SnowFit (Part 2)

This blog follows on from Part 1 of the SnowFit blog, which was published last week and aims to identify some of the key factors that must be considered when planning a specific strength and conditioning programme for skiing and snowboarding.

Winter terrain

Few sports share the unpredictable nature of the winter terrain that skiers and snowboarders are exposed to on the slopes. The term ‘unpredictable’ is used loosely. Whilst we expect the snow to be slippery and somewhat unstable, when you look down at a run from higher ground, it’s difficult to determine which areas are snow, or ice, until you are already travelling down the slope at high speeds. Throw camouflaged undulations into the mix and it is clear that instability is one of the major issues that has to be factored into a snow specific strength and conditioning programme. For those of us that don’t live close to ski resorts all year round, we have to think outside of the box on how we can best prepare the body in the gym for the physical demands of skiing and snowboarding. Here is a run down on some of the key components of fitness that we will be addressing on the upcoming SnowFit course.

Stability – as mentioned above, the body experiences rapid changes in balance whilst travelling at high speeds down the slopes. It can be trained to tolerate greater degrees of instability by progressively overloading the proprioceptive demands of key movement patterns. In doing so, the sensory receptors in the feet and ankles become more accustomed to dynamic shifts in balance, reducing the time taken to stabilise the body.

Strength – Both skiing and snowboarding require a huge amount of strength in the legs, hips and core. Greater strength = greater efficiency. It is important that a strength programme for skiing and snowboarding doesn’t just focus on bi-lateral movements in the sagittal plane with a consistent tempo. The physical demands on the slopes require independent control and strength on both sides of the body within all planes of movement and thus the programme needs to include uni-lateral strength exercises moving through changes of direction. Futhermore, there is great value in incorporating reactive strength work in the programme, not just controlled tempo work.

Agility – The ability to change direction and body position quickly and efficiently is the key to success on the slopes. The ability to do so, not only requires stability and strength, but also speed of movement. Incorporating agility based exercises in a strength and conditioning programme has great value for skiers and snowboarders.

Muscular Endurance – Simply maintaining key positions (even without all the explosive turns and jumps) whilst skiing and snowboarding is extremely taxing on the musculature of the legs, hips and core. Therefore, any training programme should overload these muscle groups in similar positions for prolonged periods in order to enhance fatigue resistant qualities and ultimately increase work capacity.

Power Endurance – Power (speed x strength) is a popular component of fitness to work on the gym these days, via means such as Olympic Weightlifting and plyometrics. Power endurance, however, is less popular and perhaps a little misunderstood. Power endurance can be defined as ‘the ability to execute multiple explosive movements over a longer period of time’. This component of fitness is important in skiing and snowboarding given the volume of rapid changes of direction and jumps, particularly for proficient athletes taking on the more challenging runs and travelling at higher speeds. 

Cardiovascular Stamina – as mentioned in Part 1 of this blog, the average skier and snowboarder will typically spend a minimum of 4 hours per day on the slopes, every day for up to a week. Some will obviously spend a lot longer than this! Given the involvement of the large muscle groups in the legs and hips, the demand for oxygenated blood is high, thus the cardiovascular system gets a pretty good workout whilst manoeuvring on difficult winter terrains. None more so than when cross country skiing, which requires much more involvement from the upper body on flat sections, resulting in a greater cardiac output. Leading up to a winter holiday it would be beneficial to also include some longer cardiovascular conditioning workouts.

Throughout January, February and March, Crossfit Leyland will host SnowFit, a strength and conditioning course designed specifically for Skiers and Snowboarders. The course will be led by Accredited Strength and Conditioning Coach, Greg Yates. The 4 week course can be started at any point between Sunday 6^th January – Sunday 31^st March 2019 and is intended to fit around various winter holiday times.

When? Every Sunday 11am – 12 noon (6th January – 31st March 2019)

Where? CrossFit Leyland, Lancashire, PR26 7QN

Who? The course is suitable for all regardless of ability, or experience. Both members and non-members of CrossFit Leyland are welcome to attend

What’s included?

1 x strength and conditioning session per week (supervised)

2 x prescribed homework sessions per week (unsupervised)

What’s the cost? £80 (non-members)

How to sign up? Click me to sign up 🙂