In a three-part series, the trainers from Fit for Ski explain how to prepare for the ski season in a sensible way. The first part is about proper warm-up and mobilization. In our everyday lives, we often perform monotonous movements. We spend most of our time sitting at the office, but we also perform movements in limited radii when jogging, in the garden or at the gym. This has a negative impact on our passive structures, also known as joints. The full range of motion of our joints is rarely utilized. Our joints are not used to movements of great complexity and high forces, such as those that occur when skiing. This significantly increases the risk of injury. Without the right preparation, mobility suffers and with it a clean and safe skiing technique.
What to consider when mobilizing
In general, holistic thinking is important. When mobilizing, you shouldn't just focus on the joint, but consider the whole body to create balance. At beginner and advanced levels, your own body weight is completely sufficient for training. The mobilization exercises can be done as part of the warm-up routine before training. However, there is no harm in simply doing them on the side without training. The main thing is to do them!
Two exercises:
The joint that is under the most strain when skiing is the ankle. A good mobilization exercise for this is the knee bend.
Knee bend:
The deep squat is chosen as the end position for the eccentric movement. Shifting the weight forwards, backwards and to the side in this position increases the mobility of the ankle joint, or dorsiflexion.
Hip mobilization:
The hips are subject to a lot of strain when skiing, as well as during ski fitness. This region can be mobilized as follows: Sit on the floor with both knees pointing to the right. The left knee is on the right foot.
Grasp the ankle with both hands. If possible, do not let your knees leave the floor. The hips open. Hold the position for 10 seconds.
Stretch in the direction in which your knees are pointing. Place your forearms on the floor. Hold for 10 seconds.
Now grasp your right ankle with both hands and hold the position for another 10 seconds.
Now switch sides. Both knees point to the left, the right knee is on the left foot. Try not to stand up completely when changing sides, but to do the change while sitting down.
Here's the whole thing again in moving pictures, built into a warm-up routine.
Fit for Ski offers customized training plans for skiers that prepare you for the season over a period of 6 weeks with the help of online videos. Part 2 of the fitness series (next week) will present further exercises for targeted training, while part 3 (the week after next) will explain how to design a complete training session.
We are giving away participation in the Fit for Ski Level 1 program
The winner will receive a training plan to prepare muscles, tendons and joints for the ski season, 12 workout videos in short and long versions, as well as 6 videos for endurance training. Ski gymnastics dusted off and for at home! Here you can find out more about the training program.
Comment on the article or the corresponding Facebook post by November 20 to take part! The decision is made by chance, legal recourse is excluded.
