How ready are you to ski or snowboard?

Skiing and snowboarding are high intensity exercises that require great balance, coordination and strength. Yet many people go to the slopes on the weekend without any thought to the physical challenges involved.

How ready are you to ski?

If you spend your week sitting at a desk, with occasional 30-minute bouts of exercise, how prepared are you for a full day skiing? Outside of the obvious injury risk, many people find it difficult to back up for a second or third day due to muscle pain. This could be avoided by some pre-ski holiday strengthening.

Four exercises to help prevent skiing injuries

Start doing these four easy exercises to get yourself ready for skiing or snowboarding.

1. Squats

The squat is a fundamental human movement pattern. We’ve discussed this in a previous blog. If you do nothing else prior to going skiing then START SQUATTING!

2. Split Squat
The split squat is a bit more difficult than the squat, and importantly introduces some lateral stability challenge.  This means rather than just controlling forward and back, you also have to control some side to side forces

3. Walking Lunges
A simple exercise to add to your routine. If you have a hallway at home, set yourself a task of 10 lengths of your hallway at least three times per week.

4. Crab Walks
Crab walks are great for the muscles on the outside of your hips, which you’ll be needing to work to change direction when skiing or snowboarding.  You’ll need a resistance band for this one.

If pain or injury are limiting your ability to do these exercises, maybe it’s time for a Physio to put together a program just for you. Or you can join one of our exercise classes to work on the problem under professional supervision.