GETTING FIT FOR SNOW SPORTS....

Snow sports are more physically demanding than many people realise. I have anecdotal evidence from Scotland suggesting that the vast majority of skiers and snowboarders do not participate in any specific pre-season training for snow sports and merely rock up at their chosen resort, slap on their skis/board and off they go!

Thanks to some good old networking, and in response to several requests, I am very pleased to be able to offer you a summary article on pre-ski warm up exercises written by an expert in the field, Carl Petersen PT. Carl is a Partner and Director of High Performance Training at City Sports & Physiotherapy Clinics in Vancouver, Canada. He currently works as the physiotherapist and fitness coach for a variety of athletes from club level to World Cup skiers. He was the dedicated physiotherapist for Alpine Canada at the Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, Albertville and Lillehammer. Carl has travelled on the World Cup Ski Circuit from 1984-2004 as a Physiotherapist and Fitness Coach and has been the Director of Sport Medicine and Science for Alpine Canada. He is a Level 2 Ski Instructor, Level 3 Ski Coach and a Level 4 National Coaching Certificate (candidate). He is the author of the recently published book, Fit to Ski. Carl has kindly provided this summary of recommended ski warm up exercises - for more details of his book click here.

Whether you're trying to get the most out of your holiday on hill skiing or getting ready for a race following the advice below will help you optimize your time on hill, improve ski performance and decrease the potential for injury.

Be prepared!

Warm up to ski and train, don't ski to warm up. To optimise your on hill activities and get the most for your time and energy, ensure that you are both physically and mentally prepared before heading onto the slopes.

One of the potential contributors to injury in the recreational skier is the complete absence of any Pre-Ski Warm-Up Routine.

Intense exercise done without a dynamic warm-up has the potential for injury.
Proper warm-up prepares the muscles you will use in training and prepares the joints for movement and stability throughout a full range of motion.
Start slowly and increase the intensity and complexity of the warm-up.
Use ski or activity specific movements to help improve the relaxation-contraction coordination of the joints' prime movers and stabilizers leading to more efficient movement and performance.
On colder or windy days it is vital that you take the extra time to perform a good warm-up because a warm muscle is not only stronger but the elastic properties of it are increased allowing for better shock absorption.
A two degree increase of muscle temperature can give an increase in elastic properties of the muscle by as much as 15-20% helping to improve performance and prevent muscle strains.
Warming-up until you have a light (sweat) glow helps achieve this

General warm up

Some form of general warm-up should be done before making a single turn. Start with your walk from the car or home to the lifts. If you have access to an exercise room, get on the exercise bike, stair-climber or rowing machine for a few minutes. If that is not an option, do some uphill walks, jumps or hike. Slowly but methodically warming the body's tissues helps prevent injuries that may be caused by going too hard, too fast, too soon with cold, un-lubricated muscles and joints.

Torso and shoulder warm up

For torso and shoulder warm-up, try doing 10-15 reps. of shoulder shrugs and arm swings. These warm-ups will help to get the correct muscle sequence firing and lubricate the joint. Try doing some dynamic push-ups against a wall. Do 2 sets of 6 reps with a narrow hand position, medium and wide. Try some torso twists and thread the needles. Do 2 sets of 6-10 repetitions.

Leg warm up

Try leg swings-front & back, side to side and figure 8’s. As well try some high knees, high heels, hurdler high knees, skipping, crossovers and side shuffle steps to improve coordination and add to the warm-up. Stand tall and keep abdominals tight while doing these exercises. Try doing 2-4 repetitions x 5-10 repetitions of each.

Conform Stretching (pre-ski)

Dynamic warm-up is your best activity before skiing. But once you are warmed up you can do some gentle conform stretches. Hold stretches for 15 - 20 seconds to the point of tension only.

Speed warm up

Prior to getting on snow you want to make sure that your central nervous system (CNS) is firing properly in order to ensure optimal performance and reaction time. Here is a speed warm up that will help trigger your CNS. Do running on the spot "sewing machines" for 3 x 10 seconds at a medium tempo (60% of full speed).

Follow these with 2-3 x "sewing machine accelerations", start slowly and gradually increase up to 80% of your full speed at the 10 sec. mark. Next, do the same thing, only accelerate to 90% full speed at the 10 second mark and maintain for 2-3 sec.

Muscle tendon warm up

Now that your Central Nervous System (CNS) is triggered, you need to warm up the muscle-tendon system. One of the best ways of doing this is to combine ricochet jumps, alternating lunges and progressive power jumps.

Alternating lunges and slalom or GS jumps are done in place. Gradually increase depth of lunge (don't go past 90 degrees), keep knee lined up over toes. Try 2-3 sets of 10 reps.

Now you're ready to step into your skis and make your first run!

Carl Petersen P.T. is a Partner at City Sports & Physiotherapy Clinics and Traveling Physiotherapist for the Canadian Alpine Ski Team. His new book Fit to Ski is available at www.citysportsphysio.com

All photos and text on this page are copyright Carl Petersen and www.ski-injury.com