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Preparing for your skiing holiday - part one

November 14, 2024

The temperature has taken a turn for the worse, the nights are closing in and we are all dusting off our winter coats once again. It can only mean one thing…. It’s nearly time to hit the slopes. Certainly the best thing about winter, but how can we stay injury free and get the most out of our annual skiing holiday?

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For most people, preparation for skiing and snowboarding involves getting your gear out of the loft or replacing what you lost on the slopes last year. For beginners, it may involve researching the best ‘English speaking’ ski schools. However, the best thing you can do to prepare yourself is to give a little thought to getting in shape for what is probably the most active week of your entire year.

Even with a lengthy lunch at a wonderful alpine restaurant, you are looking at spending approximately 6 hours a day on the slopes. Do not underestimate the toll this takes on your body. At best, you will possibly be crawling up and down the stairs of your chalet by the morning of day 3 with burning leg muscles and at worst, you could be nursing an injury that should have been avoided.

The fitter you are, the better you will be able to cope with the rigours of the slopes and avoid injuries. Skiing and snowboarding fitness can be split into 5 categories;

1. Cardiovascular fitness
2. Balance
3. Strength training
4. Core stability
5. Flexibility

The optimal time to start a training programme is at least 6-8 weeks prior to your trip. Aerobic exercise should be performed 3-5 times a week, strength training 3 times a week, core stability and balance exercises at least 3 times a week and flexibility exercises should be performed daily. Although it seems like a rigorous programme, you will be grateful for having followed it when you are skiing or boarding injury-free for your entire trip.

Cardiovascular Fitness

As most injuries in skiing and snowboarding occur towards the end of the day, improving your fitness prior to hitting the slopes will increase your stamina and prevent fatigue, which appears to be one of the predisposing factors to injury.

Although split into five main categories, you can certainly incorporate some leg strength training in your cardiovascular exercise. For example, cycling on either a road bike or stationary bike is a fantastic way to boost your cardiovascular (CV) system as well as building up your leg muscles. Look at cycling for 35-40 minutes with some sprint and resistance intervals thrown in after your warm up. If you belong to a gym, try a spinning class for that extra motivation.

A good mix of cardio exercises can help to prevent boredom and burn out. If your knees can handle it, you can try running a couple of times a week, including some hills, or try using the Cross trainer at the gym. Some gyms now have an elliptical skiing machine that mimics the skating action of skiing to address the Gluteal muscles around your pelvis.

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Balance

Good balance is the key to success on the slopes. With skiing for example, if one of your skis hits a bump, you will need to be able to balance momentarily on your other leg to avoid a fall. With snowboarding, where you are constantly altering your balance over your board to progress down the slope, you will certainly need good balance to avoid over-correcting and ending up in a head-plant in the snow or on your backside.

Snowboarding specific - stand with your feet on two pillows or cushions in the position you would adopt on your snowboard. Practise transferring your weight forwards and backwards over your feet (eyes open and closed) or throwing and catching a ball against the wall as this will be more unpredictable.

Skiing specific - any exercise involving balancing on 1 leg will help improve your balance. Here are a couple of examples; stand with your foot on a pillow/cushion with your eyes open and closed. Like with the snowboarding exercise, whilst standing on the cushion, try throwing and catching a ball. Also try performing small knee bends whilst standing on 1 leg, whilst maintaining good alignment, with your knee in line with your 2/3rd toes.

Flexibility

Stretching should not just be something you do on day 3 of your trip when your muscles are already beginning to feel tight. Increased flexibility will improve your manoeuvrability on the slopes and keep you away from over-straining muscles. It is important to remember when you are on the slopes that muscles do not stretch well when they are cold, which means that an adequate warm up is required before stretching. Often, the walk up or down to the bottom of the first ski-lift of the day is enough to significantly raise the temperature in the muscles ready to stretch. It goes without saying, that all of these stretches should definitely be performed before you put your skies or board on!

These stretches should also be included in your preparation fitness programme. All of these stretches should be held for 30-40 seconds.

Hamstrings

- Place your heel on a curb or a step, hips facing forward and keep your back straight.

- Bend forwards at your hips keeping your back straight and chest lifted. As you slowly lean further forwards, you will feel the stretch at the back of your thigh.

- Repeat to both sides.

Quadriceps

- Stand on one leg with support if required for balance.

- Bend your opposite leg and hold onto your foot/boot. Keep your knees together as you gently pull your foot closer to your bottom without twisting your pelvis.

- Repeat with the other side.

Hip Flexors

- Lunge forwards being careful not to slip if doing this on the snow. Ensuring that your front knee is in line with your foot, let your back heel lift of the ground slightly.

- Lean forwards onto the front leg whilst gently tucking your pelvis underneath you to increase the stretch.

- This should be felt in the front of the back hip.

Groin

- Stand with your feet much wider than your hips, with your feet initially pointing forwards.

- Turn your right foot out slightly and then carefully lunge out to the right over this foot, keeping your left leg straight and allowing your right knee to bend.

- This stretch should be felt in the left side of your groin.

- Repeat the same to the other side.

Calf

- This stretch is more important for snowboarders as you are generally wearing much softer boots than skiers that allow greater ankle movement.

- Find a solid structure/wall to lean forwards onto. Stand in a stride stance position with one foot in front of the other facing forwards.

- Keeping your back knee straight and your heel down, lean forwards onto the solid structure.

- The stretch will be felt in the calf of the back leg

- To stretch the deeper calf muscle, stand with one foot facing forwards and a few inches away from the wall/solid structure.

- Bend the knee on this same side trying to touch the wall with your knee. Do not let your heel lift up.

Trunk

- Stand up straight with your deep abdominals engaged and your pelvis tucked under to gently flatten your lower back.

- Place your finger tips against your temples and lift one side of your chest up and then side bend over to the opposite side.

- You should feel the stretch in the side you are moving away from.

- Repeat 5 times on each side before holding for the usual 30 seconds.

Although it seems like a chore, spending time preparing could well be the difference between an enjoyable holiday on the slopes or a week of frustration and pain. Coming up next week exercises to improve strength and core stability.

Niki de Leon, Sportsister.
The Women’s Sports Magazine

Nicki de Leon is a sports injury physiotherapist with over ten years experience treating elite sportsmen and women and professional dancers. She was the official physio of the British Paralympic swimming team for over three years and attended the Paralympic Games in Athens 2004.

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