Warm-Up Exercises for Skiing
A proper ski warmup can make the difference between a great day on the slopes, and a day spent in the lodge whining about the cold or nursing an injury. A well-designed routine unties knotted muscles, dress rehearses the edging and movements of skiing, and sends the blood flowing through your muscles.
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Playing Footsies
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When you ski, your feet and ankles endure hours encased in big, clunky tight plastic boots. Ironically, precise ski turns rely on foot and ankle mobility. Before booting up, spend about five minutes flexing and pointing your toes and circling your ankles. Some ski instructors teach an exercise called the toe arpeggio. Start by lifting the big toe of one foot, then lift each subsequent toe one at a time, holding them up. When you get to the little toe, lower it first, then follow through with the other four toes. Repeat three times on each side.
Take a Stance
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The alpine ski stance makes you feel as if you're falling down the hill. No wonder it gives some people the jitters. Your intuition tells you to shift your weight back toward your heels and lean into the hill, but don't trust it. The backseat stance, as it's called, puts your weight on your ski tails, which then become the turn initiators. Tail-pushing turns look awkward and lack the control required for making precise ski turns. An ideal ski warmup helps you find the proper ski stance.
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Stance Enhancers
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This exercise lets you practice an athletic ski stance before you hit the slopes. Put on your ski boots, and stand about two or three feet from a wall, so that the tips of your fingers barely touch it. Keep your heels on the floor and fall forward, catching yourself with your flattened hands. Push away and repeat. Your body should fall forward in one piece, without dragging your tail and sticking out your butt. By keeping your heels down, you also warm up your calves.
Dynamic Warmups
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Static stretching was once synonymous with warming up, but that's very 1970s. Skiing requires dynamic flexibility, or flexibility in motion. Go outside in your ski boots and spend about five minutes performing knee lifts, heel-to-butt kicks and leg swings. To warm up your hips and back, plant your poles in the snow, then hold the tops and step back until you reach a flat-back position. Tilt your pelvis to round your back, then elongate your back to flatten it. Push your hips to the left and angle your poles to the right. Switch directions. Continue the hip and back warmups for about two minutes.
Ski-Specific Warmups
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The Professional Ski Instructors of America advises an on-slope dress rehearsal using the edging and rotational movements of skiing. Stand in the snow in your boots, flex your knees and tip your feet so that you balance on the little toe of one foot and the big toe of the other. Flatten your feet, switch directions, and continue from side to side for about one minute.Then, flatten your feet, stand tall and hop from side to side, balancing on one foot at a time. Next, put on your skis, flex your knees, press your shins against your boots, and jump. With a correct stance, you'll be able to do this. If your weight is on your heels, you won't. Perform three jumps.
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References
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