burning thighs after about 30 to 40 mins of skiing

Yes I think it is certainly to do with getting towards the old 50 years!
I only started skiing in my mid 40's and find my legs get really tied.
Before my last holiday I went to the dry ski slope every week for 3 hours, for about 12 weeks. This definitely helped, as I had then used some of the muscles needed. Trying to keep this up now I am back and hopefully I will get fitter as time goes on. That's the plan anyway, but I'm not sure you can fight the age thing!
But I do enjoy it as I go with my son and it is some quality time.

When I first learnt to ski last year, my thighs were absolutely killing me by lunchtime (and I struggled to move on a morning with painful calves.) This year, I made an effort to get fit and a lot of hours on a cross trainer really paid off – no thigh problems at all and very minor calf ache for the first couple of days.

pavelski wrote:
That does not mean bend over shoulders forward. You see this often with beginners who bend at waist with rear end ready to sit on pot!

This made me smile as having seen a video this was me exactly last year. A lot of practice and several hours of lessons later I’m definitely getting better, though still have a massive amount to learn. One of these days I may be brave and try to put some of our holiday video up, (as a how NOT to ski…) if I can a) learn how to edit it and b) figure out how to post it.

One other thing that also finally clicked, was how to un-weight my skis properly, rather than trying to move my whole body up and down, and closely resembling Tigger on skis…. This may also explain why I was so knackered last time.

That sounds very intense training Lynn!

Not too bad really (and that is coming from someone who hates exercise if it's not something I particularly enjoy!) I tried to do about 30 minutes a day for about 2 months before I went away - made myself get up a bit earlier and exercised whilst watching the BBC breakfast news!!

Definitely worth the effort though

Can anyone tell me what are the best exercises to do before skiing to get the legs in shape? the trainers at my gym, who don't ski, all say one thing, the old-timers say 'squat against a wall', other say just pound out the miles on the bike... ideas?

Timeforabeer,
I have an excellent little ski exercise book which I got free from Inghams a few years ago. It's called 'fit to ski' by Dr Steve Ingham and I think you can buy it.

It has graduated exercises according to the number of weeks you've been training for. After doing the exercises for about 8 weeks I had no trouble ski-ing with sore legs or anything else.

It has a mixture of general exercises like jogging on the spot, squats, lunges etc. together with specialist exercises like side shuffles and rotating jumps plus balancing ones like the double footed rotating lift, and lots of stretching ones. It also advises running or cycling or whatever as well.

Hope this helps,

Ally

Hey,

Pounding the pedals on the bike is always a top option - especially hitting the dreaded hills.

Obviously as AllyG has said above, the usal squats and lunges apply - and always will. You can get really creative with all this stuff though and start to combine leg strenth manouvers with balance and coordination exercises.

If your always changing the exercise the body will never get used to one specific drill and will be trained to adapt more easily. A skill which greatly enchances skiing abiliy at any level, as terrain and conditions can never be fully controlled.

You could try:
One legged squats whilst closing an eye (then this could be progressed onto a Bosu ball or similar product)

You can do your usual squat sets and start lifting your heel off the ground on the descent/ascent of one of the sets.

Box Jumps are always a good one

Hold a one legged squat position as low as possible and try to catch a ball in one hand with the opposite eye closed etc.

You could create your own little circuit and play around with different ideas. This way you can make your training more creative and interesting, learn what works etc.

There are loads of cool ideas floating around the internet, I suggest you take what inspires you and what you'll be motivated to do and incorporate it with a standard cycle training programme or similar.

Oli

I use the bosu all the time ...great for core strength ...try holding a weight (10-20kg)in front of you and swinging it from side to side arms outstretched pushing the balance from foot to foot..but be careful with one leg squats till you get fitter ..they can put a strain on the ligaments round the knee...keep on changing the exercises as the muscles can get used to them and not develop