More ski conditioning = more fun skiing.
Even though many of us spend our time jogging on trails, ripping around on bikes, or climbing rocks in the summer, those first days back on skis still feel rougher than we might hope. You might even find yourself trying to hide how hard it is to breathe in the lift line, grateful for those first few seconds to take a load off on the lift. If you’re looking to hit the slopes harder—or at least, just as hard as you left them—come the first snow, the time to start ski conditioning is now. Maintaining and building on your strength through the summer and fall will put you in better shape than when you last took your skis off. We asked our resident ski conditioning expert, Powder7 athlete Veronica Paulsen, for her tips on how to get in shape for ski season.
And while we may be ski experts, we’re not medical experts. So check with your doc before diving in too deep.
Strength Training
When we asked Veronica if there’s a way to get fit without doing a bunch of squats, the answer was “that’s all in addition to doing lots and lots of squats! Sorry not sorry, but yeah, do more squats.”
No doubt about it, there’s no way to avoid a little strength training for ski conditioning. Building up that baseline strength gives your muscles more power and stamina to perform. Stronger legs can help you push yourself a little further down that endless bump run. Or, when going through rough snow conditions, you can use your leg strength to stabilize yourself and push through more smoothly.
The most straightforward way to build that baseline is moving weight around with your legs. Veronica spends her summers “mostly strength training, almost like a bulk season, just trying to get as strong as possible and move as much weight as possible.”
Turns out there’s no magic exercise (besides squats) that will get you ripped. Any leg exercises you enjoy doing will do! Anything that can get you psyched on trying hard. Veronica recommends some of her favorites: front squats, deadlifts, and power cleans. If you’re looking for more leg punishment inspiration, check out Ski Magazine‘s extensive library of workouts they recommend for skiing. If you’re an Outside+ member, you get some exclusive access to more exercises.
Plyometric Training
Doing as many squats and lunges as humanly possible certainly won’t hurt your ski training, but it can get old after a while. That’s why Veronica transitions to some plyometric training in the fall. Plyometric training involves adding explosive movement to an exercise. Veronica uses these to help train the “fast twitch muscles, which help you react faster and stay balanced while skiing”.
Think about ripping through trees or a bump line—having your legs respond more quickly and powerfully can help you nail the next turn, and then transition seamlessly to the next. Because of their ability to increase power and reactivity in muscles, plyometrics are essential for any comprehensive ski conditioning program.
Despite the fancy name, these aren’t super fancy exercises. You’ve probably tried a basic one: the jumping jack! Others include jumping lunges, tuck jumps, or really any exercise that you can add some explosivity to. Veronica’s favorites are “box jump work, ladders, jump ropes, bosu ball or medicine ball balance work, mini hurdles, all the fun stuff!”
Another component of Veronica’s training includes what she calls neurotraining work. This involves a task where your mind has to focus on something and your muscles simultaneously react quickly. This could look like catching a small ball while balancing on a medicine ball, while someone tells you which hand to catch the ball with. Overall, the goal is to increase your body awareness/control and help you react quicker to your surroundings. All things that are really, really helpful for skiing. It also just sounds like a lot of fun.
Don’t forget to stretch!
All of this training will do you good, but if your muscles are wound up, it can be difficult to perform the way you want. While the science varies on whether stretching increases performance, the overwhelming answer is it can’t hurt. Certain kinds of stretching (especially involving movements, like Pilates or yoga practice), can increase your range of motion and flexibility, which is beneficial for injury prevention. Not to mention, if it feels good and you enjoy doing it, that’s a good thing.
Veronica says: “One of the most commonly overlooked, but most important areas, is ankle mobility, so don’t forget your calf stretches.”
Ask any of the boot fitters here at the shop, and ankle mobility is one of the top things we look for to address issues with fit and boot pain. Many folks out there have lower-than-average ankle mobility. If you have limited ankle range of motion, flexing your boots or skinning uphill can feel more difficult or restrictive.
You can work on that mobility during the summer but don’t forget to maintain this work throughout the winter season. Especially as we’re skiing all winter, those little muscles can tighten up over time. Add in some of these simple ankle mobility exercises to keep things chillaxed down there.
I’m game, but where do I start?
Sometimes getting started on a new program can feel intimidating, and it’s tough to know where or how to start. Following a multi-week program can give you more structure and builds on what you’ve already done. It also saves you the hassle of having to mentally plan out what you’re going to do that day. You can just open up your training plan for the day, and do it! Loads of us here at the shop really like freeride legend John Collinson’s 8 week program through MacroFit. The program also doesn’t require any weights, so it’s easy to do at home without a gym.
One last thing to keep in mind; just have fun with it! How often do you get an excuse to hopscotch for training? If you have fun with it, sneaking in an extra workout or two a week won’t feel like a chore. You might even look forward to it. Just dream of ripping the Hollywood bump lines under the lifts, with the crowds cheering you on.
