Training for alpine skiing

[claude512]

Hello,

I was wondering if there are any downhill skiers here? And how you would amend/structure your training for the skiing season?

Any special focus (like aerobic work, or sprints, or SE etc?)

I am a recreational (beginner-ish) skier so I always wondered how to best prepare for the season?

Thanks!
Claude

[WallBilly]

Well, I find that downhill skiing benefits from a few things:

1. Very strong quads. The knees are constantly bent and springing up and down, and after a 1,500 foot vertical drop run in Colorado, my quads are usually mush.

2. Good hip flexibility.

3. Good strength around the knees, to keep the skis pointed in the right direction and to avoid injury.

What, might you ask, would help all 3, better than anything else? Glad you asked!

Back squats and deadlifts. The magic sauce for almost every need. And it's standard TB.

Also you could add some high-rep, low weight front squats (SE-style) for quad endurance. Could even do high-rep bodyweight squats to simulate a long run down the mountain.

[Mindboozer]

WallBilly pretty much nailed it. Your quads are always going to be the first things to go. Any leg focused SE and HIC are going to be your bread and butter. Lunges, squats, split squats.

[claude512]

Thanks for the replies so far!
So basically something like standard TB operator with hill sprints/apex (I find these work my quads quite well) and fobbits with goblet squats sets of 10 or so?
Then 3 weeks out go to fighter and focus on SE?

I am not a good skier, but I enjoy long skiruns so I thought I’d ask some time ahead

Thanks a lot!

[Your_Lunch]

I've found these 'leg blasters' to be pretty great https://www.backcountry.com/explore/tra ... ine-skiing

I've used them as a finisher after MS days, but wasn't able to go too hard on HIC runs the following day. They worked really well as part of my SE sessions though!