In the heat of summer, snow may be the last thing on your mind, but the warmer months are the perfect time to lay the foundations for a strong season.
Snowsports holidays are no walk in the parkand whilst there are some things you can’t prepare for, notably the cheese and wine consumption, there are many ways you can get snow shape well ahead of the first snowfall of the season.
With most of us opting to hit the slopes for a full week, a winter holiday can be a physically demanding vacation. Putting the time in before your holiday will help you ride for longer and recover faster and ultimately allow you to spend more time on the hill. Even the most leisurely of skiers will benefit from preparing their body for a winter holiday ahead of the season. The more energy you have at the end of each day, the easier you will find it to pull off those tabletop dance moves at après!
Cross Training to build base fitness
Cross training helps to build a good level of base fitness by partaking in alternative sports. A base level of fitness is the essential foundation for performance progression and injury prevention in any sport, particularly snowsports.
From the Ski Club industry research, we know that UK skiers and snowboarders are an active bunch, with many respondents taking up non-ski activities both at home and in the mountains. Popular sports that snow enthusiasts take up in the off-season include cycling, gym, climbing and yoga, even parkour. Whilst any of these activities will contribute towards general fitness levels, some will lend themselves better to ski specific training.
Discover the different ways you can stay active at home and away in the latest copy of Elevation, the Ski Club's summer magazine:
Snowsports tailored exercises
Activities which engage your core and train muscle sets specific to snowsports will enhance performance when you reach the slopes and reduce fatigue over the week. According to Graham Bell, Ski Sunday host and former GB skier, cycling is the preferred method for World Cup skiers to up their aerobic respiration levels to reduce fatigue when they are on snow. Activities like swimming and climbing are beneficial to building core stability, however they do place emphasis on upper body strength, which is not a priority for skiers and snowboarders.
We spoke to a qualified physio about the best ways to condition your body ahead of the season.
Almost 20% of people who do not intend to go skiing again site personal safety or injury as the reason they will not be returning to the slopes. Jonathan Bell, the Ski Club’s injuries and surgery expert explains that fatigue is directly related to injury, highlighting the importance of pre-season training to improve safety on the slopes.
“If you have a good baseline fitness, you are much less likely to fatigue. I think that fatigue is a common cause of injury in the once a year skier, as evidenced by the fact that the majority of ski injuries occur after 3 p.m.”
The Ski Club’s Honorary President, Chemmy Alcott worked with us to create a ski-specific workout you can follow at home.
