hammering. Sideways leg raises and sets on the hip adductor station will help to counter this. Beginners are advised to book a few ski lessons at an indoor ski centre too. You'll get plenty of chance to master the art of getting up off the floor - an essential skill for first timers.
If you're an intermediate or advanced skier, triceps and biceps should be taking it easy. But if it's your first time on skis, you'll spend plenty of time pushing down hard on your poles to get back up. Press-ups are good for both abdominal and arm strengthening. Tricep dips will help with the pole pushing.
Spending five to ten minutes before and after working-out, stretching all muscle groups, will aid flexibility. Kevin Taylor, an English Ski Council Coach who runs ski and fitness classes for the Ski School of Great Britain also recommends low density flexing and extending. Simply sit on a chair and raise your legs repeatedly one at a time. Circling your feet in both directions will also loosen up the ankle joints.
But don't let all this hard work put you off. As Reynolds says: "You don't have to be built like Arnold Schwarzenegger to be able to ski. It's a gravity powered activity and you just need the strength and stamina to channel the flow."
Tips provided by Base Camp Group - the adventure training company specialising in Ski & Snowboard Instructor Courses and Freestyle, Freeride & Racing Camps.
* Please consult your gym instructor or doctor before embarking on any new exercise regime and always take professional advise when past injuries are involved or you have not exercised for some time.