Top 4 Exercises To Do Before a Skiing Holiday

We’ve put together our top 4 exercises pre-skiing exercises.  They are really simple exercises to help you make the most out of your skiing holiday.

Every year, we see countless patients in our clinics who have had their skiing holiday ruined by an injury.  Others come back wishing they’d trained as they were so sore after day 1 they needed a couple of days rest.

Sadly, sliding down a snow-covered mountain on skis can result in injury, but the stronger you are, the less likely you are to have an accident. And, if you’ve done the right exercises, your legs won’t hurt as much after day one, leaving you to enjoy the rest of the holiday.

Before you go skiing, the stronger your glutes, and quads are the better you’ll cope on the slopes, so here are our top pre-skiing exercises:

Wall Sits:

Lean against a wall and slide down so you’re in a position as if you were sitting on a chair.  Hold yourself in that position for as long as possible.  This is a great way to build up the strength in your thighs for spending long periods on the slopes. Here’s how it should look:

Single leg bridge:

Lie on your back with your knees bent up.  Lift one leg straight off the ground.  With the other one, push through it to lift your bottom off the ground. This is a brilliant exercise to work on your glutes, hamstrings and quads, the three major muscle groups you need to work hard when you’re skiing. Try to do 3 sets of 10 on each side. It should look like this:

Single leg squat:

Stand on one leg, slowly squat down on one leg to a point where your knee covers your toes.  Slowly straighten up again.  This will work your glutes again to stabilise your leg, as well as your quads.  Try to make sure your knee comes down in a nice straight line and make sure it’s not collapsing in. Try to do 3 sets of 10 of these on each leg.  It should look like this:

Quadrant hop:

Lay something out on the floor in a cross shape.  Then hop on one leg from box to box.  Forwards, backwards, side to side.  Make sure you land and are steady before jumping again and keep your knee slightly bent all the time.  Do this for 60 seconds on each leg, 3 times in total in the circuit\.

Aim to do these exercises 3 to 4 times per week.  The best way to do them would be to do them as a circuit.  One exercise after the other, 3 times in total. Try to do this for 6-8 weeks in the run up to your holiday.  If the exercises get to easy, then try adding some weight.  You can use proper weights in the gym, or use a rucksack with heavy books in.

If you already go to the gym, make sure you’re doing some squats and lunges too as these will really help when you hit the slopes.

To download a full pre-skiing exercise programme plus lots of other really useful information, click here.

As always, if you need any help with any aches or pains, or you want more advice on how you can prepare for your trip, then get in touch with your nearest clinic here.