For most of us winter sports tend to be a once or twice a year hobby. Skiing or snowboarding heavily tax the body which can lead to muscle soreness and fatigue at the end of a heavy day on the slopes. This is what puts your body at more risk of injury.

It pays to prepare your body before heading to the ski slopes during winter; taking a proactive stance before ski season is key, increasing strength and movement function so that your ski trips are fun, safe, and injury-free. 

Good snow sport alignment follows the same set up as a ‘good’ technique in all the major strength movements in the gym with the torso being neutral, good alignment through the spine and shoulders soft allowing the jaw and neck to be relaxed. The ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders are aligned therefore eliminating excess pressure on joints or muscles that should not be overworking.

Tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), medial collateral ligament (MCL), the meniscus, shoulder dislocations and shoulder fractures/sprains are all common injuries on the mountains.

We have come up with 3 exercises that will make you more robust, increase your cardiovascular fitness while increasing your movement function.

Renegade Row –

The renegade row is a compound, high-performance exercise that strengthens the core, glutes, shoulders, and triceps when executed correctly. It also helps you prevent injury and build a strong functional body.

The renegade row trains anti-rotation. Rotational power or more importantly rotational control is important in skiing, but to build powerful rotation control you must first be able to prevent it. With each rep of the renegade row, you'll need to row slowly while pushing both hands and feet into the ground to maintain correct form.

Walking Lunge –

Walking lunges will challenge your unilateral leg strength, hip mobility, balance while shooting your heart rate through the roof. The walking lunge is a great strength-based exercise to increase your cardiovascular conditioning.

Implementing lunges into your training regime improves balance and stability which are key for navigating the slopes.

Heel Elevated Hack Squat –

A guaranteed winning exercise to set yourself up for better performance and increased endurance this ski season.

This heel elevated squat allows for greater squat depth to be achieved for exercisers without the prerequisite biomechanics and mobility to do so during the conventional squat - thereby also allowing for greater muscle fibre recruitment.

In addition to this, the various smaller muscles located in the hips such as the adductors and abductors also play a greater role during the heel elevated squat.