Prepare Your Body for Winter Sports

If you’ve ever strapped on a pair of skis, a snowboard, or some snowshoes in your adult life, you are most likely very familiar with delayed-onset-muscle-soreness (DOMS).

DOMS is that nasty aching and stiffness that you experience a day or two after the first day of performing the sport. DOMS is also responsible for making you wonder, “How am I ever going to get back up again?” as you sit down gingerly at the breakfast table the morning after the first day of the season.

Be prepared

Add these sport-specific movements to your regular gym routine to tailor your workout to your particular sport. Aim for a strength training program at least twice a week a minimum of four weeks before the season starts to ensure success when the snow starts to fall.  

For downhill skiing: Wall Sit

• Stand with your back against a wall and your feet about 3 feet ahead, hip-width apart.
• Slide down the wall until your thighs are parallel with the floor and hold this position for as long as you can

For snowboarding: Mountain Climbers with a Tap

• Assume a push-up position, with your hands under your shoulders and your body in a long line.
• Starting with the left leg, keep it straight and swing it out to your left side as far as you can and tap the ground.
• Swing the left leg back to centre and then bring it under your body and tap the foot on the ground to the right side of your body and then bring it back to start.
• Keep your hips still and squared while doing each tap.
• Alternate legs to complete 10 reps for each leg.

For cross-country skiing: Walking Lunges

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Step one foot forward, with your heel touching the
• floor first. When it touches, your knee should be at a
• 90 degree angle and lined up with your toes, without going past them. Keep lowering your torso until your back knee almost touches the floor.
• Lift your body back up again and swing the back leg forward and perform a lunge with that leg.
• Keep travelling forward until you have completed 30 reps for each leg.

For snowshoeing: Hamstring Curls

• Lying on your back with your shoes off, feet hip-width apart, and a towel under each heel, lift the hips as high off the floor as you can.
• Maintain this hip lift while slowly sliding the left foot forward until the leg is almost straight.
• Pull it back to start and slide the right foot out, then in again.
• Repeat to complete 15 to 20 reps for each leg.
• Please note: this exercise must be performed on a slippery surface, such as hardwood or laminate flooring.

Related Articles

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• Winter Workout, Canada-Style