Hey, my name is Vincent and I’m a Snowminds instructor.
We have made a training program that will help you get ready for the season with Snowminds and perform at your best level and therefore get a good start to the season. When I was on my season the first week was really tough. Because of the lack of preparation I did before going on the trip, after the first two days I was so sore and my whole body was aching, so getting through the week was a big challenge. This meant that I couldn’t perform at my best during the first week. We at Snowminds want to make sure that you don’t do the same mistake and not prepare for the season.
In this training program, we will go through the essential exercises that help you develop your skiing and give you a good base for a season in the slopes.
Exercise 1 (Warm up)
In the first exercise, we will warm up our joints in the knees hips and groin. Separation in your lower body is a key element when perfecting your skiing, therefore, it’s important that your joints and ligaments are flexible, mobile and able to obtain force. The most common injuries happen in the joints, knowing from experience (I tore my ACL during my season and was injured for 6 weeks)
Knee roll
- Clockwise for 15 seconds
- Counterclockwise for 15 seconds
- Both for 10 seconds
Hip roll
- Clockwise for 15 seconds
- Counterclockwise for 15 seconds
Groin
- 10 reps both legs from inside to outside – from outside to inside
Exercise 2
In the second exercise, we will do a basic squat, this is for strengthening your lower body. Having strong muscles around your knees is important to note that you keep a good posture and body position. This position and movement is used in skiing during your turns, and your muscles have to be able to obtain the force when skiing.
Squat
- Keep your feet at the width of your shoulders.
- Slowly bend your knees, hips, and ankles, lowering until you reach a 90-degree angle.
- 15-20 times 2-3 reps
Exercise 3
The side jump will help your balance and strengthen your lower body and core. This move is designed for you to become more agile and explosive, and challenge your joints stability and keeping your body stable and in the right position when moving from side to side.
- Keep your feet at the width of your shoulders
- Land in the same position as your starting position
- Start slow and focus on balance and staying in the right position
- Before jumping make sure your in the right position
- When you feel comfortable with this move try to accelerate and be more explosive
- 20 Jumps 10-second break, 10 jumps with a faster and more explosive pace
Exercise 4
Plank and Side plank is a move that strengthens your whole core, it’s very important that your upper body and core is strong. It will help you to keep a good and stable position when skiing.
- Make sure that your whole body is aligned
- Stay calm and focus on keeping your body straight
- 60 seconds both in normal and side plank
- 30-second break and then do it again with a 45-second set
- Note side plank you have to do both sides
Exercise 5
Pistol squat is very good for your balance and for stability in your joints. Once you find that this move is going smoothly, your in a good place of your training.
- Keep your eyes forward find the balance
- Focus on keeping your body stable and in the right position
- When you feel comfortable in your position, switch to the other leg and try to do a smooth exchange
- Do it in 10 reps 5 each leg and 3 sets with a 10-20 second break in between sets
This training program will really help you get a head start on the season, it’s an easy program that you can do from home. Always after completing this program, you will want to stretch properly, this is really important to do after exercising. Otherwise, your muscles will not heal correctly and your movement will be limited the next day and it will increase the chance of injuries.
When you are on your season take a ten-minute stretching session after your day in the mountain, trust me your skiing will get much better if you heal your muscles in the right way 🙂
Thank you for training with us and we hope to see you all in the snow!
Read more about doing a season as a ski or snowboard instructor here and please write to us at [email protected] if you have any questions!
Have a great day!!