Ski holidays are physically challenging. But that’s part of the fun right? Fret not Emma Bodkin from Mountain Beach Fitness Retreats is here to give you some top, ski fitness tips on how to avoid the burn.
Underlying all things fitness is movement. At the core of this is Proprioception – this is your ability to sense the orientation of the body in your environment. This feedback loop tells your brain what position you are in. Modern life, lack of movement, age and injury can all impair this. Even if you are fighting fit there are ways to fine tune this as it is so so important when skiing, especially in bad visibility. By practising a few drills you can avoid injury in deep powder, ski like a champ in a white out and hit the moguls like a boss. One way is stand with one eye closed and on one leg and do one leg jumps, then try 2 eyes closed, change legs etc mix it up. Try testing your body and brain by moving in an unfamiliar way, jump laterally over an obstacle in a zig zag with little rest. Then try it with one eye closed, or on one leg… you get the picture.
“…tool for calmness in the mountains.”
Don’t neglect the core or the stretch. Work on your lower back, obliques and abs; try plank variations or suspended plank variations in the TRX. Natural movement patterns that make you unstable are the best. Last but not least is recovery; yoga is great as it will increase your range of motion and help balance your mind and body and also teach you an understanding of your breath which can be used as a tool for calmness in the mountains.
There is no magic pill, no quick fix and no rocket science. You simply have to move more and vary the movement, pay attention to your movement, move mindfully, stretch, recover, listen to your body. Most fundamentally you should mix it up. Build strength in your glutes, quads, lengthen your hamstrings, try and improve powerful explosive movements (think bounding and jumping). Hit the stairs, downhill is just as important. Boost your overall cardio with some HIIT, 2 mins maximum effort then vary your recovery.
“…ski for longer without fatigue…”
The key is to build on your fitness incrementally and make it achievable and fun. This doesn’t have to be long hours in the gym or a boring prescriptive repetitious programme. Try to fit in some squats while the kettle boils, a plank variation while your running the bath and a few laps of the stairs before work. Little changes in your daily routine will minimise your risk of injury, allowing you to ski for longer without fatigue and enhancing your performance and most importantly fun on the slopes.
If you require any personal training, aerial yoga or specific recovery classes while you are in Verbier please get in touch with Emma and Lottie
https://www.mountainbeachfitnessretreats.com/verbier-winter-fitness/
[email protected] +447764742475
They also run holistic fitness retreats globally. Location include Sardinia, Sri Lanka, Verbier, Iceland, Uk, Tuscany and more.
By Emma Bodkin