Skiing And Snowboard Fitness

• December 7th, 2022 Health

As the air becomes crisper and the mountains around us experience the first snowstorms, we should start preparing ourselves for a time on the slopes.

Even if you think it’s a little bit too late, you can always make improvements to your skiing and snowboard fitness to make your mountain time more enjoyable while enhancing your performance.

In this article, we’ll give you some top tips for skiing and snowboarding fitness ready for this winter.

When should I Start Working On My Skiing Fitness?

To ensure you are in top condition for this winter. It’s best to start exercising as early as possible. Popping to the gym a couple of times and walking around the block the week before your holiday isn’t going to do much, but it’s better than nothing.

To ski and snowboard well, your body uses muscles that don’t get used much in everyday life. You also need to be able to cope with a higher altitude than normal and lower temperatures that you may not be used to. Therefore to properly prepare for your winter holiday. It is best to start exercising at least two months before you travel.

What Do I Need To Focus On For Skiing And Snowboard Fitness?

Cardio

One of the primary things you need to work on for skiing and snowboarding is your cardiovascular fitness. This will help with your endurance, allowing you to ride all day, but it will also help you to cope with the reduced oxygen that your experience at higher altitudes than you may be used to.

You can improve your cardiovascular health by cycling and running or even just walking at a brisk pace. Anything that gets your heart rate up will go a long way to preparing your body for exerting yourself at higher altitudes.

Leg Strength

Skiing and snowboarding require lots of leg strength. Therefore working on your quads, glutes and calves will go a long way to improve your performance on skis or a snowboard.

Having strong quad muscles is extremely important for skiing. These muscles work hard to help you bend and straighten your knees while skiing and snowboarding. You can start by strengthening these muscles with regular squats and then introduce weights as you progress.

When skiing or snowboarding, your glute muscles get a good workout. Therefore, if they are as strong as they can be before your trip, they will significantly improve your form and reduce the likelihood of injury. You can do split squats, donkey kicks, Romanian deadlifts, or glute bridges to strengthen your glutes.

You can improve your calf strength by doing calf raises on flat ground, on the edge of a step, or under a smiths machine. To increase the intensity of your calf raises, add weight or do them on one leg at a time.

Core Strength

Core strength is essential for good balance, control, and power, while skiing or snowboarding. It also helps you in your day-to-day life while helping to prevent injury on the slopes.

There are many different tour exercises that will help with your balance and help you to react to the changes in the snow conditions. For example, you can take a Pilates class and do lots of plank variations and crunches.

Other ways you can improve your core strength and balancing muscles is to spend some time on a balance board or anything that creates a level of instability, like a Bosu. These pieces of equipment strengthen those small muscles that help your coordination and balance, improving your skiing and snowboarding, and allowing you to react and move effectively.

Flexibility

As a skier or snowboarder, you will significantly benefit from enhanced flexibility. Remember you’re spending a lot of time in cold temperatures, which can mean your muscles are stiff and slow to react while having a reduced range of movement.

But if you develop your flexibility using a regular stretching routine in the weeks leading up to your ski holiday, your performance will be greatly improved. It will also help with injury prevention which could ruin your holiday.

It is an excellent idea to warm up before you stretch and avoid static or bouncing stretches. This is because if you start stretching with cold muscles, you put them under more stress than if they were warm. Therefore make sure you stretch with gentle movements. 

It would be best if you also warmed up with some simple stretches before you clip into your skis or strap into your snowboard. This will enhance the preparation you have done before your winter holiday.

If you can stretch after every day on the mountain, you will reduce your delayed onset muscle soreness that you would typically feel the following day. Therefore you will be able to enjoy your day more with fewer aches and pains.

Get Some Pre-Season Practice In

You can improve your time on the mountain on holiday by visiting an indoor snow slope in the weeks leading up to your trip. This will give you a chance to feel at home on your skis or snowboard again and give beginners a headstart before they get on a real mountain.

A few sessions of skiing or snowboarding before your trip will also get your feet used to the boots again, making your feet more comfortable on the mountain.

Final Thoughts On Skiing And Snowboard Fitness

The more you prepare for your ski trip. The better you will perform and the more you will enjoy yourself. But it also goes a long way to keeping you safe and reducing the risk of injury. Contact us for expert advice if you would like a structured plan to get your body ready for skiing and snowboarding.