Summer is on the down slope, the ski magazine equipment reviews will be arriving in a few weeks, the Dilly in Chantilly is around the corner and we are about half way to the next ski season. Time to get your most important piece of ski equipment tuned up - you!

If you're like me, you've entered the last several ski seasons wishing you had trained more in the off-season. August and September are good months for building a cardio and strength-training base. Wish I had a drill seargent around like the one in Mail Call!

My goal the next two months is three days a week of cardio and strength training in the gym to supplement my usual outdoor fun and chores. Maybe I'll actually do it this year ...

I whole heartedly agree. Although what ARE some good strength training routines and tips? For someone like me who lives in the sticks... err Wardensville where the nearest gym is an hour drive away, what should I do? For cardio I work on trying to maintain running 2 miles every other day, but that still misses out on strength training.

I found out last year that if I had stronger leg muscles and stronger upper body muscles I would have been able to more precisily handle myself on a snowboard. It would be nice if I lived close to a gym, but I don't and buying a $400 weight set is out of my price range with other bills at the moment. What is a good workout routine??

Bicycling is good. Especially with the long uphill grades you have for climbing out there. I wonder if there are paved but not yet open sections of corridor H. That would be nice.

Yup there is... one 2.5 mile long uphill section from Pine Ridge to the McCauley bridges. I biked it earlier this summer but crews are putting in the bridges now so all the daylight hours are taken with them working.

Thanks for the bump, even talking about getting in shape makes the season feel closer.

If you're looking for a program geared to snow sports check this link out skilouise

Cardio and strength are important, the muscles that control balance are too. I used this program last fall, don't need a gym or weights you can do it in your living room (if you're allowed) AND IT WORKS. Satisfaction guaranteed, try it for thirty days and if you're not satisfied, I'll buy you a Yuengling Lager at the Foggy Goggle on opening day (November 26 that is )

3.8 Months
jimmy

Jimmy,
I was going to suggest things such as lunges, squats, etc. The link you posted has a good program and you don't need any expensive equipment. This should fit the bill for bawalker. Now the only problem is, there're no excuses!

Is it ski season yet?
-Warren-

Ya know .. its always easier and more fun if you do all this [yech!] exercise stuff with other people. To that end, does anyone know if any of our local health clubs offers group exercises for ski prep? Some clubs offer programs for exercises for tennis and golf [what exercises do you need for golf?] prep. I think a skiers exercise class would be a great idea.

My current ski training philosophy is 2-3 days a week of the typical gym workouts to supplement several days a week of "play" workouts. I have no trouble getting motivated for the "play" workouts and they probably improve my skiing more than the gym workouts (since they stress things like dynamic strength, dynamic balance, vision, etc.) My "play" workouts include stuff like ice hockey, roller hockey, soccer, tennis, basketball, etc. I may add mountain biking to that mix this fall; it looks like a lot of fun, and I've heard it's great training for skiing.

However, the gym workouts provide a conditioning base and help prevent injuries. (I do the full range of cardio, stretching, strength.) Unfortunately for me, I've had a real hard time in recent years consistently doing the gym workouts. Nothing magic, just got to do 'em.

The workouts pointed out by Jimmy look like solid conditioning for skiing/boarding. The core body workout (http://www.skilouise.com/images/attallaHCFitness.pdf) looks real good and the stomach, back, etc. muscles are very important for skiing/boarding. It's an area I always seem to undertrain and I feel it when I'm on the slopes - especially in the bumps or cut-up snow. The only piece of equipment you need is a stability ball which you can get for around 25 bucks or so. I recently bought one; thanks to the link I have some exercises to try.

The side jumps in the main workout could cause problems for some; these types of jumps can be high impact and require a conditioning base before you do them. I was a bit surprised to see them in a basic workout. If this was the only workout you did, I think it would be a bit light on cardio and leg strength. I think Denis is spot on about the biking. Biking and roller blading are two of the best exercises for skiing.