Two Simple Exercises to Improve Your Skiing and Riding

There’s nothing like a day on the slopes. It’s hard to beat the thrill of downhill skiing and snowboarding. However, if you’re not in great shape you may find that a day at the ski resort leaves you with aching muscles, and you don’t have the stamina to enjoy the entire day.

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If you want to make the most of your lift ticket, you should prepare for your day of skiing or snowboarding, no matter whether you are headed for an epic day at Vail or Afton Alps. Most people don’t have the time and money to ski or snowboard every week, but there are exercises you can do at home or at the gym that will condition you for your favorite winter sports and even help you improve your skiing and snowboarding technique. Even if you have a season pass and ski or ride regularly, it’s nice to have some exercises you can do between your trips in order to keep your body in peak condition.

A great exercise you can do is to run backward on a treadmill. It may look funny, and it will certainly feel funny at first, but once you get the hang of it, running backward on a treadmill will really work your calves and quads while stabilizing your balance. A calf exercise that takes place with motion helps build the kind of muscle control you’ll need on the slopes so it is better than just exercising your calves on a weight machine. You should hold on to the rails of the treadmill when you are first beginning, and when you feel like you’ve mastered the balance for running backwards you can let go and even add an incline to the treadmill for added difficulty.

The turns you make on the slopes require you to have strong legs, so if one leg is weaker than the other you may not have the control you wish you had. To see if you have a weak leg, get out a jump rope. Jump on just one foot and count how many jumps you can complete while spinning the rope without missing. Switch feet and count again. If one side is weaker than the other, you won’t be able to jump as many consecutive jumps without missing on the weaker leg. Once you discover your weaker side, practice jump roping with just that foot until they are equally strong.

If you practice these two exercises while you’re away from the ski resort, you’ll be amazed how much improvement you will see in your technique the next time you’re flying down a run on skis or your snowboard.

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