Simple exercises to prepare you for the ski season

When skiing or snowboarding, you activate and use muscles that are not called into action during your normal day-to-day life, and this is usually the reason why you struggle to get out of bed on the second or third morning of your trip. 

The muscle soreness not only makes your winter break less enjoyable (especially going up or down stairs) but it also puts you at a greater chance of getting seriously injured on the slopes.

Going from a slow walk into a full-on sprint is not usually recommended. Most people would do a warm up, right? Or at least practise with a jog? That sounds like common sense. But when it comes to skiing, the vast majority just strap on their skis and head straight for the slopes. From your muscles’ point of view, this is the equivalent of the slow-walk into a full-on sprint.

Prepare yourself a few weeks before hand by getting your legs and core moving on a daily basis: this can be as simple as doing some leg specific movements, such as squats and lunges in the gym or at home.

Throw in a plank or two and all of a sudden you are bulletproofing your body and getting the key muscle groups ready to do battle with the piste. 

Aim to increase the number of reps that you do for each of these movements as you get closer to your trip, whilst making sure your form is good and you are feeling it in the target muscles.

It may be a bit of a throwback to the workout videos of the mid-80s, but for this one I really want you to “feel the burn”. 

That is the lactic acid building up in your legs and funnily enough is the same feeling you will get as you are gliding down the slopes on the second or third run of the day.

Get your body used to this feeling and increase your ability to perform when it kicks in by increasing your lactic threshold. This can be done by getting in a few intense spin classes before your trip, or by clocking up some miles in your legs with a couple of longer runs.

You may not think so at the time but your body will thank you for it, and it is well worth getting these under your belt ahead a few weeks before you trip…

Most people who work in the City spend the majority of the day sat at a desk and staring at a computer screen.

This posture almost certainly lends itself to developing tight hip-flexors, hamstrings and glutes: all muscles that are vital when you get away on your ski trip.

Take the time to focus on stretching out these muscles, or even hit a couple of yoga or pilates sessions to keep you limber before you get on the ski lifts.

A couple of hours in the yoga studio will be much better time spent than a couple of hours on the treatment table, recovering from a pulled or strained muscle on the first day…

Skiing is one of the most exhilarating sports and pastimes out there and the après-ski is second to none. Make sure you put in a little bit of groundwork before you depart for the slopes to ensure you stay fit, healthy and skiing as much as you like on the winter break away.