If you are someone who can’t wait for the temperature to drop so that you can hit the slopes, you may be thinking about how to get fit for ski season.  Because the majority of us only ski a few months of the year, and because skiing involves so many muscle groups, it can take it’s toll on your body, especially if you’re a first timer.

The good news is that skiing provides a great form of exercise for the entire body, and it’s great fun.  There are a number of ways that you can prepare your body before ski season, in order to make the most of your skiing trip and avoid injury.

How to get fit for ski season: Focus on building your endurance

If you’re planning on hitting the slopes for every day of your trip, you’ll need to focus on endurance training.  This is essential to avoid injury.  Your pre-ski trip cardio training should include 3 – 5 days each week of cardio, focusing on any activity that raises your heart rate and gives you a full body workout.  This will condition both your legs and lungs for your ski trip.

Build your strength

Be sure to incorporate strength building exercises into your ski trip preparation.  Skiing uses all of your muscle groups, some more than others, and so you’ll need to work building these areas up.

The most used muscle when skiing are the quads.  Squats, including slow squats, wall seated squat and squat jumps, are great for the quads, as are lunges.  Your hamstrings and glutes need to be strong to support and stabilise your body while you ski.  Dead-lifts, step-ups and hamstring rolls are great for strengthening these areas.

Your inner and outer thighs are the muscles that work to keep your skis together, keep you stable and also helping you to steer.  Training for these areas should include more lunges, leg lifts and side-step squats.   You’ll need to strengthen your calves, so be sure to including standing calf raises into your training.

When skiing, your back and abs also work really hard to hold your position. You need to ensure that you work these muscles with exercises like the plank, back extensions and dumbbell rolls.

Don’t forget to stretch

It’s essential that you include stretching into your pre-ski trip training regime as flexibility also helps to protect your body against injury.

Now is certainly the time of year to begin your pre-ski season training.  If your still wondering how to get for ski season contact us here to see how we can help you prepare for the slopes.

Improve Your Performance & Reduce Injury with Ski Orthotics

Specifically designed to improve performance and reduce injury, custom-made Ski Orthotics can help to improve weight distribution through the ski, reducing fatigue, injuries, and impact shock by 40% and significantly reducing lower limb impact and injury by up to 60%.
Watch as your performance increases, as you gain further control and ability to apply pressure to ski edges during turning. An improved angle on the ski allows for faster and harder turning with a higher ski angle and posture correction.
Nordic Balance St James’s Ski Orthotics start at just £300. This price includes assessment, fitting, free alterations, and a lifetime warranty on the orthotics shell. Book an appointment with our Podiatrist Jack Lidyard.