GETTING FIT FOR SKIING – WHAT EXERCISES TO DO?

Hey, its Gareth from PDS 3 Valleys.  Here is the 3^rd part of my summer skiing fitness blog, I hope you enjoy the read and find it helpful.

Where to Start?

As mentioned in our previous posts, What is fitness? What to focus on?, skiing taxes all areas of fitness.

Now is the time to get fit for the winter! Below are some details of how you could make a start (in broad brush strokes).  I have intentionally left out any form of heavy weight lifting exercises or anything that needs expensive equipment.  Many of the skiing fitness exercise below can be done at home or outside, so you can enjoy the lovely summer weather.

Many of the workouts below are taken from 2 really cool apps that I have been using to keep myself in shape, Freeletics body weight app and the Freeletics Gym app.  Both apps are great and if you follow the coach program it sets you with an incredibly rounded fitness program, which will set you up for the winter.  The best thing about the bodyweight app is that you don’t need hardly any equipment.  This is useful for me as I am often traveling with my skiing and I don’t always have access to a gym.   Learn more about them here .

HIIT Workout Guidelines

Try to build the exercise below into a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) routine. HIIT training is great for those with busy lives and is great for an activity like skiing.  One of the key things you should look for in a fitness program aimed at improving your performance in a sport is specificity to the sport itself.  As I have previously mentioned in past posts, when we try to ski well (no matter your level) we do so in intervals.  So, it makes sense that we train for these moments by reflecting them in our fitness routines.  Get off your bike and put away your running shoes!  HIIT can also be a good way to improve your cardiovascular fitness, so if you really don’t like running or cycling training then HIIT can also work.

As a rough guide use the bullet points below to help you come up with different routines you can rotate through;

• Aim to train 3 times a week. Although even 1 times a week is better then 0 times per week!
• No need to have an expensive gym membership, or use any machine if you don’t want to. You are the machine!
• Try to focus on a mixture of lower body and core exercises.
• 3-5 different exercise per session
• 1-5 sets
• 1 set could be as many reps you can do within 30 sec – 1 min, followed by 30 sec – 1 min rest
• 1 set could be rep to failure, followed by 1-2 min rest
• 1 set could be rep range of 15+, followed by 30 sec – 1 min rest or rest the same time you work.
• Try to record your time or the number of reps you do so you can gage your improvement, trust me this helps with motivation when you start to see your number get better.
• Stick to correct movement standards and have fun with it!

Building a HIIT Routine…

Have a look through the YouTube video in the link below.  It has brilliant examples of bodyweight exercises you can use that are great for skiing.  The core exercises are particularly good.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3ePVSNt_xkM

Other simple exercises you could use are listed below with a useful video from the Freeletics YouTube channel

Legs Skiing Fitness Exercises 

• Squats – Movement standards, Hip below knee, no wider than shoulder width stance, knees moving out as you squat, pushing up through heel, keep back flat, hands off body

• Lunges – Movement Standards, – back need touching floor, front shin vertical, push up through heel when returning to standing, keep back flat.

https://youtu.be/LbsOGbX7peQ

• Split Lunge– Movement Standards, back need touching floor, front shin vertical, push up through heel when returning to standing, keep back flat, fully extend legs in the air and switch to new lunge position, remain balanced –

https://youtu.be/QAo5UbUj3vU

Total Body Skiing Fitness Exercises 

• Burpees – Movement Standards, chest touches the ground, feet leave ground, hips and knees fully extended, hands touch behind head.

• Climbers – Movement Standards, knees, hips and shoulders aligned, foot to outside of hand, hips lower than shoulders.

Core Skiing Fitness Exercises 

• Froggers – Movement standard, Starting position: Shoulders, hips and heels are in line, Hips Below shoulders, only hands and feet touch ground, hips below knees.

https://youtu.be/nddYuZP-kSo

• HH Leg Levers – Movement Standards, Starting position: Heels, Glutes and shoulders touch the ground, Hands lie below your glutes, feet in contact at all times, legs straight at all times, legs at least vertical.

https://youtu.be/pJdyKzomJ4w

There are lots of options, make sure you learn the correct technique and try to follow the guidelines in the bullet points above you will be on to a winner…….

Rowing Finishing Routines…

If you do have access to a gym then get on a rower, although it doesn’t work on your balance as well as some of the body weight exercises, it can be a fantastic way to do interval training.  I use interval rowing as part of my program and its great way to increasing your engine!

Have a try at some of these:

Intervals

1. 500m Intervals, 5 efforts, 90 sec rest in-between each effort.
2. 1000m Intervals, 5 efforts, 60 sec rest in-between each effort
3. 100m Intervals, 5 efforts, 10 sec rest in-between each effort

Ladders

1. 500m Ladder. 500m – 50 sec rest, 400m – 40 sec rest, 300m – 30 sec rest, 200m – 20 sec rest, 100m – Finish.
2. 1000m Ladder. 1000m – 100 sec rest, 800m – 80 sec rest, 600m – 60 sec rest, 400m – 40 sec rest, 200m – Finish

Pyramid

1. 900m Pyramid. 300m – 30 sec rest, 600m – 60 sec rest, 900m – 90 sec rest, 600m – 60 sec rest, 300m – Finish
2. 5km Pyramid. 500m – 30 sec rest, 1km – 45 sec rest, 1.5km – 60 sec rest, 1km – 45 sec rest, 500m – Finish

Make sure you record your times, it’s a great way to keep motivated.

Cool Down and Stretching

When you finish your routines make sure you spend a bit of time doing a cool down, to lower your heart rate and then a full body stretch.

So there you have it! No excuses now, you know the WHY?, WHAT? and now the HOW?  All that is left is the DO!

G