If you hadn’t noticed, it’s still snow ski season, and many people are taking time off work to hit the slopes. If you like the cold and snow, skiing is an excellent recreational sport where you can play and work simultaneously. Over the years, I have had clients hit the slopes in varying physical conditions, and one thing stood out. Those in shape or strong had a better time and were less sore because they weren’t picking themselves off the snow as often.
Strength training makes many recreational sports more enjoyable, including snow skiing. Here, along with the help of Katie Prendergast of KPX Fitness, we’ll dive into why strength training matters for skiers and a simple strength training routine for skiing so you can look and feel like a pro.
Strap in; this is going to be a fun ride.
Muscles Used For Skiing
Before getting into a strength training routine for skiing, it helps to know which muscles are used when flying down the slopes.
Quads/Adductors:
The quads are the muscles you will feel after a day on the slopes. With your knees bent in the athletic-ready position, it’s similar to performing a wall squat all day but with bumps. Much like a shock absorber on a car, the quads act like this for your knees, which means you’ll be walking funny the next day.
Core:
A strong core with good muscular endurance improves everything, skiing included. The core bridges your lower and upper body, and preventing unnecessary movement means you’ll stay upright longer. Strengthening the core will keep the pelvis and lower back strong and hopefully pain-free.
Glutes:
Strong glutes are vital to skiing, as generating forward momentum is kind of important. Hip extension makes this happen when you stride and push down through your foot, especially on an incline, so putting juice in your caboose is essential. Having stronger glutes will help you deal with uneven terrain better and give you something to land on when you lose balance.
Hamstrings:
Maintaining strength in the hammies is excellent for skiing because if you don’t, there will be a strength imbalance between the quads and hamstrings, and you don’t want that. Plus, the hamstrings assist with hip extension and are relied on when your leg is extended back to propel you forward.
Upper Body (Chest, Back, Shoulders, And Arms):
The upper body leans forward and counterbalances the lower body so you don’t lose balance. It is involved with ski poles for forward momentum and balance.
Why Strength Training Matters For Skiing
A few things are going on in your body while skiing. You need to develop and manage muscular tension, you need to generate force, and you need to do it repeatedly. Although it may seem counterintuitive to get strong for skiing, it’s the perfect complement for the reasons explained below.
Injury Prevention
“ Skiing and snowboarding put serious “eccentric” demands on your muscles due to gravity. Your muscles must absorb a lot of force as you ski or ride downhill. Strength training increases your body’s ability to absorb those forces safely and efficiently, making it more straightforward to get down the mountain each time.
Strength is also protective: the stronger you are, the less likely you are to injure yourself skiing or riding; if you do injure yourself, having a solid base of strength can help you recover from your injury faster and get back on the mountain sooner.” explains Prendergast.
Improves Performance And Recovery
“Getting stronger will make skiing and snowboarding easier because your muscles will be more efficient, making it feel like you’re doing less work on the mountain. Strength training will improve your power and athleticism so that you feel more capable on the slopes, allowing you to progress to more difficult terrain and have more fun on the mountain,” says Prendergast.
Consistent strength training will help build your efficiency and power while skiing and help you recover faster between sessions due to your muscles’ increased efficiency and strength.
Fall Prevention
It’s going to be said anyway. Whether skiing uphill, downhill, or snowboarding, it’s not a perfectly flat surface. You’re constantly having to adjust to the uneven terrain to prevent face-planting or landing on your butt. So, including unilateral exercises for the lower and upper body and some core strengthening exercises will improve your proprioception to avoid ending up on a blooper video.
“Skiing engages multiple muscle groups, and you want to stress hitting a range of muscle groups and mimicking the motions those muscles will do out on the hill as best you can,” explains Prendergast. Here is a two-day-a-week strength program that does just that.
INSTRUCTIONS
After a thorough warm-up, perform this A B workout twice weekly, resting 48 to 72 hours between sessions. Start at the lower end of the rep range and go up in reps per week, but keep the same weight. Then, once you hit the upper range, go up in load, back to the lower range, and repeat.
Rest 30 to 60 seconds between exercises and 2 minutes are each tri-set. Perform each tri-set three times.
