The snow is flying and we are all starting to have visions of big sweeping turns through deep, untracked powder. Even though the mind is ready for this, the body needs proper conditioning for downhill snow sports. There are several areas that are essential to efficient, fast, strong, and injury free skiing and snowboarding.

The first is the ligamentous system. Ligament tears in the knee are the leading injury in both skiing and snowboarding. Can you strengthen a ligament? YES! Ligaments are designed to resist specific stresses and have an abundance of proprioceptors, nerve cells that signal to the muscular system to react. To strengthen a ligament, it must be stressed repetitively. Below are exercises for each of the knee ligaments. These can be done daily and immediately before activity to ensure faster reactions to perturbance on the slopes.

ACL/PCL Scissor Hops

MCL/LCL Lateral Hops

The second system is the core musculature. Good ski and snowboard turns involve stability in the core and use of the legs to cut the edge into the snow, providing control of G forces. Weakness in the core leads to more stress on the legs to control these extreme forces, which means higher risk of injury. The core is also where transitions from one edge to the other occur. Weakness may lead to sluggish exchange and the dreaded edge catch leading to the dreaded scorpion or tomahawk! Here are several core exercises that will assure your reaction times are faster and trunk stronger.

Quadruped UE LE Extension

Mountain Climbers

Basking Seal

Finally, come into Kinetichain for a pre-season evaluation. Evaluation will assess your structure, balance, strength, and coordination. Based on these findings we will treat inefficiencies, and provide a conditioning program tailor fit for you. If you have pain with skiing or snowboarding don’t wait! Be proactive and restore efficiency to your body. Make sure you are not going to miss any time on the slopes. Call 970.680.4609 to or book online schedule your evaluation, maximize your performance, and get rid of aches and pains.

See you on the slopes!