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Shape up for ski season (if you haven't already)
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Skier carving a turn in Grand Motte—Tignes, France
With Colorado's first official winter storm came a rush of ski area openings, and with it the reminder that some of us aren't quite into shape to hit the slopes yet! Skiing and snowboarding require fast, strong legs, and a solid midsection. Here are a few short tips to get back in shape.
Downhill skiing or snowboarding requires intense muscular strength in the quadriceps, hamstrings, and gluteal muscles of the legs. To control it all, one requires a solid midsection and stabilizing muscles. Here is a circuit you can do at your local gym to increase leg strength, balance, and cardiovascular health.
Using a 35# dumbbell (or less depending on what you're comfortable with) stand on one leg and lower it to the ground in front of you. Bend your knee and keep your back straight, this is a single leg dumbbell deadlift. Twenty five repetitions on each side.
Next, stand on both legs in a wide stance with the dumbbell in between your feet. Squat down to pick it up, and explode into standing straight up, snatching the dumbbell to a shoulder. From there, press the dumbbell over your head, slowly lower it back down to the ground. Twenty five reps on each side of the dumbbell clean and press.
From there, grab a 16" or 24" box, and complete fifty box jumps. Jump or step down to finish one rep.
Next, fifty forward lunges, twenty five reps on each leg. You should be feeling the burn now!
To finish it off, jump on the rowing machine on setting three, and crank out two sprints of 500 meters with a one minute break in between. Good athletes will be rowing a 1:40 or 1:30. As long as you're feeling it, that's the goal.
Congratulations! Circuit training is one of the best ways to increase muscle tone, responsiveness, increase cardiovascular health, and get yourself ready to hit the slopes.
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