Its Skiing Season!

We love all things mountain. The air, sun, wine, tranquillity, fires, food and of course if there is any, great snow! Either cross, downhill, or even snow shoeing we love. Great with friends, family and little kids, it’s a great break from Melbourne. Our best tips are to go to Lake Mountain when the snow is on, its awesome for cross country and a day away from the rat race or go stay at Dinner Plain and hire a house, relax, take the dog and enjoy the altitude.

Its vital to get your body up to speed though. Here is a quick set of exercises to get those legs strong in preparation. Stronger legs means better skiing technique, but most importantly reduces your chances of injury. Its vital here in Australia with our lower quality snow as it equates to higher injury risk.

Squats: Standing with your feet a little more than shoulder-width apart, lower into a seated position until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Keep your heels grounded and your knees behind your toes. Maintain a strong core and hold your arms by your hips for alignment. Repeat 10 to 20 times.

Alternating Lunges: Set your feet shoulder-width apart and step forward with your left foot into a lunge. Keep your left leg bent at 90 degrees, and your right knee almost touching the ground behind you. Pushing off your front heel, return to the starting position with your feet apart. Repeat on the right leg. Do 10 to 20 reps for each leg.

Jump Lunges: Perform a lunge with your left leg forward. Then jump up and switch legs in the air, landing with your right foot in front of you and your left foot back. Repeat 10 to 20 reps for each leg.

Jump Squats: Squat and then shift weight from your heels to the balls of your feet to explode upward before landing softly on the ground. Do five to ten reps.