Pilates for skiers

As the last of the sad, abandoned Christmas trees on the pavements of Tooting are finally picked up for chipping (I'm still feeling guilty about ours - sorry, lovely Christmas tree) and January gets underway, there's only one logical way to fill the void left by the overindulgence and consumerist frenzy of Christmas: book a ski trip. 

This makes sense on so many levels: dry January will be over by then, so overpriced beer and Glühwein will be back on the agenda. All that New Years Resolution fitness training will also having you skiing almost as well as an Austrian five-year old. The sky will be blue, the snow will be crisp and perfect, the Euro will be cripplingly expensive, but nevermind: the time is now!

But before you head down to TK Maxx to buy some garish new salopettes, it's time to get ski-fit.

Pilates exercises can help you build the strength (both in your core and legs), endurance and agility necessary for skiing. They are particularly effective in developing the muscles necessary to reduce the risk of injury, particularly in your knees, shoulders and lower back. Pilates can also be helpful in working on your balance, concentration and coordination, which will also help you stay in control on the slopes, especially when transferring your weight over the skis.

  

Focus of the exercises:

• Increase strength in the legs, particularly working on the muscles in the front of the thighs (quadriceps), which will help keep your knee caps in place and protect the knees from injuries to the medial and anterior cruciate ligaments.
• Increase strength in the core, particularly to protect the lower back.
• Increase strength and movement in the shoulders (rotator cuff muscles) to reduce risk of shoulder dislocation.
• Increase endurance, to reduce the risk of fatigue-related injuries and accidents.

Thirteen ski-tastic exercises for you to try: 

For your core, to stabilise you while you’re moving:

•  Hundred – lying on your back with legs straight out at a 45 degree angle, or with knees bent at a 90 degree angle. Pump the arms up and down as you inhale for 5 counts and exhale for 5 counts until you reach 100. Concentrate on pulling your belly button into your spine, keeping your lower back imprinted on the mat and tucking your chin down to your chest. Stay relaxed through the shoulders.
  
  
•  Single Leg Stretch – starting lying on your back with an imprinted spine (see video for explanation), chin tucked in and knees at 90 degrees, bring your head and shoulders off the mat, and then extend your legs away from you in turn. Exhale as you stretch the leg away, pointing the toe, straightening the leg and pulling up on the kneecap with the quads. Inhale as your knees pass each other. Pull your belly button in and reach your hands to the bend knee. The closer you bring the bent knee to your chest, the easier the exercise is. 

• Scissors – lying on your back, chin tucked in, pelvis imprinted, bring your head and shoulders off the mat. Knees bent to 90 degrees, then straighten legs to ceiling. Drop one leg down to the floor and draw the other towards you for two pulses, exhaling with pulses and inhaling and your knees pass each other when you switch legs. Belly button pulls in towards spine, gaze towards knees. Toes should be pointed and legs reaching away. Draw up on kneecaps to engage quads. 

To stretch and strengthen your lower back:

•  Breaststroke - Lie on your front and reach your arms out in front of you. Lift your arms, head and torso a few centimeters in a low hover, then circle your arms around to your sides with an inhale. With the exhale, bend your elbows and dive your arms forwards, back into the start position, with arms and torso hovering above the mat. Gaze stays down towards the mat so you don't overextend your neck, and feet stay on the mat. Think about contracting your abs and glutes as you lift your chest, to support the lower back. 

•  Swimming – lying on your front, with your arms stretched out in front of you, lift your arms and legs off the mat. Lift one arm and the opposite leg higher off the mat, then switch sides. Keep glutes and abs working to prevent strain in the lower back. Gaze stays directly down at the mat. Try to stay balance – no wobbling! 

Rotation – for perfect turns:

• Spine twist – get some rotation into your spine by sitting with legs crossed, or legs bent or straight out in front of you (whatever’s most comfortable and allows you to sit up really straight), and twist from one side to the other, keeping you back straight, reaching the crown of your head up to the sky. The rotation should be coming from your torso, your lower body doesn’t move. 

• Obliques – modified version of single leg stretch (see above) – bring your fingertips to your ears and draw your armpit towards the opposite hip when drawing the knee in. Stay flat through the abs and concentrate on the twisting of the torso, rather than elbow and knee touching.

Legs – to stretch and strengthen your calves, hamstrings, quadriceps and other muscles around your hips:

• Side leg lift series – lying on your side with one arm folded under your head and the other out in front of you for stability, lift your top leg to the ceiling. Point the toe as you raise the leg and flex the foot as you lower it. After a few repetitions, raise the top leg, then bring the bottom leg up to meet it, and squeezing them together, lower them down. Then raise both legs up together, and lower down. Finally, with just the top leg, draw some circles one way, then the other, with your toes while your leg is raised. Repeat on the other side. Keep your hips and shoulders stable, and lift your lower waist up off the mat – don’t relax down into the floor!

•  Shoulder bridge - lie on your back with your knees bent. Lift your hips off the mat and then raise one leg to the ceiling. Raise and lower the leg, keeping this hips lifted and stable. 
 

• Wall slide – Stand with your back to a wall, and slide your back down it, bending your knee. Check that your knee is tracking over your middle toe, and slide up again.
   
• Single leg circle - lying on your back, raise one leg towards the ceiling and draw circles with your raised foot – the aim of the exercise is for your hips not to move at all, the movement is just the ball of the hip joint moving in its socket.

Shoulders and wrists – for perfect pole planting:

• Push up – Start from standing, roll down through your spine until your hands reach the floor (bending your knees if you need to). Walk your hands forwards until you’re in a plank position. Lower down into the push up, and exhale to lift back into the plank position. Lower and lift twice more, then walk your hands back towards your feet, and roll up back up standing. If you’d like more of a balance challenge, try this standing on one leg!
   
• Leg pull front – on your front, push up through your hands to come into a flat-backed push up position. Lift on of your legs off the mat and point the toes away from you. Rock backwards and forwards on the foot that’s on the mat, then swap legs.  

 

Enjoy!

PS - apologies to snowboarders - these exercises will also work for you, and will think up a few specific ones for the next post!