Exercise before the snow flies
It is 70 degrees right now but snow will be here before you know it. Are you ready? Maybe you are lucky enough to travel the world and follow the snow all the way to Las Lenas, which means you can skip this post. No? Neither are we. Whether you ski 100 days a year, or on weekends, exercising will improve your overall experience on the slopes.
With fall upon on us and winter quickly approaching, 7even Skis checked in with Garrett V, one of Salt Lake City's fitness guru's, and asked him what is required to be ready for ski season. Also an avid skier, Garrett says workouts don't have to be a grind to benefit your skiing fitness. “Your health and fitness should always be of utmost importance in life, but if you plan to hit the slopes this winter, do it with the confidence of a pro. Working out doesn’t have to take several hours a day, nor should they keep you from wanting to go to the gym.”
Garrett continues by adding a little antidote that holds a deeper meaning. “Picking up weight and putting it down isn’t the key to fitness and cardiovascular health, enjoying the movements and being able to see/feel results is vital to being prepared for the upcoming season and living a healthy lifestyle.”
Exercise not only aids you in avoiding injury and the all too familiar burning leg sensation on the first run, it will also improve your posture and balance which leads to faster and more controlled runs -as a direct correlation muscle fatigue is minimized, giving you the ability to hit more runs by the end of the day.
Some quick tips to skiing fitness:
Working your base will help with stability and ski control on the different terrains encountered on the slopes.
Plyometric workouts including box jumps, one leg step-ups, lateral step-downs, etc.
Leg presses, squats with body weight or added weight, quad lifts, hamstring pulls, etc.
Core strengthening will increase balance over your skis while allowing for smoother and more controlled turns.
Planks are a great workout that doesn’t require a lot of strain on the back but builds strength through the lower, mid, upper, and obliques (core).
Using machines are also a great way to train those abs and increase strength through the midsection.
These are only a couple of exercises recommended by Garrett; there are countless others that are beneficial to you as a skier and healthy individual. To accompany strength training, Garrett emphasized the importance of cardiovascular training as well. “You don’t need to spend hours on the treadmill or bike to obtain a thorough cardio kick. 20 minutes on the stair climber before or after a vigorous workout with minimal time in between sets are all you need. As long as your heart rate stays up, you will achieve a maximum result in a short amount of time.”
This is not medical advice. Always check with your physician before doing any form of strenuous exercise.
