Winter Sport Prep Workout

If you’re anything like me, your favorite vacation involves heading to the mountains and hitting the slope. It’s the time of year again and many people are starting to plan their yearly ski trips and getting ready to step onto skis and snowboards.

Both skiing and snowboarding requires good mobility and conditioning, and being resilient to falls. And while you may train all year round in the gym, there’s a chance important exercises to prepare your body are being skipped over.

That’s why we asked personal trainer Jeremy Hills to create this winter sport prep workout in order to supplement your training and prepare you for the demands of skiing and snowboarding. Try incorporating several — or all — of these movements in your workouts leading up to your trip this winter.

Warm-up

Always make sure to start all of your workouts with a warm up in order to warm up your muscles and make them more mobile. Start with foam rolling and then move into both static movements and dynamic movements hamstring and back stretches and deep lunge stretches in order to increase mobility and flexibility. Both are important for skiing and snowboarding.

Workout

1. Skierg Machine (four rounds)

Pull down on the ski handles as fast as you can for 20 seconds. Take 20 seconds of rest between each round and try to beat the amount of meters you get each time.

2. Hamstring Curls with Gliding Discs (two rounds)

Start in a bridge position and place feet on discs. Curl, or pull both legs in toward you 10 times, then do another 10 curls, this time alternating each legs. Take 10 seconds of rest in between each move.

3. TRX Oblique Tucks (three rounds)

Place both feet in the TRX straps and pull up into a plank position. Then tuck knees in toward your shoulder alternating sides 10 times. Take 10 seconds rest in between sets.

4. Kettlebell Series (two rounds)

Move 1 – Single Leg Deadlift with Kettllebell – Find a comfortable but challenging weight and place the kettlebell in your right hand. Slowly lean forward while raising your right leg into a deadlift with your left arm out for stability. Keep your core tight. Do 10 reps then switch to your left for 10 reps.

Move 2 – Single Leg Front Loaded Box Squat with Kettlebell – With the same weight, place the kettlebell in your left hand, keeping it close to your body. Lift your right leg up and hold out your right hand and slowly squat down to the bench. Once you have sat, quickly explode up. Do 10 reps then switch sides.

Move 3 – Single-Arm Kettlebell Swing Directly Into Clean and Press – With the same weight, on your right do a kettlebell swing then into a squat flipping the direction of the kettlebell then explode into a press. Alternate in between your right and left hands. Do 10 reps.

5. Cable Machine (two rounds)

Move 1 – Lateral Shuffle to Chop – Pull the cable to be level with your mid-torso area and select a comfortable but challenging weight. With the strap in both hands, laterally shuffle away from the machine to the right (5-6 steps) then stop and push, or chop, the weight out in front of you twisting your torso toward the right of you. Do 10 reps then switch sides.

Move 2 – Cable Reverse Lunges – Pull the cable out, holding it at your chest level directly in front of you. Do 10 reverse lunges on your right leg. Switch directions and do the same thing with your left.

6. Battlerope Ski Jumps (One minute)

Hold the ropes with your thumbs facing up with the ends slightly out and pointing up. Move the ropes up and down while hopping and twisting your body left and right.

Tips From the Trainer:

“Before getting on skis or a snowboard, areas to focus on are your quads, hamstrings and core muscles. You’ll notice that these three will be burning and sore afterwards because they’re constantly working and being used to maintain speed and balance. Increasing stamina is also a big one (which is why we included the skiergs into the training) from both an aerobic and anaerobic standpoint. You want enough energy to be able to last the day and also want to be able to handle the short burst involved with the sport. A good mix of long sustainable efforts and high intensity training will be a MAJOR key.” -Jeremy Hills