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Skiing warm-up

Making your ski trip a safe one.

With the ski season quickly approaching, we at Wimbledon Physiotherapy Clinic would like to address the topic of Pre-skiing conditioning to help prevent injuries. A conditioning programme must start at least 6 weeks prior to the ski trip and must embrace the following 3 areas:

Aerobic Training

This is important as it increases the efficiency of the heart to deliver oxygen throughout the body. This can be achieved by jogging, swimming, cycling or any other activity that raises the heart rate. All aerobic fitness must be increased gradually both in intensity and length of time spent exercising. Aerobic fitness can also be improved in small adjustments to your lifestyle, like getting off the bus a stop early and walking the last 15 minutes, taking the stairs instead of the lift and walking to the shops – so give it a go!

Muscular Endurance

We have selected 4 ski specific examples of good muscular endurance exercises. These are as follows:

 

Exercise aa) Lean against a wall with your knees bent 70-80 degrees. Sustain this position for 15 seconds, gradually increase to a few minutes.Exercise b

 

b) Run up and down 1 or 2 steps, gradually increasing speed and repetitions from 1 to 5 minutes.

 

 

 

Exercise cc) Bend knees to about 30 degrees. Jump side to side about 1 foot. Start with about 10 reps and increase to a few minutes.Exercise d

 

d) Use a theraband or length of elastic material attached to a door handle. Stand with your legs astride, holding either end of the band.

 

Perform a poling action back and forth with alternate arms. Begin with 10 reps increasing to a few minutes.

 

These exercises should be added to a general conditioning programme. For more information, seek advice from your fitness professional.

Warm up and stretches

Once you have conditioned your body in preparation for your ski trip there are still things you can do to further reduce the risk of injury. Once at your ski resort ensure that you warm up and stretch before and after skiing. It is even more important to warm up on a cold day to allow the muscles to work efficiently.

 

We have outlined a series of steps you can take to get your body safe to ski. Just work at what you can fit into the time your lifestyle allows.

 

We wish you an enjoyable ski season!