How giddy are you when you hit the slopes for the first time? That ride up the chair lift is straight euphoria, and your first few turns are even more magical.
But, then it happens. Your legs are on fire, and you can’t even make it 10 turns down the trail until you have to pull over. What the %$#@!
All that ‘ski exercise’ you did beforehand? It didn’t matter. Clearly. You’re huffing and puffing and even worse your legs are on fire and you know after 3 runs they’re going to be noodles.
Well — NOODLE LEGS BE GONE!
In our other article, we talked about how this one principle needs to be in every ski workout you do. It doesn't matter how hard you train, if you’re not working in eccentric exercise noodle legs will get you.
Piggybacking off that, just doing your standard run, some squats, and riding the peloton won’t cut it either come ski season. Not only do you need to train a specific way, but there are certain exercises that you NEED to do.
Luckily for you, we’ve got you covered. We came up with our 3 most important ski exercises to tune your ski legs and get rid of noodle legs for good.
Check out our top 3 Ski Exercises
#1 Skiier squat
Seems obvious, but if you’re squatting when have you ever done a variation like this? A skiier squat (we think we invited this?!) is simply taking the motion of a ski turn and combining it with a squat to form a strength training exercise that grooves your ski turn. This is an advanced move, so start bodyweight, and go from there. If you feel like you need a little more mobility, check out our 5 best mobility exercises first.
#2 Lateral Lunge Transition
Ever feel like just one of your legs get’s tired during the ski day? It’s very common. We either favor one side with hard stops and ski turns or are simply weaker on one side creating overall fatigue from making turns. With the lateral lunge ski transition, we load up one leg at a time, and equally strengthen both sides. This move mimics your carving and will get you stronger in your ski position.
#3 Wall sit ankle rolls
A two for one-er here! We know we have to be able to hold a tuck or at least an athletic ski position for a prolonged period of time during a ski run. Nothing more relevant to that than a wall sit. This isometric hold will prep your legs for those long, windy runs and keep you going and strong throughout. The best part? We add in some ankle rolls (to your ability) to mimic how you’ll be turning. Again, if you don’t have the mobility for this, start here.
These three exercises are the best place to start.
But you know that you need more. That’s where our 2021 Ripple Ski and Snow club comes into play!
Get access to:
- 5 ski mobility classes
- 12 Weeks of Ski Strength Programs to last you all year
- Updated Classes Every Month
- The Fix Your Ski Knee Guide
- Access to the Ripple S&S club challenges
- And MUCH more!