Keep in Shape to Keep Hitting the Slopes
Warmer temps are on the horizon, though the mountains are still receiving snow — which means spring skiing! After a great day on the slopes, we’ve all experienced those body aches that leave you wondering: Why am I so stiff and sore?
It mainly comes down to how well you’ve trained for your chosen sport and how well you’re restoring your body to continue supporting your activities.
Maintaining Mobility Through Spring Ski Season
It’s important to keep your muscles feeling good into spring ski season so you can enjoy runs long into the season.
Consider how you prepare for the day, along with how you recover and take care of your tissues after a long day on the slopes. If you find yourself feeling sore and tired from the day before, think about how you warmed up for that session and how that might affect the session you’re about to embark on.
You can complete a brief warm-up routine on hill while wearing your ski or snowboard boots. Consider the actions and movements you’re about to complete as you ski or snowboard — squats, lateral lunges, ankle flexions (driving the knee over the toe in the boot), and upper body stretches are a great, complementary warm-up.
An excellent recovery tool is a foam roller — 10- to 15-minutes of foam rolling can go a long way toward keeping your body feeling good. Start by laying on the foam roller and rolling slowly over tight or sore muscles, pausing on tender spots to apply pressure and help release muscle tension and improve flexibility.
Slow and Steady Wins the Race
A final piece to consider is the intensity and density of the time you aim to spend on the slopes.
Intensity refers to the skill required to complete certain runs; for example, green and blue runs are for beginners and black runs are for those more experienced. Density refers to the number of runs in a session and the number of sessions in a week or month you want to complete.
While this can be hard to predict and often changes on conditions, try to aim for a slow and steady increase in intensity and density as the season progresses to help ensure your body is ready for the demands of skiing and riding — and to help reduce your risk for overuse injury.
Barton Performance offers performance training with individualized programming and coaching supervision, in addition to a variety of group fitness classes for anyone. Challenge yourself, safely learn new exercises, receive guidance, and find your excellence. Learn more by calling 530.600.1976.
