What’s your dryland ski training routine? If your answer mostly involves “pint-lifting” at your favorite après-ski spot, you have your work cut out for you. Either way, it’s never too early (or too late) to start getting in shape for ski season. In fact, getting and staying fit for skiing is a year-round effort if you want to avoid injury, improve your skiing, and get the most out of every ski day.
We asked pro freeskier Grete Eliassen and former U.S. Ski Team mogul skier Heather McPhie, a two-time Olympian, to build an exercise routine you can do at home or in the gym. These exercises are simple but highly effective leg and core strengtheners that belong in any ski fitness routine.
Check out the exercises below to improve your ski fitness and make the most of every moment on the hill this season. As with any new exercise program, check with your doctor first, start with lighter weights or fewer reps, and focus on good form.
1. Band Walks
Here are Grete’s instructions:
“Band walks can be incorporated into your ski training and ski workouts. Mini-band walks target the gluteus medius and stabilizing muscles of the hips. This exercise is extremely important to skiers for proper landing technique and jump mechanics on the mountain.
“To complete this exercise, start with a mini-band wrapped around your ankles. You’ll need at least five yards of space to move sideways.
“Stay low in a quarter-squat position, turn your knees out, and take a big sideways step followed by a half step with the other foot.
“Repeat the sideways stepping motion to the left for five yards and then to the right for another five yards. Keep your hips level and your eyes up. If it’s working, your hips will be burning. Start with two sets of 20 steps in each direction.”
2. Back Extensions and Dumbbell Rows
Here’s Grete’s how-to:
“Most athletes think of their ‘core’ as their six-pack abdominal muscles. However, it’s also important to train your glutes and lower back when you’re working on your core. I do the back extension with dumbbell row in the preseason to target my multifidus, glutes, and lower back. This exercise trains the entire posterior chain.
“Start with a back extension to target your lower back and glutes. Next, squeeze your shoulder blades together, bring the dumbbells up to your sides, and then lower them in a controlled motion. Start with three sets of six repetitions with medium to heavy dumbbells.”
3. Weighted Single-Leg Box Squats
Heather explains how:
“Weighted single-leg box squats are a phenomenal exercise I use to develop explosive strength and dynamic balance during the preseason, and you can do them at home to prepare for ski season. This exercise relies heavily on the glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, and core. It’s great for skiing because it requires eccentric strength (lengthening the muscle while it contracts) on the way down and good balance and control on the way up.
“On one leg, slowly lower yourself down to the box. It’s important that your knee doesn’t cave in toward the midline of your body. Keep your head up and chest out, and push through your heel, focusing on driving with your glute. Start with three sets of eight repetitions per leg.”
4. Overhead Medicine Ball Throws
Heather’s take:
“I rely on this preseason exercise to build explosive strength in the quads, glutes, hamstrings, and lower back. Overhead medicine ball throws are an alternative to power cleans or weighted squat jumps. They demand forceful triple extension of the hips, knees, and ankles, the primary sequence used to jump and produce power. This exercise is critical for explosiveness, which lets us go into a turn, push out with a lot of force, and carry speed into the next turn.
“Holding a six-pound medicine ball from underneath, I squat down and lower the ball between my legs. Then I throw the ball up as explosively as I can, focusing on a big jump and pushing my feet through the floor. Start with four sets of four repetitions.” Do this one outdoors or somewhere with plenty of overhead clearance.
5. Lateral Box Jumps
Heather explains lateral box jumps:
“Lateral box jumps are a great preseason exercise that I use to work on my explosiveness in the moguls. Try this exercise at home to bash bumps better next time you’re on the mountain. It involves quick, explosive jumps while adding the challenge of a change in direction. The goal is to maintain excellent body control while quickly jumping from side to side and up and down on the box.
“Jump up onto the box, then jump down and land on the far side. In a swift but controlled motion, repeat the same steps in the opposite direction. Concentrate on spending as little time on the ground as possible and getting in as many reps as you can in 30 seconds. Start with three 30-second sets.”
Start with a low box and work your way up as your strength and confidence improve. Now, let’s go skiing.
