How to Get in Superlative Shape for Ski Season

Downhill skiing might seem like a nice leisurely outdoor activity for having some exciting fun during the cold weather months. After all, gravity does most of the work. Right? The real answer is wrong.

Downhill season requires not only strength in your core, legs, and upper body, it requires stamina. But that doesn’t mean anyone at any age can enjoy the sport. It just means you need to get in shape, preferably with a personal trainer , prior to hitting the slopes.

According to a recent report by NBC Better, there ar e several exercises you should focus on if you want to ski without having to stop every fifty feet to catch your breath and to relieve overworked muscles.

Developing the Right Knee Positioning

If your knees are not positioned centrally over your feet while you are skiing, you will quickly discover you can’t carve effectively since your uphill ski won’t be able to hold its edge. This is a potentially dangerous situation since you put yourself at risk of injuring the knees or, at minimum, ending your ski day with more pain than you anticipated.

Here’s how you can tell if you’re positioning your knees right. Stand up straight. With your hips aligned over your feet, make certain your feet are hip width apart, Then, bend your knees. You might imagine a vertical line dropping from your hips to the floor. The invisible line should land between the second and third toes. Without the right kind of practice, most people find that the line falls onto the big toe.

Practice getting the perfect knee positioning by performing thirty reps at a time in front of a mirror.

Developing Proper Back Side Positioning

One common mistake downhill skiers make is that your bottom is not in the right position. It’s either stuck out too far or tucked in too much. This makes it hard for the lower spine, hips, and pelvis to work in synch. Again, this can result in injury.

Here’s how to properly position your butt. Stick it out as far as possible while standing in your perfect ski position. Use a mirror to determine a halfway point between the place where your spine is straight. This is the correct position for holding your glutes while skiing and will save you from hip pain.

During your workouts, practice this maneuver for thirty repetitions at a time. You might feel a burn in your butt, but that’s a good thing.

Build Strong Quads

Your quadriceps are located in your upper thighs, and they are super important for skiing. These muscles do the bulk of the heavy lifting when it comes to helping you straighten and bend your knees as you race down the mountain.

You can do both regular and split squats to work these muscles and making them strong. You can slowly add weight to your squat workouts. Use a barbell and free-weights or use kettle bells or dumb bells. If you do these exercises for a matter of weeks prior to skiing, you will realize how strong your legs have become and how little soreness you will experience après ski.

Squats will also help you tighten up your glutes (your butt) which is essential when it comes to recreational skiing. You also need to work on the heart and lungs. This means engaging in cardiovascular exercise every day. Working your heart and lungs to prepare for ski season means a whole lot more than just walking around the block. You need to take up jogging, walking fast, jump roping or any activity that will get your heart pumping. Interval training is important as well, go for a run outdoors and jog a couple poles, sprint a couple, jog the next two... The point is to get your lungs and your heart working hard so that you aren’t winded when you attack the mountain.

Mary Clark is a recently retired and decorated Colonel in the New York State Troopers. One of the highest-ranking female law enforcement officials in New York State, she served for more than three decades. Today she devotes herself to helping others achieve their life goals through a combination of physical fitness, achieving an optimal mindset, and life balance.