Preseason Fitness

The well anticipated follow up to last year’s epic snow fall is just around the corner.  Amazing how fast it got here and the time is now to get that preseason fitness regime going.  It is more of a full season fitness regime because we can use the next few weeks to build the base fitness, and then, your actual activity will be your final fitness touches.

The best place to start is with a base strength program.  When I speak of strength, I mean, actual muscular strength.  I have most of my clients start with functional movement strength, and then move them into full blown strength training.  The key is hip and core strength.  Most people understand and implement some kind of core, but hip strength is a different animal and usually neglected.  If you break it down, our hips are our balance/center point and often lead us in whatever it is we do; hit a golf ball, angulate on a ski hill, kick, glide or skate on the Nordic trail.  Functional strength is strength that actually makes what we do easier; strength and the ability to apply and control that strength on a daily basis.  I start with a yoga or a similar methodology to find some real hip strength combined with body movement and stretching.  After about four weeks, I often have clients move to actually lifting some kind of weights.  My first choice would be to use kettlebell weights to continue the functional movement theme, but doing Olympic lifts (squats, cleans ect) in a gym is a highly effective method.  With any weight lifting, the most important factor is your form not the weight.  Get your form dialed with a licensed professional trainer and the benefits will follow…quickly.  All in all, you should dedicate 8 to 12 weeks to your strength program.

All good fitness programs are balance of strength and cardio work.  The strength builds the engine, the muscular system, and the cardio build the heart, lungs and integration.  The key to understanding the proper mix is to think of a pendulum of a clock; start with mostly strength and as the weeks go by start to transition to mostly cardio.  A real world example would be to start with 3 days of strength and 2 days of cardio and eventually end with 4 or 5 days of cardio and 2 days of maintenances strength training all over about 12 total weeks.  But, don’t forget to keep up the core and hip exercises.  Eventually, you only need 20 minuets 2 days a week to maintain and continue to improve in those areas.

The cardio part of the program is really quite simple.  You can do anything that elevates your heartrate for at least 20 continuous minuets.  This can be any activity from running to cycling.  If you like using a gym, I have a couple machines that I find to be a “secret weapon”.  The first is a rowing machine.  This is an amazing total body workout that involves a fair amount of strength.  There is a reason that rowers tend to be some of the fittest athletes on the planet.  With any machine, get proper form instruction from an expert.  Overall, starting with easy workouts is key and then building in intensity over the weeks.  Include interval intensity efforts about 2 weeks in and add about 5% total time a week.  The key to cardio is to understand that sometimes you need to work hard to see results and sometimes it is uncomfortable.  It is what it is and there is no way around it.  The beauty is once you have a nice base of fitness the skiing, back country, downhill or Nordic, will elevate your fitness even higher, and it is the activity you want to be doing.

In summary, best results are reached with functional strength exercises with a nice mix of cardio.  Transition from mostly strength in the beginning to mostly cardio as your ski season gets underway, but remember that both are needed for the best results.