ARE you skiing this winter?

Are you lucky enough to be skiing this winter in Europe or further afield, how many years has it been since you last went and how much training or practice have you managed to complete during the last 18 months during these COVID times.

At Optimum we know how to prepare for a ski season, a weeks holiday or an Olympic final, we have done it with GB skiers and snowboarders Jenny Jones, Billy Morgan and Izzy Atkin to name a few all Olympic medal winners in park and pipe but we have also worked with downhill skiers Dave Ryding, Darcie Mead and Alex Tilley.

The majority of skiing should be done with your feet on the ground (we hope) and at Optimum we know which muscles and movements need to be strong to enjoy your trip and reduce your injury risk, so here we will discuss the areas to work on.

Lets start from the bottom up, your ankles are going to be fixed in the boots and very little movement here, therefore the knee and hip above have much more load going through them when transferring down the mountain. The knee will do a lot of flexing as you absorb moguls, transfer weight from side to side as you turn or as you snow-plough to a stop. The muscles around the knee must be strong to stabilise and absorb these forces, mainly the hamstrings, quadriceps and calf with the gluteals at the hip play key roles in enjoying a fun and injury free time away. 

Finally the way these muscles interact must be in a co-contractive manner, this means they work together to stabilise the knee and not individually, this provides much more control more fluid movements on skis and reduce the risk of injury. 

At Optimum we have designed a ski specific strength programme for you, it is focused around all the areas discussed above available during December 2021 for £20 only.