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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – If you’re planning a ski trip this winter, you should also be planning your pre-ski conditioning program. Even though we think of skiing as a lower body activity, research shows that a person with a balanced physique makes the best athlete. If your upper and lower body strength are fairly well matched and enhanced by a strong core, you’ll have the best chance for good performance and safety on the slopes.
You need both power and endurance in the muscles of the legs to enable you to push off forcefully and swerve down the course without undue fatigue. Your thighs must support your weight and stabilize your knees, which act as shock absorbers. They are vulnerable to injury and to protect them you need to strengthen the quadriceps muscles, especially the vastus medialis on the inside front of your thigh. The following exercises will help.
The classic pre-ski exercise is the Wall Sit, where you lean against a wall and slide down until your knees are bent at a right angle directly over your ankles. Hold this position until your quads are on fire! Build up to 2-3 minutes. When I was in college we used to call this the Olympic Rest because athletes would do it leaning against a tree.
Squats and lunges should also be part of your program. Try doing variations of the standard exercises that challenge your balance. In the Balance Squat, stand with all your weight on one leg, the other leg resting lightly on your toes to the front. Inhale, reach back with your hips and squat on the working leg. Repeat 12 times and then change sides. For the Balance Lunge, your back leg is elevated with the foot resting on a bench or low table. Keep your front knee directly over your ankle as you bend your legs, lowering your torso toward the floor. Repeat 12 times and change sides.
Strengthening the upper body will help when you’re pushing off or planting your poles. Focus on exercises for the back, shoulders and arms. For your core, do twisting exercises to target the obliques along the sides of your torso in a standing position (to simulate twisting on your skis). Try doing the wood chop squat: holding one weight with both hands overhead, stand with your feet parallel, shoulder width apart. Bend your knees into a squat and with your arms straight, “chop” the weight down, lowering it to the outside of one knee. Return to start and alternate sides for 12 repetitions.
Of course your cardio conditioning is also integral to your success. It’s a good idea to have a solid aerobic base with intervals of high intensity (anaerobic) sprints. Jumping rope is a great aerobic agility exercise, although beginners may find it anaerobic at first. Build up to several minutes at a time.
And don’t forget to stretch! Regular stretching combined with muscle strength and cardio blasts will improve your performance and reduce your risk of injury.
Joan Pagano, former trainer to Jacqueline Onassis and Caroline Kennedy, is a best-selling author, a speaker on health and fitness topics and the owner of Joan Pagano Fitness in New York City. For more about Joan and her services, please visit Joan Pagano Fitness
(c) Copyright – Joan L. Pagano. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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