Warming-up before pushing out of the start has the ability to immediately increase your strength, power, and endurance. That means generating more speed out of the turn, laying over greater angles, and preventing stumping out. Next time at the start, use a well-structured warm-up to accomplish these three tasks:

1.) Heat

Increases muscle temperature, allowing your body to move more freely, your nervous system to react faster, and your muscles to use energy faster and more efficiently.

2.) Activate

Energizes your skiing muscles and puts them through their required ranges of motion.

3.) Prime

Increases your muscle contraction speed and strength.

The following warm-up is to be used on-snow prior to the start of any ski session and especially before the start of a race!  

You’ll use 10-minutes of light/rhythmic exercises to HEAT the muscles up.  Squats and lunges to ACTIVATE the ski specific musculature. And explosive work to PRIME the body to produce more force and power. The result is that you will have prepared your body to perform at its greatest potential.   So if you’re into winning races, learn to love your warm-up!

Photo: GEPA pictures/ Christian Walgram

On Snow Warm Up

Heat (Minimal rest between exercises)

Pole Shoulder Dislocates – 1 set x 10 reps

Pole Hip Circles – 1 set x 10 reps each way

Pole Behind-the-Neck Press – 1 set x 10 reps

Pole Trunk Circles – 1 set x 5 reps each way

Pole Torso Rotation Bounces – 1 set x 10 reps each way

Pole Good Morning – 1 set x 10 reps

Pole Good Morning Spine Rolls – 1 set x 10 reps

Pole Good Morning Torso Rotation – 1 set x 10 reps

Pole Forward/Backward Leg Swings – 1 set x 12-15 reps each leg

Pole Side Leg Swings – 1 set x 12-15 reps each side

Pole Rotation Leg Swings – 1 set x 12-15 reps each side

Pole Split Hops – 2 sets x 10-seconds

Pole Lateral Skater Hops – 2 sets x 10-seconds

Pole Hip Rotation Hops x 1 set x 10-seconds each side

Activate (Rest as needed between exercises)

Pole Squat – 1 sets x 10 reps

Pole Forward Lunge – 1 set x 5 reps each leg

Pole Y Raise – 1 set x 10 reps

Pole Lateral Squat – 1 set x 5 reps each side

Pole Alternating Lateral Lunge – 1 set x 5 reps each leg

Pole T Raise – 1 set x 10 reps

Pole Skater Squat – 1 set x 5 reps each leg

Rest 2-3-minutes

Prime (Rest 30-seconds between sets & exercises)

Pole Jumps – 2 sets x 5 reps each side 90

Pole Lateral Jumps x 2 sets x 3 reps each side 90

Pole Explosive Tricep Extension – 2 sets x 5 reps 90

Lateral Bound x 2 sets x 3 reps each side 90

Rest 5-minutes

GO!!!

To download the full warm-up routine and view demonstrations of each exercise, please click here.