Skiing is a demanding sport!

Whether it’s your first time on the slopes or you’ve been a ski enthusiast for years, to make the most of your time on the slopes it’s important to have a good level of fitness. It’s so frustrating to lose time and enjoyment skiing due to aching limbs or lack of fitness. But if you prepare well in advance you are ensuring yourself a great time on the mountains.

Skiing taxes your body in a different way to sports such as football, rugby or a gym workout but any sort of regular exercise will give you a great base to start from. What makes being ski fit harder is the availability, as unless you work or live near a ski resort it’s difficult to ski regularly.

Before you give up all hope however, remember a basic fitness programme tailored to increase leg strength will set you well on your way to skiing down the slopes with ease. Aim to start 6-8 weeks before your ski trip with a workout that is 15-45 minutes long that can be done 3-4 times a week. You don’t need to commit to a gym membership, everything that we are suggesting can be done for free. Just a few weeks of basic strength and core exercises with some cardio will develop the strength and stamina required for skiing, so the question you should be asking yourself is how much is a golds gym membership so you can get started on your fitness journey.

Core Strength

Your core (torso and muscles within) are the foundation for everything. A strong core gives better balance, posture and stability and makes it easier to strengthen other areas of your body. Doing any sporting activity with a weaker core and little or no preparation can lead to fatigue, reduced endurance or even injury.

A Few Sample Core Exercises

• Plank
• Side plank
• Leg lift
• Bridge
• Push ups
• Sky divers

Leg Strength

Leg strength is probably the most important area to focus on as without strength or stamina in your legs your ski trip is going to be very difficult. Regardless of your ability, all of your leg muscles will be used but for beginner skiers, the snowplough is particularly taxing on the legs. The primary muscles used are the quadriceps, gluteals and calves.

 A few sample leg exercises

• Squats – Body weight or weighted
• Lunges – Body weight or weighted
• Squat jumps
• Wall squats
• Calf raises
• Box/Stair jumps

Cardio

It’s important to mix the core and leg strength with cardio. Any form of cardio is beneficial but interval or HIIT (high intensity interval training) training will rapidly increase your fitness.

A few sample cardio exercises which will benefit skiing

• Running/Walking
• Cycling – Indoor trainer or outdoor
• Elliptical trainer/Cross trainer
• Swimming
• Jumping jacks
• Burpees
• Skater hops

Putting It Together

You need to consider how much time you have available. As stated previously, aim for 15-45 minutes, 3-4 times a week. You can use some of the above exercises to create your own routine. Try to mix it up to keep it interesting. Your routine should include the following;

Warm up – 5 mins. This should be some light exercises to raise the core temperature and get some elasticity to muscles. Marching on the spot with high knee raises for a minute is a good example.

Core exercises – Choose 2-3 exercises to begin with, gradually increasing the amount you do. For example, try a plank for 30 seconds, have a 45 second to a minute break and repeat 3 times.

Leg exercises – again choose 2-3 exercises, for example squats and calf raises. You can do each exercise a set number of times in each interval or do them for a set period of time such as 30 seconds.

Cardio – This can be done along with the core and leg exercises or can be done on a different day. You may wish to go for a run or bike ride, if however time is an issue for you, you can go for a short run after the leg and core exercises or do some cardio intervals of skater hops, burpees or jumping jacks.

Warm down – 5 mins. Do some light stretches to slow the heart-beat, relax and help with flexibility.