Know Before You Go: Skiing
Looking for some sweet slalom before the summer kicks up? We hear you. And we want to make the transition from lying on the couch to soaring down the slopes as easy as possible with this guide to everything you need to know before you go skiing.
This guide isn't just for beginners. Sure, you'll find basic lingo and gear, but we've also included a list of the best mobile apps, how to train for a smoother run, and tips for avoiding injury. Whether you're looking to shred some powder or getting on the slopes for the first time, here's our Know Before You Go guide to skiing.
Before Hitting the Slopes
Hitting the gym can help build endurance and prevent common ski injuries when it comes time to hit the slopes. But while the traditional approach to ski training is: training harder = training better, there’s a lot to be said for the benefit of low-impact aerobic training.
For skiers, low-impact aerobic training is definitely the way to go. Shredding at the gym by doing high-impact cardio for an hour will fatigue muscles, make recovery harder, and doesn’t prep for the long-term endurance required during a day of skiing.
Shorter, less intense runs, elliptical workouts, and exercises like yoga and pilates are great, low impact aerobic activities that still help build leg strength for any sport. Training like this helps build muscle mass and endurance in the legs while keeping the knees healthy, which is a definite plus considering that knee injuries account for about 1/3 of all skiing injuries. Low impact exercise also increases circulation in the legs and helps skiers recover quicker from workouts so there’s more training and less recovery time. More training = stronger, better performance.
Going on three to four low impact long runs a week, combined with two to three higher impact resistance and strength training days, is a great way to combine low impact, supportive endurance training with higher-impact aerobic exercise.
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