The 6 best cross training exercises to get you ready for ski season (and prevent injuries!)
Ski season is officially right around the corner! And here at Upward, we make it our mission to focus on pre-season conditioning and cross training, so by the time the first powder day comes along, you’ve got the strength, stamina, and mobility to make the most of it.
The majority of ski injuries we see happen in the lower body (with some exceptions), due to higher forces through the knee joint. It’s important to up-train the stabilizing muscles (quads, glutes, hamstrings, deep core) surrounding the knees to help keep the pelvis level and maintain knee alignment through various conditions and terrain. After all, you never know when you may catch a patch of ice, or need to make a sharp turn unexpectedly!
With these things in mind, here are the best 6 exercises we recommend:
1. Thrusters
Equipment: dumbells/kettlebells (8-20lb)
Movement: hold weights at your shoulders, then squat with control, followed by a quick, explosive stand up, using momentum to bring the weights up overhead. Repeat!
2. Walking Lunges with Rotation
Equipment: none OR dumbell/kettlebell
Movement: hold weight at midline, then lunge forward, bringing your back knee towards the ground, and rotate torso with the weight towards front knee. Return to standing, pushing off front foot, then repeat on opposite side.
3. Walkout Planks
Equipment: none
Movement: start from standing, then fold forward so your palms touch the floor. Start walking your hands forward and bending your knees until you are in a high plank position with neutral spine and deep core engaged. Walk hands back (reverse movement) and repeat.
4. Skater Jumps (single or double leg)
Equipment: none
Movement: start on one leg, then push off and jump laterally to the other leg about 2 hip widths apart, landing softly into a shallow single leg squat. Hop back and forth with control. Can also be performed with two feet jumping at once!
5. Box Jump Downs
Equipment: 12-24in box
Movement: stand on top of a 12-24in platform. Place one foot forward as if stepping off the block, then jump straight down into a squat, keeping knees in line with feet. Stand up and repeat. Want more challenge? Try this with a single leg landing!
6. Slider 3 Way Lunges
Equipment: sliders (washcloths or paper plates work too!)
Movement: stand on one foot with your knee slightly bend and weight shifted back towards your heel. The opposite foot will have the slider under it. Slowly squat on the non-slider side while the other leg slides into a lateral lunge, then a posterior lunge, then a curtsy lunge (diagonal backwards across midline). Repeat!
Guidelines:
Give yourself at least 6-8 weeks (if possible) to build up this routine, as it takes about this long to start making strength gains
Always start with a dynamic warm-up for 5-10 minutes before starting your workout
Start with 45 seconds on, 20 seconds off, then build to 60/30, then 75/30 when it starts to feel less challenging. Also, adding weights/resistance bands is a great option to up the intensity!
Got more specific questions? Shoot us an email or schedule a session with one of our PT Docs!
