This post will discuss why and how you should prepare your body for your skiing holiday in advance of going. Everything mentioned here is relevant for snowboarding in the same way, just saves me save writing both each time.

Load Tolerance and Skiing

If the few sentences below do not make sense to you, then this please go back and read my previous post on load tolerance as it will make it a lot clearer.

Depending on where you live, skiing is something that we do maybe one or two weeks each year.  In-between there is very little ski specific exercise that takes place before going back on the slopes a year later.

Thinking back to load tolerance, this goes against what we are trying to achieve to create robust bodies and therefore reduce the risk of injury. 

Ideally you want to expose your body to gradually increasing load/stress in order for it to adapt slowly and become more resilient.  If you suddenly increase the load on the body without sufficient time to adapt, it can result in pain and sensitivity. 

If, for a period of time, you don’t expose your body to that load, it will gradually lose the ability to tolerate said load.  The next time your body is exposed to it again, it will likely result in pain.

Skiing falls very much into this trap and leave us at risk of aggravating existing injuries.  Having not gone all year, your body will have lost the ability to tolerate the specific forces that are placed upon it when skiing.

In the load tolerance post I used the example of training for a marathon. According to Running USA, the average time to complete a marathon is 4:22 for males and 4:48 for females.  This isn’t too dissimilar to staying out on the slopes for at least 4-5 hours per day. 

The marathon is only one day followed by several days rest. When you ski you are likely to do 5-6 consecutive days.  Although skiing involves different forces to running, being on the slopes for that volume of time places a huge demand on the body over the course of a week.

Would you do a marathon without training for it?

Why do you think you can go skiing or snowboarding without training in advance? 

Most of us can’t go skiing on a weekly basis to maintain our tolerance, but there are other things we can do instead. Strength training can help prepare our bodies for those loads and stresses.

First, we need to identify what stresses will be placed upon the body when skiing.

Then we can replicate these exercises and build a strength program.

Now the obvious action that comes to mind when skiing is a squatting action. Most people then struggle to think of many other movements involved that could then be replicated in the gym. However there is far more that needs to be considered. You need to imagine an entire day on the slopes from start to finish, not just the time on the snow.

My previous post on starting strength training, discusses in more detail how to identify stresses and then replicating them in the gym.

Below is an example of what other stress that could be encountered during a day of skiing.

• Carrying skis and boots whilst walking
• Putting ski boot on
• Walking in ski boots
• Side stepping uphill whilst wearing skis
• Hiking back up slope to retrieve a dropped pole
• Pulling T-bar/Button lift into place
• Pushing yourself along the flat using poles
• Getting up from the floor
• Landing following a jump
• Wading through deep powder

Exercise Program

Depending on what your ability level is some of the above might sound familiar. You then need to take the activities above that are relevant to you and then begin to plan a program with exercises that replicate them.

A program you could then work on may look something like this…

• Back Squats
• Single Arm Kettle Bell Carry
• Lateral Steps Ups Holding Dumbbells
• Single Arm Cable Row
• Straight Arm Cable Pull Downs
• Lateral Bounds
• Depth Jumps

Once you have created a program you then need to block out time 2-3 times each week that you will go to the gym. By committing to getting stronger you will give your self the best chance of staying injury free. You will also find that you reduce the effects of fatigue, also helping reduce risk of injury. Feeling less tired will also allow you to enjoy your holiday a lot more.

This post was written by myself, Chris Tiley, a physiotherapist based out of Movement Therapy Clinics in Harborne, Birmingham. For more information on how I can help you visit christileyphysiotherapy.com