Ski season may seem like it's months away, but preparing to hit the slopes before the season starts can help you perform impeccably and prevent injuries. If you’re asking “When to start training for skiing?,” the answer is right now! Gain that muscle power before the season starts and you’ll be in the best shape to take on the slopes! Building up your stamina, increasing lower body strength, and having strong quads & hamstrings is crucial in gaining Muscle power to help you speed down the mountain. Strengthening, building, and training areas such as your legs and core will ensure that you are better prepared to ski safely and enjoy your upcoming season even more. Not sure where to start? How to get muscle power? No worries, we have the perfect guide to how to train for skiing from our Pure Athlete team. See what you can do now and should continue to do to be in tip top shape for your next adventure to the slopes!
Get your body prepared for ski season:
Prepare your Heart and Lungs
Getting up to the ski slopes means you’ll definitely be on top of the mountains and the higher you go, the thinner the air gets. Naturally, your lungs and heart will be performing excess work of pumping more blood and working harder to oxygenate; thus, you should prepare these muscles in advance for the activity and the altitude. Cardio is important!
Incorporating cycling and the stepping/jumping/HIIT exercises are great cardio activities that can work and build some of the ski muscles you are training. However, if you have plenty of time to do more running or perhaps do some walking, those are also ideal for training—Target 20-minutes quick-paced cardio for thrice a week.
Work on Your Glutes
Lower body strength aka the legs and glute muscles are very important and powerful muscles that help stabilize you while on the ski slopes. Therefore, toughening and developing your physique will minimize the possibility of injury. The best way to transform these muscles into ski form and gain lower body strength is through a clam workout, also known as a knee lift, as well as squats. For the clam lift, this is an exercise you can do lying down on the floor. Lie sideways with your knees and hips bent. Keep your feet together as you raise your knee, then bring the knees back together gradually.
While doing this workout, you should start feeling the muscles of the upper and exterior of your buttock working, that’s you building lower body strength. This is also helpful for working out quads & hamstrings. Perform this workout 30 times on either side each day until your ski trip and the muscle power will follow! Your ski-ready legs will thank you!
Abs and Back
Skiing requires both flexibility and stiffness and a strong core is essential. Your back and abs are working vigorously while skiing and not exercising and strengthening the back and abdominal muscles prior to skiing will help immensely. Having stronger muscles and muscles that are used to activity can help cut down on soreness while on your ski trip. Strong abdominals will help when bracing, moving, and shifting position while skiing. Your back, too, is involved while you ski as you use your poles to maneuver, your torso is an important tool for any and all types of skiing. Toughen these muscles with workouts like bicycles, dumbbell rows, wood chops, and back extensions.
Use these three exercises to train for ski season:
We all know how to lunge, but it’s a great and easy way to work legs and glutes for skiing. Doing consistent lunges will help to build muscle, increase strength, and tone muscles. This increases balance and stamina, including some leg flexibility.
Squats
The trusty squat is another great and simple way to gain more muscle power, strengthen and tone glute and leg muscles. You can participate in a true squat or a pile squat (which strengthens the inner thigh) but be sure to do both versions! Add extra weight for an added challenge. You may feel the burn, though your hard work will pay off when you start skiing!
Build Your Stamina
Skiing definitely requires a lot of cardio endurance, as we talked about before with heart and lunges being very important. To prepare your body and heart for extensive skiing, your cardio activity should incorporate one of the following:
Cardio multiple times a week: Best skiing exercises include running, elliptical training, or any workout that improves your heart rate and exercises your whole body. These exercises will also help tone and build your quads & hamstrings. Running stairs or burpees or jumping jacks are also great HIIT activities.
Different workouts: Your cardio exercises should be at different intensities and should take from 20 to 45 minutes.
One extensive workout per week: This exercise should last for approximately one hour or more to shape your lungs and shape for long periods of skiing.
This year, you are going to be in the best shape of your life!! And your ski trip will benefit from all of your hard work and training. Also don’t forget to have all of your ideal equipment for skiing. And certainly, when it comes to Ski socks, Pure Athlete has you covered. Shop our best-selling ski socks and get ready for the best season yet!
