Q & A: Stretching & Warming Up Before Skiing
Why do skiers skip warming up? The benefits to a good stretch and warmup before skiing are clear. Timing might be the reason. Here's how to fit in a good warmup.
January is National Ski Safety Month, so it seemed like a good time to talk about stretching and warming up for skiing.
Q: What does stretching and warming up really do for you?
This was an easy question - so we gave the easy question to everyone's digital friend, AI.
A: Warming up before skiing is crucial for injury prevention, improved performance, and better endurance by increasing blood flow, muscle flexibility, and joint range of motion, while also enhancing the brain-body connection for faster reactions. It prepares your cardiovascular system, activates key skiing muscles (glutes, core, legs), and mentally primes you for the demands of skiing, helping you avoid early fatigue and stay in control.
Q: Do most skiers warm up before a ski day?
A: We know to stretch before a run, to have a warm up period when we work out at the gym, or to start a pilates or yoga routine. But, the answer here is no - a good warmup is often skipped or overlooked by skiers.
Q: Why do so may skiers miss doing an important warmup?
A: Everybody's reasons are different. But it may be all the preparation and travel to get to your first run. Think about it: travel, layering, standing in line, riding the lift. It could be confusing when to fit in that preparation and get the benefit.
Q: When should you warm up?
For this one we wanted an expert opinion, so we asked Dr. Leslie Desrosiers, DPT and injury prevention expert.
A: You can do a warm-up at any point but at least do it before you get on the chair or when you're at the top of the chair before you start your first run. At the bottom of the chair you could do even a five-minute routine that just wakes up the legs, wakes up the core and trunk muscles and postural muscles and again primes the nervous system so that it's more alert and ready to respond and ready to react.
When I get to the top, sometimes I'll do a quick refresher before that first run and then start with a a milder run first to just let everything sort of wake up and get the small stabilizing muscles engaged to protect your joints and then you gradually build up.
Want to hear the full Q& A with Dr. Leslie? Listen to Epsisode 301 of the Gold Skis Podcast: Keep Skiing Longer. You'll find this question at about 34:00. The whole episode is full of great insights on injury prevention through exercise.