04 Aug The 5-Minute Ski Trip Workout
Sometimes injuries come about simply because we are doing an activity that our body isn’t as familiar with. This can be true when we get on the slopes as well, especially because it is a form of exercise that we only do seasonally. If you are preparing to hit the lifts soon but need to avoid hurting the next day, consider implementing these three exercises to enable you to feel great. Men’sHealth magazine talked with Ed Laskowski and these were his suggestions:
• Do one minute portions of jumping side to side. It has less to do with whether it’s a workout or not, and more to do with having your body used to that back-and-forth lateral movement. You’ll want to initiate by just alternating legs doing single hops over the line, but then you’ll want to hop with both legs, landing one after the other, to mimic what happens when you are on skis.
• Work on developing your balance. Select a weight exercise (like dumbbell push press) you regularly do, but do it standing on only one leg. This will help strengthen both strength and balance, two things necessary for maintaining form and skill when you’re on the hill.
• Focus on strengthening your core in your regular workouts. The core of your body is just that– the core!– and it helps to support everything else. When your core is strong, the rest of your body is less likely to be injured, so make that a focus point. This can be done several ways, but the maneuver Laskowski suggests is throwing a ball back and forth with a friend while sitting on a stability ball.
We expect that by executing these three simple tips in your daily workout regimen, you’ll manage to see the payoff when it really counts: less injury, less pain, and more fun. Because, let’s be honest, that’s what it’s really all about.