Getting fit for the slopes
Start preparing for your time on the slopes now and you won't have that ‘I wish I had got fit' feeling that so many of us get on the first full day skiing. Get ahead of the game with our top tips to preparing your body for the winter.
- Try starting your programme about eight weeks before you go
- Build in some exercise into your everyday life - walk to work, take the stairs or go cycling. Try to do at least 20 minutes of something every day
- Work on strengthening your inner core - the muscles in your stomach and back - by using a Swiss ball. There are a variety of exercises you can do with it - they are generally found at your local gym
- Reduce first day leg burn by doing as many different leg strengthening exercises as possible. (For information on the different muscles used by different exercises, join the Ski Club of Great Britain (www.skiclub.co.uk) and check out British Ski Champion Graham Bell's fitness clinic).
- Get down to your nearest snow dome or dry ski slope to really get those muscles working again.
- When do you get on slopes, remember to drink lots of water as your muscles are the first part of your body to dehydrate at altitude and you'll have less aches and pains if you keep hydrated.
