The Brave Ski Mom

Building a new generation of skiers and snowboarders.

The Procrastinator’s Guide to Getting in Shape for Skiing

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procrastinators ski workout
It’s never too late to start your preseason workout.

braveskimom logoProcrastinate much? Yeah. Me, too.

Ski season is here and I haven’t really done any focused physical preparation.

If you’re like me, and the season has snuck up on you, here’s a workout to help get you in shape, whether you’ve got two weeks ’til you hit the slopes, or two days.

And you don’t have to stop the workout once you start skiing. These simple exercises will strengthen your hips, knees, legs and core, helping you stay in strong shape all season.   

Warm Up

Take 10 minutes to warm up with some light cardio. Ride a bike, run in place, do jumping jacks, whatever it takes to get your muscles warm and your heart beating.

Standing Exercises 

For added resistance, do these exercises with a mini resistance band. You can find bands at stores like Sports Authority or online at Perform Better. I’m also giving some away! See below. 

1.  Sideways Walking. Start with a band around your ankles. Begin with your feet together and your toes straight forward, and walk sideways back and forth across the room for thirty seconds. Pause for 5 – 10 seconds and repeat two more times.

Sideways walking ski exercise

Form notes: Keep your knees soft. Don’t lock them. Make sure your shoulders are stacked above your hips. Don’t rock to the side. Don’t lean forward or backward. Step cleanly, don’t drag your feet.

2.  Forward Zigzag Walking. Keep the band around your ankles. This time walk forward in a zigzag motion. Starting with your right foot, step forward and to the right. Bring your feet together and pause.  Step forward and to the left, with your left foot. Bring your feet together for another pause, and then continue zigzagging across the room. It reminds me of ice skating.

Do this for 30 seconds, take a 5-10 second break and repeat two more times.

zig zag walking ski exercise

zig zag walking part two

Form notes: Keep your knees soft. Stack your shoulders over your hips. Don’t lean forward or backward. Step cleanly, don’t drag your feet.

3.  Sideways Walking, in a Squat: Repeat the Sideways Walking exercise above, keeping the band around your ankles. This time, squat as you walk. Go for 30 seconds, pause for 5-10 seconds and repeat two more times.

sideways walking in a squat

Form notes: Pretend you are sitting in a chair. Make sure you can see your toes. Keep your core tight. Don’t tip forward and squat only as low as is comfortable.

4.  Standing Squats. Move the band to just above your knees. For thirty seconds, do as many smooth, controlled squats as you can. Take a 5-10 second break and repeat twice. The band will keep your knees aligned and prevent them from drifting to the sides.

standing squats

Form notes: Don’t hunch forward. Keep your back straight. Make sure you can see your toes.

5. Hip Abductors. Balance on one leg, with your knee slightly bent. Move your free leg forward, and then back to start. Then move it to the side and back to start. Finally move it backward, and back to start.

Repeat this cycle, forward, side, back for 30 seconds. Switch legs after a 5 second pause. Repeat the entire cycle with both legs two more times. To make it a lot harder, use a band.

Form notes: Keep your knee slightly bent and your core firm.

Lying Down Exercises

6.  Side-lying Hip Abductors. Lie on your side with your hips stacked. Imagine a rod connecting your hips to the ground. With your lower leg bent at the knee, keep your top leg straight, raise it as high as is comfortable and then lower it. Repeat for 30 seconds, pause for 5-10 seconds and then do two more sets. Repeat the entire sequence with the other leg.

side lying hip abductors ski workout

For more challenge, pull your top leg back so that your shin is touching the lower heel. Keep your hips aligned and do the above exercise from this position.

side lying hip abductors 2

Form notes: Focus on keeping your hips aligned. Don’t roll forward or backward. Keep the top leg straight.

7.  Single Leg Ab Reach. A core stabilization exercise, start on your back with one knee bent and your foot flat on the floor. Lift your free straight leg up and then pull it back toward your chest before extending it out again. It’s kind of like riding a bike with one leg, but you’re moving your leg in and out, not around in a circle. Repeat for 30 seconds, take a 5 -10 second break. Do a total of three sets with each leg.

single leg ab reach ski exercise

single leg ab reach core ski exercise

single leg ab reach

Form notes: Keep your back flat and tight. Don’t let your free heel touch the ground.

Cool Down and Stretch

Stretching is always good…but somehow so hard to do. Make sure you save a few minutes at the end of your workout to stretch your calves, quads and hamstrings.

Giveaway Details

Win a set of three resistance bands: green (easy), blue (medium) and black (hard) by leaving a comment on this post. One winner will be chosen randomly from all comments received on Tuesday, November 25th.

Good luck!

Many thanks to Bryan Whitesides and his PT team (Brenda and Shelbi) at Rocky Mountain Orthopaedics for developing, and demonstrating, this workout.

Want More?

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Mary Day! 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. My coworker and I keep talking about how we have to start getting in Ski shape, thanks for the writeup

  2. Thank-you! I was just looking through all the pages of exercises my PT has given me over the years in an attempt to put together a routine like this to prepare for an upcoming ski trip in December. Thanks for making it easy and compiling in this format!!

  5. These look totally doable wish you had a video with music to have at hm to help stay focused exercise ing alone is a tough discipline

  6. I’m not a skier but an ancient and lifelong fan of BSM. These exercises look like just what I need to get back in shape after too many months of sitting in “my chair.” Thanks for the instruction as well as for the inspiration. Hope to see you soon in ski shape if not on ski slopes!

  7. My 20yr old daughter says I can’t join her in Japan until I shape up! Harder to do when you’re 50. Brilliant start to my “shape up and ship out” regime. Thanks.

  8. My hips have become much more stiff in the last year. It can’t be that I’m getting old, but I can’t figure out what it is. Thanks for the hip exercises!

  9. This is a lifesaver. Local hill opens in 4 days. I have done nothing….procrastination at its finest!

  10. Great post! I’m starting today here in rainy Austin … think I can be ready by Dec 19th? (Snowmass)

  11. Excellent set of exercises, particularly for travelers! Doing them this morning on my golf vacation, waiting for our Colorado snow

    • Thanks for asking! Of course I do. For ankles, balance is important. When I did rehab after breaking my ankle (you can read about it at http://www.braveskimom.com/one-tough-mother/), almost all my exercises included balancing on one foot. I have a round rubber “pillow” that is only partially inflated. Balance on one foot, do one leg squats,too. Awesome for ankles.

      For feet, stretching them against the wall(heel on ground, toes on wall) is not only good for feet, but calves. If you have plantar fasciitis,stretching out your arches is the bomb.
      #physicaltherapyfrequentflyer

      Anyone else have suggestions? Thanks!