How to Get in Shape for Ski Season

Audra: Skiing and snowboarding, they are not for couch potatoes at all. And if you're planning on hitting the slope this winter, you better be in shape. We’ve checked out a winter sports boot camp at Pico Mountain in Vermont all to learn what you really need to do before ever stopping on a ski. Amity: There’s nothing more freeing than flying down a mountain but, if you're not in top shape that—in the slopes can come to a painful land. When we found that a lot of people here are weekend warriors and still go out, hit the slopes or go hiking of something really hard and then pay for it Monday or Tuesday. Audra: So how do you get in shape for ski season? Amity: Big muscles are being used. Body weight transfer, legs— Audra: But one way is through the winter sports prep class taught by Amity Robichaud at the Pico sports center in Vermont. [Demonstration] The high energy class takes you through a variety of sports related exercises getting your heart pumping and your muscles in gear. Amity: Coming down superstar, bump, bump, bump. You’ve got to absorb into the ball, tummies are tight, pop! And absorb, we focus mostly on leg strength, stamina, balance and then also cardio and core training. Audra: Keep those teacups on your shoulders and you can take a step out. [Demonstration] Both feet, two feet. Now you're skiing, watch your shoulders. Audra: And if you can’t get to class, you can easily recreate these exercises at home Amity: We got to skate it out. We’re changing chairless. We got to go all the way around the base lodge. You can invest in a fit ball for $10.00. And you can invest in to some exercise tubing. We like to use rugs or paper plates. You can skate on the floor. Your back on the hill, you're trying to catch up with your friends. Audra: Just make sure to vary the workout and never come to a full rest until you're done. Amity: They go from the ball to the band to the rugs back on the treadmill for a minutes and keep rotating through some of the activity changes just like the train does in our winter sport activities. Audra: And the benefits of a winter sports workout? Amity: You spend less time sore. Every turn you make, you're going to realize ic an use that core not my whole body weight to throw it around. Audra: But ski doesn’t end at the gym. Once you’re at the base lodge, you need to warm up before hitting the lift. John: So as I'm skating, I step to the side and stride. I skate to go small and tall with my flexing efforts. Audra: Ski instructor John Lamb says skating to the lift warms your core and gets you ready for that first run. But he says that you might want to save the stretching for when you're already warmed up. John: You know at the top of the lifts—of the best place to stretch your legs, your muscles maybe cold from riding the lift. Audra: Instead, wait until you’re halfway down the mountain to stretch. John: For a great time to just stretch in it and hold it there for a minute, moment. You're going to switch. And so it does to do it slowly to your limit and then just hang out for a moment. I’ll leave some of that lactic acid buildup, stretching it one way. Moving yourself the other way. Audra: By getting in ski shape and warming up right, you’ll have a better day on the mountain and a better morning back at work too. John: We turn our legs. We tip our skis. We bend our knees. Audra: And the ankles. John: Smile please.