The big running season is over and now the snow is falling. It’s almost time to put the sticks on the feet and slide down a mountain! Fun on top of fun! It might be a good idea to prepare myself as best as I can before I get out there. Here are some thoughts on how I might do that. Maybe they’ll help inform your own ski conditioning strategy.

Exercises should look a lot like skiing.

Some sort of squat should probably be employed, but a conventional barbell front or back squat may not be adequate. I discuss more of my thinking on this here and here.
Tri-plane movement must be considered. For example:
Look at those joint angles. That is no mere squat.
- My hips will go back and forth between flexion + internal rotation + abduction on the downhill leg then more flexion + relative externall rotation + adduction on the uphill leg. The hip, knee and ankle joints must move well and the corresponding muscles must lengthen and contract repeatedly.
- In addition to that hip movement, my thoracic spine should stay aimed downhill so I’ll be doing a lot of rotation through the trunk. Like the leg muscles, my trunk muscles must be able to manage the repeated loading that will happen.
- I need adequate range of motion and control of that range as I move downslope.

Energy system conditioning

Good movement is massively important to good skiing. Adequate stamina is also a major consideration. I want to be able to last for a while and be able to have fun all day. If I fatigue too soon then it’s likely my movement skills will be compromised and I could get injured.

I have a good base of general endurance but I need to make it a bit more specific to skiing. A typical ski run involves powerful turning and management of variable terrain, sometimes for several minutes. Then I rest on the chair lift for several minutes and do it again. This cycle may repeat itself for several hours. Also, alpine skiing involves a lot more knee flexion/extension compared to running. My quads typically bear the brunt of all that knee movement so I’ll need to condition them appropriately. How will I do that?

Ski circuits

My plan is to put together several exercises that will target the muscles and movement patterns that are vital to skiing and I intend to them at a pace and for a duration that affects the appropriate energy systems. Here are some examples:

My most recent workout put together some conventional strength exercises and put them together with some ski-specific exercises in a super-set. It went like this:

Super-set 1

barbell clean + front squat: 1+5 (did as many reps as possible on the last set); two warm-up sets
pull-ups: 7 reps
1-leg pivots aka balance reaches x 10/10 reps to each side; An example:
Repeat 3-5 times as fast as possible.

Super-set 2

Bench Press: 5 x 3 sets (did as many as possible on the last set); two warm-up sets
Various 3D jumps with the ViPR x 20 reps; Here’s an example of one version of the exercise using a sandbag instead of a ViPR:
Repeat 3-5 times as fast as possible

Super-set 3

cross court sprints on the basketball court x 4
odd-angle medicine ball squats; something like this:
Repeat 3-5 times as fast as possible.

There are lots of possibilities out there!

The ski season is very (VERY! VERY!) close at hand and appropriate preparation is in order, so here’s a plan I put together. Several capacities are key to good skiing performance: endurance, flexibility/mobility, strength/power, and power-endurance.

The periodized plan is composed of three four-week training blocks with each block separated by one week off. The first two training blocks consist of three gym workouts per week. The final block has two gym workouts per week. The week off should allow for thorough rest and recuperation prior to beginning the next block.

Emphasis is placed on training a certain capacity in each block, but the other capacities are trained as well so that nothing is lost as the plan progresses. For instance, though strength is emphasized in the first block, endurance and balance training also takes place. The skiing performance capacities I’ve addressed and my thoughts on each are as follows:
1.   Endurance (already established over the summer through running and biking): I must have the endurance to stay on the mountain all day at altitude. The endurance base will be maintained over the course of the plan.
2.   Strength: Skiing is very thigh-dominant thus I must have very strong legs to ski well. A strong trunk and upper body is essential for powerful turns.
3.   Mobility/Stability (two sides of the same coin): Effective ski technique requires tremendous hip and leg mobility during turns, especially at high speeds. While the legs and hips must be mobile, the trunk typically must be rock-solid and stable during turns.
4.   Power: Strength must be transfered to power. It’s not enough to be strong and slow to ski well. I must be able to express strength at high speeds.
5.   Power-endurance (Here’s where the training gets very specific to skiing.): Skiing requires one to be powerful over and over again for several minutes. Then the skier typically gets a rest of several minutes while he or she rides back up to the top of the mountain. So it’s not enough to be powerful once and then rest.

Here’s the plan:

Block 1: Strength & Mobility
- Strength Day
  - front squat: 3-6 reps, 4-8 sets
  - bench press: 3-6 reps, 4-8 sets
  - face pull: 8-12 reps, 3-4 sets
- Balance Day
  - single-leg squats from a box
    - heel reach forward
    - toe reach back
    - toe reach forward
    - rotational squat
  - single-leg bent over dumbbell row
  - single-arm overhead dumbbell press with frontal plane hip drive
- Mobility Day
  - multi-directional lunges with varied arm drives
  - dips
  - rotating cable pulls from various angles
- Endurance: running and biking throughout the week
- One week off
Block 2: Power
- Day 1
  - multi-planar jumps/hops: 6-10 reps, 3-4 sets
  - barbell clean to front squat: 3-5 reps, 4-6 sets
- Day 2
  - Kettlebell swings: 8 reps, 3 sets
  - Kettlebell swipes or chops: 5-8 reps, 3 sets
- Day 3
  - long jumps: 6 reps, 3 sets
  - dumbbell or barbell push press: 3-5 reps, 4-6 sets
- Endurance: same as block one
- One week off
Block 3: Power endurance
Due to the high stress of these workouts, only two are performed per week.
- Day 1:
  - barbell complex
  - clean
  - front squat
  - bent row
  - Romanian deadlift
  - floor press
  - followed by multi-planar jumps/hops
- Day 2:
  - Kettlebell complex (may vary widely)
    - snatch
    - clean
    - chop
    - press
    - swing
  - running or rowing intervals

Denver Fitness Journal

All Things Health and Fitness by Kyle Norman, MS, CSCS, FMS, RRCA Running Coach

ski conditioning

Thoughts on Ski Conditioning