Keep it cool on the slopes
By Jay Blahnik
If you ski or snowboard, this is a great time of year for you! For fans of these winter sports, nothing is better than feeling the cold wind across your face and seeing the white snow under your feet.
But don’t let your enthusiasm backfire. Take these precautions to stay comfortable and safe on the slopes:
1. Warm-up.
It’s cold out there and so are your muscles, so take a few easy runs down the mountain before working your way up to greater challenges.
2. Keep moving.
Don’t stand still in long lift lines. Keep your body warm with a shuffle movement if you are on skis, or squats if you are snowboarding.
3. Hit your peak at the right time.
Save your most aggressive runs for the middle of the day when you are warm and not too tired. The risk of injury is greater when you are fatigued.
4. Stay hydrated.
Even though the temperatures are cool, you’re still working up a sweat so be sure to replenish your fluids throughout the day.
5. Stretch.
At the end of the day, stretch out your tired calves, hamstrings, quads and glutes in front of a nice fire at the lodge.
6. Keep in shape off the slopes, too.
You’ve got weeks of skiing left this winter, so keep your body in shape for the snow. Of course, the best training is actually done right on the slopes, practicing the skills. However, exercising away from the powder will help you get stronger so that your body is physically able to handle the tougher runs.
Here are a couple exercises that are particularly good for skiers and snowboarders. They require no equipment, and can be done almost anywhere you have the space.
*ONE LEG SQUAT: Stand sideways near a wall or the back of a chair. Lift one leg off the floor while holding onto the wall or chair with one hand for balance. Bend the standing knee and push the hips back as if you were going to sit in an imaginary chair. Go as low as you comfortably can without straining your knee or losing balance, and pause in the lowest position for a few seconds. Return to the one-leg-standing position and pause for a few seconds. Repeat 8 – 12 times on each leg. The lower you go and the longer you hold the paused positions, the harder the exercise will be. You can make it even more challenging by letting go of your balance anchor (wall or chair) for the entire exercise or for just a few seconds in either of the paused positions.
*JUMP SQUAT TURN: Stand with your feet close together, bend your knees and hold a half-squat position. In one movement, straighten your knees and jump a few inches off the ground while executing a quarter-turn jump. Land the jump quietly by bending the knees to decelerate (use your legs like shock absorbers). Hold the bent-knee position for a few seconds, and do three more jump turns until you are back to the position you started. Then repeat the series turning the other direction. Keep repeating until your legs are fatigued, and then take a short break. Perform a few sets of this exercise in a row. The lower you go and the higher you jump, the harder the exercise will be. The more you “cushion” your landing on each jump, the stronger you get at handling the bumps in the snow when you go down the mountain.
