It’s almost ski season again, which means that all of the health and fitness magazines have recycled their articles on preparing for skiing. Since I haven’t written anything on skiing before, I can’t be accused of that :)

What are the odds that all these guys would be wearing the same outfit?  Crazy, right? — What are the odds that all these guys would be wearing the same outfit? Crazy, right?

The demands of skiing are quite a bit different from those of field sports, but minor alterations to an existing general fitness or performance program can easily make for a much more specific preparatory period. Here are some considerations and easy suggestions that can be applied to make those changes.

Single leg, double leg and offset exercises:

Single leg exercises are important as always for balance, function and symmetry. This is a good time however to consider the inclusion double leg exercises, especially for squatting patterns, since both legs are generally on the ground during skiing, and the down hip is typically abducted, which is more difficult joint position to achieve with a single leg squat than with a standard squat.

I also like variations of the double leg squat designed to de-emphasize one leg in the way that the uphill leg is de-loaded during a turn. The first variation is one I typically use with patients with hemiplegia or who have had lower extremity trauma or surgery that have developed a tendency to shift their body weight in double leg stance towards the non-involved leg. Simply post under the favored leg to put it into a disadvantaged position, placing the other leg in a stronger position, encouraging it’s use. This is best used as part of a warm-up, or core program (for example, performing a goblet squat to a pressout) rather than with heavy external loads.

A more labor intensive way of training the legs asymmetrically in the double-leg position is to add RNT to the program: Using a sport cord, a partner pulls the squatter laterally, forcing them to resist that frontal plane force. Again, leave the heavy weights behind here.

Front or Goblet Squats

Unlike most sports, skiing is very quadricep dominant, and simply switching the weights forward when squatting to the front or goblet position is a great way to further emphasize those muscles. Good quadricep control will help keep the knee from collapsing while allowing the skier to drive their shin against the ski boot and ‘squish the bananas’. It’s true that placing a lift under the heels will have a similar effect, but this technique should be avoided in order to maximize ankle dorsiflexion mobility, lest the bananas remain un-squished once on the skis.

Pullovers:

The pullover is a bit of a funny exercise in that it departs somewhat from a standard pull/push pattern. The shoulder extends from a flexed position, engaging the lats, teres major and the sternal head of the pec major, just as in a pull-up, but unlike in the pull-up, there is no elbow flexion moment. Instead, there is an elbow extensor action.

This small difference aside, try substituting supine DB pullovers as your vertical pull instead of pullups. The motion more closely mimics the act of the pole plant.

Eccentrics:

Here's a big consideration: downhill skiing is almost entirely eccentric. You have to do very little work aside from resisting gravity. Simply increasing the emphasis on the eccentric portion of your lifts, either by getting assistance on the concentric or slowing down the lowering, is a great way to prepare the muscular system for the demands of skiing, and may help prevent some of that soreness that appears after the first day on the slopes. Below is a novice exercise for single leg stability as well as emphasizing the eccentric portion of the squatting pattern.

Frontal Plane Dynamic Stabilization

A big part of skiing is absorbing forces in the frontal (side-to-side) plane through both the hips and the trunk. For this reason, make sure that side planks are a part of your core routine, and consider including suitcase carries, half-kneeling presses or other asymmetrically loaded activities.

Transverse Plane Dynamic Stability:

Another directional component to consider is the rotation involved in braking/turning. ACL injuries occur frequently the slopes, and the reasons for this are the big rotational forces developed when edging. Single leg exercises demand multi-planar control due to the absence of a second ground contact point and are great for training control of those forces (plus, they are already in your program, aren’t they?). Chops, lifts, and push/pulls are also good exercises to include here.

Unstable surfaces:

A lot of trainers and coaches have thrown these types of activities out of their training programs. It makes sense in many cases, as most court and field sports are played on stable surfaces. However, skiing is a different story--the ground is uneven, and as the skis slide over it, it creates ground--up perturbations that are very closely mimicked by unstable surface training.

You should have started preparing earlier so this could be your unstable surface training.

Instead you'll be on this.  Boo! — Instead you'll be on this. Boo!

Plyometrics:

Earlier I suggested slowing down the eccentrics during strength lifts to mimic the braking action of skiing. The ‘slow’ part of this advice may come as a bit of a surprise to some skiers, especially folks who like to tackle mogul-heavy runs. This is why plyometrics--at an intensity and load appropriate to the client--should be included in all skiing programs. For more advanced/powerful athletes, depth jumps may be warranted; for beginners, skipping is a good start. Additionally, there should be some sort of explosive transverse plane activities to mimic the demands of turning. A combination of the two is below. Agility and cutting drills are also great preparation for braking and turning.

As you can see, it requires very little modification to change an already sound program into one that becomes very ski-specific. And it might be a good idea to do so if you plan on hitting the slopes. A PT friend of mine who spends winters in Aspen splitting time between the orthopedics department and the ER sees eight new patients each day for injuries sustained on the mountain! Make some simple changes and avoid being one of them.

Unrecycled Pre-Ski Season Article