Get Fitter For Skiing To Get More Out Of Your Holiday

To get the most out of your weeks skiing holiday you need to have attained a certain level of fitness.  If you are in good shape you will improve your skiing performance and make make it safer by preventing injury.  All that is needed is 45 minutes, three times a week and you will very soon notice a difference in your fitness level. So what are you waiting for? Grab your sports gear and let’s get going.

Start by jogging slowly for 5 minutes as a warm up.  Include some stretching exercises such as skipping, high knees running, arm circles.  The warm up exercises improve agility and co-ordination as well as warming up the muscles for exercise.  Next, run or jog continuously for about 20 minutes.  It is best to choose parks or woodland tracks which saves wear and tear of the joints and is definately more interesting than running on a treadmill.  Next and as a cool down, do 2 or 3 sets of 10 or 20 repetitions of knee squats. Squats strengthen the medial quadriceps and helps maintain correct knee alignment.   Keep your knees aligned with your toes and keep a good arch as you go down.  Gradually increase to a faster drop and then from from 2 legs to 1 leg at a time.  Alternate sets of knee squats with lunges which improve your co-ordination and balance in your hips, knees and ankles and increases strength in the hips and legs.  Keep your back straight and your head up with one leg behind the other, take your back knee down towards the ground. Start slowly with 2-3 sets of 10 to 20 repetitions and gradully build up to 20-30 repetitions.

Squats and lunges help decrease your risk of injury by correcting any imbalances in your pelvis, hips and legs.