Ski the world

Walking machines and cross trainers are great for building cardio but a walk in the park each morning will do the trick too

Preparing physically for your ski holiday is important if you want to make the most of those precious days on the snow.

So much is written about skiing exercises – including the dreaded squats against a wall and hold for 5, 10, 20 minutes – yeah, sure!

What are some simple ways to help build endurance and body strength?

Build core strength

This is something we should be doing on a daily basis to enjoy a long, healthy life so that you will be skiing at 85!

If you are doing regular exercises that build core strength, that’s great news. Yoga, Pilates, Body Firm and gym circuit work can all be great for building that all important core strength that will mean easier skiing from day one.

Introduce some ski-specific exercises about a month before your ski holiday.

Build endurance

We suggest:

• cardio work three days a week – fast walking, jogging running (or a combo of each), step aerobics or hitting the elliptical trainer are three ways for building cardio endurance. Duration: 20 to 50 minutes.
• once a week add one slow-paced workout to get your legs and lungs in shape for some long days on the slopes. Duration: 60 minutes

 Build muscle strength

Once you get to your ski hill, you’ll quickly develop addtional strength as you use just about every muscle in your body.

Before you go, concentrate on large muscle groups such as quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes then smaller muscle groups such as inner and outer thighs and arms.

• For quads: get in some squats and lunges.
• Hamstrings and glutes: deadlifts in body firm classes are ideal.
• Inner and outer thighs: side lunges, sliding side lunges, inner thigh leg lifts, inner thigh squeezes.
• Calves: standing calf raises or machine calf raises.
• Abs and back: spin classes on bicycles, and dumbbell rows are both excellent exercises.
• Arms: for biceps and triceps, bicep curls and tricep curls will develop strength.

Exercise Tip

As you go for your walk or jog, use your full water bottle as a weight and do 20 each bicep and tricep curls as you walk. Repeat several times on your walk. Amazing how you don’t actually need purchased weights.

Ski Health Tip

When you get the ski hill, invest in some Epson Salts if you have a bath. Each night, soak in a bath of moderately hot water with two cups of Epson Salts. Amazing for stopping the pain that comes after that first day of skiing.