SNOWORKS PRO: Fitness Training – Why bother?

Photo Emma Carrick-Anderson, Snoworks Race Coach, fitness training in Tignes Le Lac during the summer months.

If you are serious about improving your FIS points, making a team, passing your Eurotest or Test Technique, BASI Level 1, 2, 3 or 4 or simply just getting the most out of every day you go skiing then being physically fit should be a huge priority of yours. Unfortunately getting fit doesn’t happen on its own and it doesn’t happen overnight hence I’m writing this early June to give you at least 4 months before the Autumn comes around.

Firstly let’s look at the different areas we need to develop to really get the most out of every run:

• AEROBIC FITNESS

• ANAEROBIC FITNESS

• STRENGTH

• POWER

• AGILITY/SPEED

• CORE STABILITY/STRENGTH

• MOBILITY

• MUSCLE ENDURANCE

That might look like a lot but really a great skier has to have all of the above hence why Alain Baxter was at the top of the leader board in Superstars competing against other incredible athletes. Great skiers are great all round athletes which is great in many ways as you’ll never get bored of your training routine. In fact the best advice I can give you is to mix it up and vary your training as much as possible. If you hate the gym, don’t go! Instead get out into the woods, onto the beach, hills and use what nature has given us.  There are rocks to jump to and from, logs to balance on or to do one legged squats on, sand dunes to sprint up or jump down and the list goes on. We have also been given an amazing body so why not use it – ie use your own body weight.

Of course the time you have available to train will vary massively and don’t get frustrated if you really can only manage to get 3 or 4 sessions in a week – every bit will help. Having said that though if you have limited time, it’s important to really get the most out of every session.

It’s outdated to think you need to be out there pounding the streets every day for hours on end and my goal is to bring you inspiring workouts and ideas to bring into your training. I can’t set you a strict program as I have no idea how much time you will be able to dedicate to training so I’m going to bring you ideas of what can help you obtain great fitness with limited time.

Some kit you may want to think of purchasing (especially if you have some outside space) are listed below. With these few items of kit and a pair of trainers you are pretty much set. These are the essential items I use myself and will also be using on training camps this summer and autumn.

• Kettle bells

• A battle rope

• A TRX band

• A skipping rope

So that’s the start of the summer fitness campaign, keep coming back to the Snoworks website and Facebook pages as I’ll be posting regularly over the summer months with ideas to maximise your fitness with your available time and resources to get the most from your skiing this coming season.

Emma will be running Race Camps for up and coming racers along with Eurotest and Test Technique for instructors. Click for details.