Fit for the Slopes!

It's that time again, the ski season has begun! It's time again for gorgeous slopes, beautiful winter panoramas and snow, snow, snow. To prepare for a successful ski trip, don't forget to take a few preliminary steps.

Skiing is a strenuous sport. Going to the slopes unprepared can therefore lead to injury very quickly. These injuries could include stretched ligaments, sprained and torn ligaments, bruises or even broken bones from falls. Injury can be prevented with the right training. Preparing your body and your most important muscle groups before skiing not only significantly reduces the risk of injury, it makes the sport much more enjoyable. That's why we've put together a few exercises that are ideal as preparatory exercises and can also be used to warm up on the slopes.

1. Lunge: This exercise requires all leg muscles, especially the thigh, and therefore is perfect for a preliminary ski training.
   Form: Stand upright, feet together. Hold your hands at your sides or in front of your body. Look forward. Then take a step forward and bend your knee to a 90-degree angle. The upper body should remain straight, while the back knee almost touches the floor. The arms remain next to the body, with the toes pointing forward. Warning: keep your knees straight forward. Now press yourself back up. Alternate legs for good exercise. Lunges They can be done at a fast pace, or they can be held for 30 seconds.

2. Downhill position: For skiing, it is very important to be able to stay in a squat. To target these muscles, you can simulate the squat.
   Form: stand with the feet apart and bends your knees, until they reach an angle of 90 degrees. Push your rear back so that your knees do not lock beyond the toes. Then, bend your body forward and hold your arms in ski position.
   Hold this position between 30 and 60 seconds, then take a minute of rest and repeat the exercise two to three times.

3. Alternating hops: A perfect exercise to improve endurance and coordination, it also uses many different muscle groups.
   Find any line on the floor (or use a broom handle or string). Then alternately jump sideways left and right.
   Do the exercise for about 30 seconds and repeat two to three times.

4. Planks: This is one of the best exercises there is!
   Form: lie on your stomach and push your body upwards, so that only your toes and forearms touch the ground. Keep your back straight and hold in belly. Pull your shoulders back.
   Hold this position for about 30 seconds. To make it more strenuous, can be raised alternately one leg. Then take a break and repeat two to three times.

5. Figure eights: This exercise is good for the balance and mobilizes the leg and trunk muscles.
   Execution: Lift one leg and draw a horizontal figure eight. Your weight should rest on the other leg.
   Every thirty seconds switch legs, and repeat five times.

6. Mountaineer: With this exercise, you train the leg and arm muscles,  as well as the back and upper body.
   Form: Go into pushup position and alternately pull each knee as far as possible up to the chest. Make sure that the knee is tightened straight forward and not sideways. The move comes from the hips, so do not raise your rear. Do the movement smoothly; the tempo can be increased over time. Repeat two or three times for 30 seconds each.

To make the most out of your preparations for a ski holiday, you should start the exercises about six to eight weeks in advance. If you do these exercises regularly two to three times a week, nothing will stand in the way of a great holiday. After a few weeks, you will notice that the exercises feel more simple. Increase the intensity by increasing the duration or the number of repetitions. You can also combine these exercises with other sports activities. Variety is actually very good, as new stimuli train the muscles better. 

After these steps, have fun on the slopes!