Best Ways to get Ski Fit

Stretching may not improve performance, however joint range mobilisation, particularly for skiing, is a positive step, and involves no stretching. When carried out effectively, it is an aerobic exercise.

Since Lactic Acid levels in muscles return to their pre-loading level about an hour after exercise, walking about after skiing, is IMV a pleasant activity, and no more. Any Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness is probably due to micro tears in the muscle afflicted. To prevent this, be stronger and aerobically fitter, at the start of the season!

I find copias amounts of Gluhwein eases post skiing muscle pain but can cause the on set of quite severe head pain.

At the moment I'm finding three hour spells on a button lift driven dryslope very good at kicking the leg muscles into line and at the same time pulling wrist, elbow and shoulder joints out of line :D

ellistine wrote:I find copias amounts of Gluhwein eases post skiing muscle pain but can cause the on set of quite severe head pain.

At the moment I'm finding three hour spells on a button lift driven dryslope very good at kicking the leg muscles into line and at the same time pulling wrist, elbow and shoulder joints out of line :D

For the dehydration.....water....lemonade.....any soft drink :lol:

For the dryslope bodily abuse....well, what did you expect :lol:

Seriously, core strength training will help take the strain.

Never let anyone try to tell you that you don't suffer for your sport :D

ellistine wrote:I find copias amounts of Gluhwein eases post skiing muscle pain but can cause the on set of quite severe head pain.

At the moment I'm finding three hour spells on a button lift driven dryslope very good at kicking the leg muscles into line and at the same time pulling wrist, elbow and shoulder joints out of line :D

Intrestingly, My local hill has started more people who made the USA ski team than any other ski area. Much of this success is attributed to the high speed tow rope on the youth training slalom course. It runs three times faster than the regular lift (not high speed). I've used it a few times and it's thigh burn monster.

Trencher

attributed to the high speed tow rope on the youth training slalom course

I think ours is the oposite - very slow but the artificial surface creates some major drag, especially as the water misters aren't so hot in that area. Plus it takes about 60 seconds to get up and and about 5 seconds to get down. That's a lot of time spent clenching your thighs together when you're there for 3 hours. Blimey when you think about it at the very least it's 2 hours of constant thigh tension - Feel them muscles!

There is a helpful and straightforward article on ski fitness on realbuzz.com. You can access it easily via google. Enter 'Are you fit for skiing?' by Mike Searle.

Geoff Smith

Just going back to the stretching discussion

I am not an expert and can only talk from experience.

I have done a vast amount of sport in my time at a reasonable level as well. including Athletics, Squash, Badminton and Kung fu which I studied for many many years many times a week. In my experience stretching has been an invalueable tool for protecting me from injury. I can tell you that I have tried to kick from cold and injured myself on at least 2 occasions but had never had an injury of that type when i have stretched well first.

Admittidly the typical skier may not be that flexible though and so may find stretching a real chore and if done wrong it can cause injuries but if you are sensible and consistent I believe it will be of great benefit.

My opinion

Max Cottle wrote:
Admittidly the typical skier may not be that flexible though and so may find stretching a real chore and if done wrong it can cause injuries but if you are sensible and consistent I believe it will be of great benefit.

My opinion

And if you read the studies you'll see they include professional athletes across a number of disciplines and in all cases covered supervised regimes. The research proves increased injury risk and decreased performance in all cases, the suggestion this might only affect the general public is entirely unsupported by the data.

Talking with my physio' they question at what time this was ever any different, the recent research might contradict some folklore but it doesn't really say anything that wasn't known all along.

People like their little rituals and skiers are no exception, in fact they're rather worse than many. The desire to pose around at the top of lift proving how hardcore they are explains much of the desire to stretch in my opinion :lol: