LVL UP - 4 Pillars To Ski Workouts

You ever wonder what workouts help you become a better skier?

 

Or why you're doing specific movements?

 

A lot of people do.

 

It's hard to go to the gym, or stay consistent with a workout when you're unsure what you're doing.

 

When you understand the science behind athletic workouts, and create a plan then motivation comes.

 

That plan becomes a vision, and you start to strive to make that vision real.

 

Remember confidence comes from understanding all aspects of something, you can read more about that here 

 

 

Look Better, Feel better.

Now, looking better is just the side effect of training for ski season.

 

We're building a strong body, so we can operate longer, faster, stronger, and throw waaay harder.

 

The goal is to ski like Candide Thovex, and well you need to be strong to do that.

 

Start preseason training now, so when the snow gets here (37 Days...!) you're feeling good & confident.

 

I guarantee if you start training 3 days a week now, you'll feel the most confident you ever have at the beginning of season.

 

That's my challenge for you.

 

Let's look at exactly what & why we wanna workout.

 

4 Pillars of the Fundamentals:

Activation: Elevate heart rate, alertness, readiness

3 Key Principals:

• Proprioception

• Coordination

• Mind Muscle Connection (MMC)

Activation is what you start with when you get to the gym.

 

Bringing up your heart rate, giving blood and energy to your body.

 

You want to feel where your body is at in space & time while doing some warmup exercises.

 

This is really where you're MMC & proprioception come into play.

 

For this part at the gym you want to stay focused & connected, but not take too long doing these exercises as it can tire you out and effect your output for strength training.

 

For a quick activation to get started do this:

• 90/90 | 1 set | 3-6 per side

• Lunge Twist | 1 set | 3-6 per side

 

Plyometrics: The Shock Training

Created by Russian scientist Yuri Verkhoshansky to improve athletic performance.

• Loading & unloading muscles through quick succession

• In skiing it's tightening your tendons like a loaded spring to absorb, rebound, and recover better

Plyometrics are second when you're at the gym.

 

They'll help you absorb chatter when skiing fast.

 

They'll help your swaps when skiing rails.

 

Plyometrics is kind of like training your reflexes, so your muscle memory can react quickly when needed.

 

After all, when skiing in those flow states your body already knows what to do.

 

Training this just helps your body be stronger & quicker at it.

 

Here's a quick workout for you:

• Pogo Hops | 1-2 Sets | 12-15 Reps | 30-60 Sec Rest

• Squat Jumps | 1-2 Sets | 6-8 Reps | 30-60 Sec Rest

 

Ballistics: Jump higher, spin faster

• Explosive Movements

• More time connected to the ground

• Think Box Jumps

Ballistics and Plyometrics have some cross over.

 

As they're both focused on athletic performance and have quicker reactions.

 

However, plyometrics are focused on really quick rebounds and not as much power.

 

Ballistics are focused on channeling more energy from the ground and turning it into power.

 

This is the raw explosive power when hitting big jumps.

 

When skiing this will be transferred to when you're popping right at the end of a jump, or clearing a rock gap.

 

Training Ballistics comes right after plyometrics.

 

Use this quick workout:

• Explosive Step Up | 1-2 Sets | 3-6 Per Side | 2-3 Min Rest

• Broad Jump | 1-2 Sets | 3-5 Reps | 2-3 Min Rest

 

Strength:

Strength is built from 3 different kinds of exercises.

• Bilateral (squat - going down with both legs)

• Unilateral (lunge - going down with 1 leg)

• Whole Body exercises

Essentially the Bilateral VS the Unilateral is an exercise focused on 1 leg or arm VS focused on both arms or legs at the same time.

BI(two) VS UNI(one)

 

This part of the workout is what you save your energy for mainly.

 

This is where you'll push yourself, and overtime add more weight.

 

This is also the part similar to most traditional workouts VS the athlete focused training we started with.

 

Building full body strength won't only make you look better, it'll make you more confident on the hill, less receptive to injuries, over all a more healthy and happy person.

 

The final workout in your day.

 

Use this quick one:

• Barbell Back Squat | 2-3 Sets | 6-10 Reps | 2-5 Min Rest

• Hollow Hold | 2-3 Sets | 30 Sec | 1 Min Rest

• Calf Raises (weighted) | 2-3 Sets | 12-15 Reps | 1-2 Min Rest

 

This entire workout and break down is analyzed & created by Ian Holland-Coulton, the personal trainer for Stomp It Tutorials team.

 

For better understanding and more workouts watch his YouTube series with Jens Nyström here.

 

Science of Strength

This section is to help some of you understand certain words used in work outs.

 

And to understand what happens to your muscle when working out.

 

There's a few different types of movements you can do to build strength.

 

Eccentric

• The muscle lengthens, stretching the muscle out and tearing it slightly (to grow)

Isometric

• You pause at the peak of your workout for a moment, the muscle goes static (holding it in that torn state)

Concentric

• Going back to the starting state of the workout the muscle shortens (going back to it's normal state)

 

The best way for building strength is focusing on full body workouts.

 

After tearing your muscles it's important to give them a day to recover (this get's you the best results).

 

Eating a high amount of Carbohydrates (rice, beans, potatoes) after your workout helps you recover better & quickly.

 

Eating Protein with those Carbs will help you build more muscle.

 

Meal prep Chicken, Rice, and Avocado for a quick meal.

 

Transfer to Skis

Let's take a quick look at how these 4 pillars are gonna transform your skiing.

 

Activation, Plyometrics, Ballistics, Strength.

 

Activation is your warmup stretches, when you focus on how your body is connected.

Like stretches when you get to the mountain before you start skiing.

 

Plyometrics is how well you're gonna react, absorb, and rebound while skiing the mountain.

This will help you ski in that flow state more often.

 

Ballistics is your explosive movements and raw power you'll use.

This will help you throw tricks harder as you channel that explosive energy.

 

Strength will give your body a reserve of power that you can channel where you need to.

This will make you more resilient, ski longer, and help prevent injuries by having more muscle to hold your body together.

 

Do this workout in 45 minutes every other day before or during ski season.

 

You'll want a second workout following these same principals to interchange every other day.

 

Doing workouts focused on athletic performance is like leveling up your hero character in the stats that create an athlete.

 

Remember, you're not the NPC of your life. You're focused on what you want to achieve regardless of what others are doing.

 

I'll recap the workout below so you can screenshot it:

Activation:

• 90/90 | 1 set | 3-6 per side

• Lunge Twist | 1 set | 3-6 per side

Plyometrics:

• Pogo Hops | 1-2 Sets | 12-15 Reps | 30-60 Sec Rest

• Squat Jumps | 1-2 Sets | 6-8 Reps | 30-60 Sec Rest

Ballistics:

• Explosive Step Up | 1-2 Sets | 3-6 Per Side | 2-3 Min Rest

• Broad Jump | 1-2 Sets | 3-5 Reps | 2-3 Min Rest

Strength:

• Barbell Back Squat | 2-3 Sets | 6-10 Reps | 2-5 Min Rest

• Hollow Hold | 2-3 Sets | 30 Sec | 1 Min Rest

• Calf Raises (weighted) | 2-3 Sets | 12-15 Reps | 1-2 Min Rest

 

If you want a PDF with Stomp It's workout A & B join Slope Academy today.

 

Otherwise, get strong and see you on the mountain soon.

 

Peace,

Slope Academy