《Amp Up Fitness Levels Prior To Ski Trip》

Prior to your first ski trips, it will be helpful to enhance your fitness levels a little bit.

This is especially true, if you are one of us busy bees whose job requires sitting on a chair for 8 hours a day and getting more than 1-2h of exercise per week is the exception rather than the rule.

Experienced skiers can compensate for any potential lack of physical fitness with their technique. However, when you are an adult beginner skier being fit helps. As a beginner, you are being taught the ‘Snowplough’ technique which is tough on the adult body. On the contrary, children can go on for hours; this is one of the reasons why learning to ski as a child is easier. Thankfully, as you progress and gain confidence in stopping and controlling your speed, you transition into ‘parallel turning’ which is more suitable for the adult body. The more you progress, the more effortless the movements become and you can ski happily ever after.

Skiing involves physical activity even when you are not actually going down the slopes. There could be long walks or stairs to climb, all while carrying skis and wearing stiff and heavy ski boots. Some (including yours truly) might also say that getting into and out of the ski boots is an exercise by itself! Additionally, lower oxygen levels due to the high altitude mean that everything requires extra effort.

Skiing is a full body workout. However, emphasis on core and leg strength, endurance and cardio will make more of a difference. Happily, these can be achieved through many forms of exercise that you can practice in the city, indoors or outdoors. Classic gym sessions, yoga, pilates, running, spinning, swimming or tennis are some of the many ways that you can build up your fitness levels in a way that will help you while learning how to ski.