The first day on the slopes is something I always look forward to, but my burning quads? That’s another story. Over the years I’ve tried different methods to help prepare my body for ski season and wanted to share with you all some of my favorite exercises and why they can be helpful.
Quick Hits
Lower Body Strength • The Importance of Core • Cardio
Lower Body Strength
A little bit of strength training can go a long way on the slopes. It helps with everything from balance to stability to endurance. Just imagine this: you’re on your 8th run on day 1 and you can keep cruisin’ while your friends are begging for a break. Here are my top lower body exercises I do to last as long as possible on the hill.
- Squats
Ski benefit: quad endurance
Do them with weight, do them without, just do them. The squat is a quintessential exercise to strengthen your quads and glutes. Quads are one of the most-used muscles (if not the most-used) in skiing and snowboarding, so it would be silly to neglect this one. - Wall Sits
Ski benefit: quad endurance
Wall sits are such a sleeper exercise. The burn I feel in wall sits is the same one I feel on the mountain. Do these a few times a week and build up that quad endurance to stay on the slopes all day. - Lateral Lunges
Ski benefit: edge control and turning
Moving away from quads, lateral lunges are a wonderful way to train your abductors and adductors. With more control over these muscles, you’ll have more control over your edges and your turns. - Curtsy Lunges
Ski benefit: edge control and turning
Along with the above, curtsy lunges are another variation to target your adductors along with your glutes, quads, and hamstrings. - Bulgarian Split Squats
Ski benefit: balance and single-leg stability
Single-leg exercises help to strengthen your stability and balance. - One Leg RDLs
Ski benefit: balance and single-leg stability
One-legged exercises are a solid cheat code to improving your turns. Did you know that roughly 70% of the weight is on the outside leg when you turn? Having strong and independent legs is a great way to level up in your skiing. - Banded Lateral Walks
Ski benefit: edge control and turning
This is another effective way to address those pesky abductors. With so much side to side in skiing, this exercise is useful to target them. - Squat Jumps
Ski benefit: impact absorption
So far I haven’t really mentioned anything high impact. It’s been all about strength. While squat jumps DO still strengthen the legs, they will also train your body to absorb impact for when you’re flying through the moguls.
The Importance of Core
Core stability is good to have in general, but in skiing and snowboarding it stops your other muscles from overcompensating. With a stronger core you’ll have better balance and stronger carving, and you’ll lower your risk of injury.
- Side Plank Hip Dips
Ski benefit: core stability
Honestly, any plank variation is going to be useful for building strength and stability. It may be a boring one, but there is a reason planks are used in so many workouts. - Russian Twists
Ski benefit: rotation and carving
With all the rotation that happens during carving, Russian twists help to strengthen your obliques and core stability. - Tandem Kettlebell Passes
Ski benefit: core stability and balance
These may not be ones you’ve heard of before; however, they are effective for strengthening your core and balance. Incorporating compound movements like this transfer well on the mountain for snowboarding and skiing. - Medicine Ball Rotational Throws
Ski benefit: rotation and carving
This exercise mimics the rotational forces of skiing, improving your turning efficiency.
Cardio
- MTB-ing / Trail Running / Hiking
Ski benefit: joint-friendly cardio base
Something that I have found to be the most beneficial for keeping my knees safe and my legs strong is biking. The first summer I spent mountain biking between ski seasons, I found the transition back into skiing to be a piece of cake. If you prefer your own two feet to wheels, trail running and hiking are also solid alternatives to keeping those legs strong. If you are looking for places to go hike, check out Corinne’s Must Do Hikes in the Valley blog.
You can do all of these exercises right on the mountain at the Sugarbush Health and Recreation Center! Check out their classes or use these exercises to create your own routine.
