DISCOVER ALL THE SPORTS YOU DO SKIING

Just like when you practice any other type of sport, we can imagine all the benefits that skiing has, but to what extent? Skiing is a sport that not only can burn around 700 kcal per hour, but also improves your immune system, not to mention, of course, how much it can tone your muscles and how much fun you have. on skis.

Being an aerobic sport that involves your whole body, as side effects it will favor not only burning calories, but also reducing cholesterol levels and improving your lung health, that is, our breathing. This is because while you ski, your body speeds up metabolic processes, which increase the supply of nutrients and oxygen that they carry to the cells.

And who doesn't like to look a little stronger? Next, we are going to tell you which are all the muscles involved, how to increase their volume and, consequently, improve our technique on the court.

Let's not forget that we are holding on to movements on boards, which implies a good balance.

The only “problem” that this very complete sport gives us is the amount of soreness that we will have the next day if we do not practice it regularly, for this reason it is important to warm up beforehand. Experts recommend that, to avoid suffering from these muscle pains, a gradual introduction be made; not going from not moving from the sofa to skiing for 6 hours. In addition, it is very important to warm up beforehand, just like when you go to the gym, since this way we can prevent any type of injury.

WARM-UP ROUTINE FOR SKIING

Need a warm-up routine? Here are some exercises:

For the lower body:

• Squats: at a right angle and tightening the abdomen and without protruding the knees from the height of the feet.
• Box jump: a bench is also worth it, the main thing is that it is at knee height. In this exercise we can jump with both feet, first with one and then with the other, or simply raise and lower one leg; the important thing is the flex.
• Strides: back straight, look straight ahead and go up and down parallel to the ground.
• Twins: standing on a step we stand on tiptoes with one foot while the other dangles.

For the core and back:

• Front plank: face down resting on the forearms and feet with a straight back (in addition, with this we also exercise the ankles).
• Abdominals that involve movement: here we leave you free choice, but with the tip that the slower the movement, the more exercise we will be doing.
• Superman: lying face down fully stretched we raise legs and arms at the same time.

Not going from 0 to 100 is very important to avoid any possible injury, with up to 60% generated in the knee for this reason. This can be caused by damage to the tendons or by falls and bruises, the snow may sometimes not be as soft as we think at first and a bad blow leaves us without enjoying a good part of the season. Another of the most common injuries due to falls is anterior dislocation of the shoulder and low back pain due to body posture to maintain balance that generates so much tension in our back.

WHAT ARE THE MUSCLES WORKED WHEN SKIING?

As you have seen, there are many parts of the body involved, and when we told you that skiing is one of the most complete sports, we were not lying. The core is one of the most involved muscle groups, specifically two of them: the abdominal and the lumbar. Both help us stabilize, protect the spine and pick up more speed as we lean this part of the body. This function is also joined by gluteus, quadriceps and hamstrings, which, if we have previously trained them, will show much more favorable results. And what do we stand on? On our feet and twins, which support all our weight and perform much of the movement on skis. Having them well trained will make us more agile and reduce our turning radius in practice. And, speaking of turns, we cannot ignore the great ones in charge of them: the knees. Can you imagine skiing without using them? Exactly, neither do we.

Okay, we already have the correct posture and those in charge of carrying out movements, but what about the upper body? The shoulders and arms are also used when practicing this sport, they carry the poles with which to propel ourselves and are necessary when making turns.

And finally, we cannot forget about the back, involved in a multitude of positions and movements, connecting shoulders, core and legs, responsible for maintaining posture, balance, protecting ourselves, etc. In fact, this is one of the ones that suffers the most injuries due to the tension it maintains, so it is very convenient to stretch it both before and after skiing, along with the neck. For this we can do the knees to chest exercise: lying on our backs we collect our flexed legs, making a ball.

SKIING: AN ADRENALINE SPORT

In addition to all these benefits at the muscular level, skiing is a very liberating sport since it makes us get rid of all the adrenaline that we have accumulated, favoring rest and the release of stress, which collaborates with a good restful rest that will prepare us for another day of skiing. And it is that rest is essential, since another part at a non-muscular level that is trained are the reflexes. What complete isn't it? Well yes, beyond the physical we also involve training the mind, since we cannot know in advance when we will encounter an obstacle in the snow. For this reason, it is convenient for us to train our capacity for improvisation and the agility that this entails.

TRAINING WITHOUT SNOW TO IMPROVE SKI TECHNIQUE

Now is when you think “ok, I know all this, but how can I train to improve my skiing technique?” Like you, we know that this, like any sport, is a long-distance race. It's not worth training for a month and resting for the other 11 of the year. Next, we leave you a video published by the Olympic Federation on how to practice ski jumping at home with Taylor Fletcher:

Because yes, the great champions also practice when there is no snow, and in this video we show you how (although for this one you will need much more than a chair):

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

• HOW MANY CALORIES DO YOU BURN SKIING?

This question is complex, since it depends on the weight of the person, their musculature, being a man or a woman and the speed of the movements. To get a general idea, a 70kg man will burn around 600-700 kcal per hour.

• WHAT EXERCISES TO DO TO SKI?

For the physical preparation of skiing, all kinds of exercises that involve the buttocks, legs and core are essential, as is training two to three days a week. Some examples of these are strides, squats, deadlifts, exercises with rubber bands, all kinds of plates, etc.

• WHAT MUSCLES ARE WORKED WHEN SKIING?

Skiing involves many muscles in its movements: the core, the back, the entire lower body and the shoulders.