Laura Flood PT, DPT
Physical Therapist
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These clear, crisp fall mornings remind me that winter is seemingly around the corner. I breath in the cool, fresh air and gaze at the lower angled sun peeking through the lodge pole pines as I leave the Athletic Club of Bend after my morning workout. I dream of my mornings soon consisting of fresh powder turns down Cows Face. I realize that it is time to start my annual ski conditioning program consisting of arduous quad burning wall squats, jump squats, lunges and don’t forget the fitball back extensions to help handle the moguls. I have always been a big believer in adequate and specific preparation for sports, as well as consistent, smart ‘body maintenance’ as I like to call it. I am even more convinced of the importance of a few months of sports specific preparation in the role of injury prevention, since becoming a physical therapist a few years ago.
Although my experience as a level 2 certified ski instructor in Vail, Colorado, also taught me a lot about the physical challenges of skiing and how to better prepare for these unique physical demands. After all, skiing is unique and only happens for half the year, so although logging many hours on the bike or running on the trails all summer is beneficial for our general fitness and conditioning, it does not prepare us adequately for the demands of hours in the cold slaying the white stuff.
Of course, as Bend residents by nature we love to play hard on the weekends, many of us are what is referred to as the proverbial “weekend warriors”. Unfortunately in just the past year working at Therapeutic Associates at The Athletic Club of Bend I have seen more than a few injuries that could have been prevented or lessened by doing the proper sports preparation training. So if that isn’t motivation enough, think of how much the insurance on your Mt. bachelor season pass costs versus spending a few extra hours a week in the gym in the coming months. Then think of how much the medical bills will be if you get carted off the mountain by ski patrol and taken to St Charles for treatment. Then there’s the months of PT rehabilitation – hey, but that’s the fun part with us right?!
Here is a list of some of the exercises that I recommend to include in your ski conditioning program, ideally 3 times per week for 8 weeks prior to pulling on the ski or snowboard boots. The below video also demonstrates these individual exercises.
1. Dynamic stretching 5 minutes: begin with a moving warm-up focusing on the quad, hamstrings, adductors and calves to help these muscles warm-up safely before beginning your program – you could even begin doing this before you begin your ski day
2. Leg press 3x10 - to improve quadriceps strength
3. Squats 3x15 – static with weights, also to improve quadriceps strength
4. Jump squats 2x30 – to help with dynamic leg strength for those powder turns!
5. Lunges 3x20 – for the tele skiers and to help build lower extremity and core dynamic strength and endurance
6. Wall squats, hold for 60 sec x 3 – quadriceps burner for those long runs at Northwest
7. Rockerboard 2x20 – front/back for snowboarders, side to side for skiers
8. Fitball back extensions 3x12 – for back extensor strength, but not recommended for those with chronic lower back pain
9. Band walks, forwards and backwards 2x60 - for the cross country skiers to build lower extremity endurance.
10. Static stretching to the quads, hamstrings, adductors and calves to help with flexibility in these areas
If you need more specific assistance, come and see us for an evaluation and some specific ski performance training. And stay tuned for some ski conditioning class and workshop opportunities coming up at ACB in the next few months as we all wait and hope for the white stuff to fall in copious amounts!
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