Get Fit for Skiing - Episode 1

...you’ve jumped out of bed on the first morning of your ski holiday and ripped open the curtains to dazzling blue skies and oodles of powder. You’re greeted by a smiling chalet host who loads your plate up with bacon, eggs, mushrooms and tomatoes to fuel an action-packed day blasting around the slopes, covering the mountain from top to bottom and squeezing in one last run as the lifts close. That evening you collapse, weary but exhilarated, into bed, ready to do it all again the next day until….

You open your eyes and ache in places you didn’t know could ache. There’s a mysterious cramping as you try to drag your leaden legs out of bed, resigned to a day of hobbling round the bunny slopes as the kids run rings around you.

Sound familiar? Thankfully there’s an easy solution. We’re lucky to have an expert in the field onboard to share some easy exercises with VIP SKI customers. Mark Zawadski has worked with the GB ski team in Austria as a rehabilitation and conditioning specialist. Now based in London, he has a particular interest in the biomechanics involved in skiing and has built up a reputation as the go-to man for skiing-related injuries. His ethos is based on prevention rather than cure, and the exercises which he has shared with us will help you to finish your holiday feeling as fresh and strong as you did on day one.

We’ll be posting simple exercise videos regularly throughout the winter, so keep checking back for new ideas. Today we’re starting with an exercise specifically focused on stabilising the knee for more control on tricky pistes and moguls:

"The Bulgarian split squat, performed with the back foot on a swiss ball, will increase stability of the knee, improve force generation from the glutes and improve proprioception and strength of the entire lower body. This will allow you to enhance your ski performance and reduce the changes of injury."

Most of us only take one ski holiday each year and fitting in a bit of pre-holiday preparation can make all the difference in preventing unnecessary aches and pains. As such a high-impact sport, skiing activates muscles which lie dormant for the other 51 weeks of the year. Your legs will thank you for planning ahead and incorporating a few ski-specific exercises into your routine in the weeks leading up to your winter holiday. Why not get the family together and spend ten minutes before bed running through a programme of stretches and strengthening drills?

If you’re interested in making the most of Mark’s expertise, then he has offered a complimentary 60 minute ski conditioning consultation and assessment for VIP SKI customers.