Getting Yourself In Shape For Ski Season

Article by Aaron Jochum

Skiing is one of the best fun winter sports around. But, if you are totally out of shape from having spent the summer and fall in front of your television set, it is probably not a good idea to hit the slopes for the first time before you get into shape a bit. So, if you are at all in earnest about skiing this winter season, the time is now, before the ski season actually begins, to start to get yourself back into shape.

Before you do anything else, get the ok from your physician that it is all right for you to start a fitness program. If he gives you his approval, then you can begin to set your fitness plan into action. Otherwise, follow his directions.

You will do best to ease into your exercise routine slowly and progress from there. Because, if you have been pretty much inactive for the majority of the year, your cardiovascular system is probably at an extreme sub-par level. So, first you to get that up to par. An excellent way is to simply start a walking program. Start by slow walking and then, gradually increase your speed until you are basically power walking.

On nice days, set aside a part of the day to go outside and just walk. Nothing fancy. Just walk around your neighborhood parks. Don’t worry if you get winded. Simply, slow down the pace of your walking. For about a half hour each day, do this and before you know it, you will have built up your stamina and leg strength.

When your reach this point in your exercise schedule, you can begin to add more difficult exercises to your routine. One perfect choice of exercises is cycling which has a number of advantages. Cycling will help you to build and strengthen the muscles in your legs. In addition, cycling can give you a great cardiovascular workout. As you get into the more strenuous exercises, you can start to cut back on the number of days that you are training from 7 or 6, to 4 or 5 times a week, preferably on alternate days. This gives your muscles a chance to rest and become renewed.

If you want to be serious and prepare yourself for skiing the right way, in addition, you have to focus on getting your abs and lower back muscles into shape. There are a number of popular portable fitness machines on the market that can help you to work out these muscles properly.

However, not having a fitness machine is no excuse for not exercising. If you don’t have a portable fitness machine, you can still get your abdominal and back muscles into good shape by doing sit ups, leg raises, body twists, and the like. In addition, there are a number of isometric tension exercises that can help strengthen these muscle groups.

If you are willing to start slow and gradually build up your body to an appropriate fitness state, you can look forward to starting the ski season in shape with much less fear of harm.