Getting fit for skiing

I have been working pretty hard trying to get fit. But it's very hard work. I can now run the whole mile up and down the road and the steep muddy field in my wellies.

The other day, it was very funny because we are paying a friend to help us with cleaning out the pond and the ditches on the farm and in the road, and I asked him if he would like to join me and the dog on our morning run. He is 12 years younger than me, an ex-commando, marathon runner, and a personal trainer. He was rather surprised when I said he had to run it in his wellies, because he said he'd never done that before, not even in his commando training although apparently they do have to run through mud as part of their training, but they are allowed to do it in their army boots.

Anyway, he did it no problem (he could have run it much faster than me but as a personal trainer he very kindly kept step with me) but I was quite pleased to see that he was out of puff as well at the top of the steep field :D

And I can do my hundred star jumps etc. as well. So I think I am nearly fit enough to ski. Once I can run 3 miles in a day (one mile in the mud in the morning and 2 miles up the road in the afternoon) I will know I am fit enough to ski.

But I am still too fat. I went out to lunch today and ate a whole plate of salad and nothing else, and I've cut right back on everything else as well (especially anything particularly sugary or fatty).

I will let you know if I manage to ski in my old trousers or not. It is going to be a pretty close thing :lol:

I have just over 2 weeks left.

How about everyone else? Are those who are yet to go still exercising, and for those who have been already, do they think the exercises made any difference?

Ally

I can't run for more than 5 minutes without getting out of breath. But I can ski absolutely fine for 3 weeks of a season. I repeat, I think some people are taking getting fit for skiing far too seriously for their own recreational requirements!!!

Tony,
I think it all depends what one does during one's own ski-ing holiday. I know how fit I have to be to cope with my holiday, and my ski-ing lessons, but other people will have less taxing holidays where they can stop for a rest when their legs start to ache.

I'm not trying to say that everyone has to be as fit as me (or much fitter of course) in order to enjoy their ski holiday.

In the lessons on my last couple of holidays the instructors have been increasingly demanding regarding our level of fitness. Several other people in my groups have been told off by the instructors for not being fit enough. The instructors actually said that we should all do lots of ski-ing exercises to make sure we are fit enough for the lessons before our ski holidays. People who aren't fit enough sometimes get put down a group, even if their technique is fine, because they can't keep up. I don't want that to happen to me :oops:

I must say, though, before I started ski-ing again in the last few years, I did think that it was only the beginners who had the exhausting time (because of falling over all the time and having to get back up). I really thought that once one could ski okay it was only a matter of pointing the skis downhill, steering and letting gravity take over. The really good skiers always look so graceful and make it look totally effortless.

However, once I went up a couple of classes I realised that in fact as one improves things get even more physically demanding. One is expected to ski for longer (not so many little chats and practices at the side of the piste), much faster, and do things that are really quite physically taxing (like jump turns).

Ally

We made no preparation for our holiday. No fitness regime and I think the only tme I suffered a bit from being out of breath was nightime snow shoe walking in thigh deep snow. Got a bit out of breath on that one. We had one of the most active weeks ever, boarding, skiing,iceskating,snow shoe walking, x country ski, hiking, ice karting, snow mobiling, 30k husky safari, reindeer sleighing and some nightime safaris.
The only hiccup for me was badly blistered feet which required the purchase of some lovely new seemless sorell boots and a spot of frostbite.
Mind you we are both shattered this week.

Rose,
Congratulations, whatever you do as part of your normal lifestyle must keep you naturally fit (aren't you walking 3 miles to and from work each day, now?).

That was a pretty hectic schedule for the week, and it sounds as though you had a great time :D

Ally

I go to the gym about 5 /6 days a week and try to keep relatively fit ...and I am "just a tad" overweight..

My experience after a 7 days intensive skiing (about 40-50k a day on piste)is that for the first 4/5 days that my quads started to scream after about 4 hours but quietened at the end of the holiday when they got used to it...
I thought I had been doing lots of exercises for this but obviously not enough...I went to see one of the PT s at the gym this week and he recommended partial quick squats..more like dips...lots of them..so I now do 4-5 sets of 30 squats standing on a Bosu (wobbly half ball) with a weight across my back ...seems to mirror the skiing experience

daved wrote:... I thought I had been doing lots of exercises for this but obviously not enough...I went to see one of the PT s at the gym this week and he recommended partial quick squats..more like dips...lots of them..so I now do 4-5 sets of 30 squats standing on a Bosu (wobbly half ball) with a weight across my back ...seems to mirror the skiing experience

OMG Daved, it sounds more like some sort of medieval torture! :wink:

How on earth do you manage to do squats standing on a wobbly half ball?

Well, there's one thing, if you survive the new training regime you will certainly be fit enough to ski :D.
When are you next off?

Ally

practice.. the bosu helps a lot with core strength
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oCqBNyn8L4

have you seen this site
http://www.fitskiing.com/

I am going to try this next...it might kill me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNWq-QLcWdI

Hope to go mid march...got to be cheap though ...spent too much last week lol