• Women skiers, this is the place for you -- an online community without the male-orientation you'll find in conventional ski magazines and internet ski forums. At TheSkiDiva.com, you can connect with other women to talk about skiing in a way that you can relate to, about things that you find of interest. Be sure to join our community to participate (women only, please!). Registration is fast and simple. Just be sure to add [email protected] to your address book so your registration activation emails won't be routed as spam. And please give careful consideration to your user name -- it will not be changed once your registration is confirmed.

Getting fit for the season

Belgiangirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
We always did V-Sits in gymnastics so I still tend to go for those today. I feel like they're a better workout anyhow.
V-sits are tough so I can see why that exercise feels like a better workout than say, a plank. Have you tried an ab roller as an alternative? Most gyms have them in my experience.
download.jpeg
 

kiki

Angel Diva
what about the less fit people in the crowd (surely I'm not the only one!)?

I'm working to get 10k steps each day and doing stretches and sit ups etc at least 15 m a day.

I know ski season will be horrifically tough!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
what about the less fit people in the crowd (surely I'm not the only one!)?

I'm working to get 10k steps each day and doing stretches and sit ups etc at least 15 m a day.

I know ski season will be horrifically tough!
My blog is written for folks over 50, so I started by looking for ideas for anyone who is motivated to get into a little better shape. Meaning at least in the 2-3 months before ski season gets going in earnest. The videos I've posted in this thread are a few, but there are more in the blog.

Working on 1-leg balance a few times a day for 5 min and spending 20-30 min doing a focused workout 2-3 times a week is more than enough to make a difference. The idea is to find assorted exercises that keep you interested. Just doing sit-ups sounds boring. Note that I'm not a fitness professional. My comments are strictly based on personal experience in the last six years (over 55).

https://over50skifitness.blogspot.com/2015/08/getting-started-little-pre-season.html

https://over50skifitness.blogspot.com/2017/12/7-minute-workout-based-on-hiit-to-do.html
 

MilkyWookiee

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
what about the less fit people in the crowd (surely I'm not the only one!)?

I'm working to get 10k steps each day and doing stretches and sit ups etc at least 15 m a day.

I know ski season will be horrifically tough!

Remember that anything in addition to your baseline is an improvement! If you have a gym membership, something as simple as adding
V-sits are tough so I can see why that exercise feels like a better workout than say, a plank. Have you tried an ab roller as an alternative? Most gyms have them in my experience.
View attachment 9565

This is an aggressive piece of equipment in disguise! Even just holding a plank on one is diesel
 

Belgiangirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
what about the less fit people in the crowd (surely I'm not the only one!)?

I'm working to get 10k steps each day and doing stretches and sit ups etc at least 15 m a day.

I know ski season will be horrifically tough!
Of course not! I don't practice what I preach, for one :wave:
I walk as much as possible, it's how I get to work and back home (2,5 miles round trip), do groceries, etc.
Do you have a dead moment (waiting for your partner to get ready, waiting for your pasta to cook,...)? Do some squats/a plank/push-ups/... while waiting!

Most of the exercises I suggested to HikenSki can be modified to make them easier or harder - e.g. planks and push-ups can be done on knees. @marzNC has a lot of info and exercises on her blog that are worth checking out.
 

Gloria

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
what about the less fit people in the crowd (surely I'm not the only one!)?

I'm working to get 10k steps each day and doing stretches and sit ups etc at least 15 m a day.

I know ski season will be horrifically tough!
You are doing great! Having a goal like 10k steps per day plus your consistency is huge. I would rate that far better than simply going to the gym everyday without a definitive goal and simply doing whatever exercise comes to mind. If what you are doing works for you, keep doing it. Once your 10k steps a day becomes consistent and your 15 minutes a day becomes easier just up the steps and increase the time in increments. I will bet your first few days of skiing will be less tough than you think too.
 

IceHeeler

Angel Diva
what about the less fit people in the crowd (surely I'm not the only one!)?

I'm working to get 10k steps each day and doing stretches and sit ups etc at least 15 m a day.

I know ski season will be horrifically tough!
Sounds like you're doing well already! Any stability strength is helpful. One of my favorite exercises to teach is the band-resisted toe tap. Put a resistance band above your knees and tap your toe to the side. A second band can be added at the ankles for more resistance. Play Jame's Brown's I Feel Good super loud and do each side for one minute. When that gets easy, switch to a squat position and tap the whole foot to the side flat-footed. Meghan Callaway does hers a little differently, but has a great demonstration: Double Banded Toe Taps For Glutes
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
:bump: a little early, but starting to think about fall activities. Probably because I'm sending my daughter off to start college orientation this weekend.

Not sure I would ever do this sequence by a UK character, but includes a couple exercises to consider that I hadn't seen before.

 

kiki

Angel Diva
:bump: a little early, but starting to think about fall activities. Probably because I'm sending my daughter off to start college orientation this weekend.

Not sure I would ever do this sequence by a UK character, but includes a couple exercises to consider that I hadn't seen before.

This looks like a fun routine, I’ll try it out and report back! Thank you!
For me, have been doing yoga since feb and have been walking a lot playing golf— my body is in the best shape ever, but need to build some muscle and stamina so will add in time on the rebounder daily too.
 

mountainwest

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I do hiking and backpacking in summer which keeps me in good shape, and I have also started doing yoga to get ready for ski season (power yoga & AIM Adventure U’s “yoga for skiers” classes).
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Augh! I'm feeling old and achy!

I've been going to PT for a super-tight IT band, and had a change in PTs. The substitute PT put me through a bunch of exercises (too many to learn them right) and a stretch that gave me the worst Charlie Horse of my life - crippling pain. I'm still in pain from it, plus my knees both hurt.

The only reason I'm going to PT was I told the doctor I didn't want to just be given the exercises because I always managed to hurt myself by doing them wrong.

Grrrr.
 

Abbi

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Augh! I'm feeling old and achy!

I've been going to PT for a super-tight IT band, and had a change in PTs. The substitute PT put me through a bunch of exercises (too many to learn them right) and a stretch that gave me the worst Charlie Horse of my life - crippling pain. I'm still in pain from it, plus my knees both hurt.

The only reason I'm going to PT was I told the doctor I didn't want to just be given the exercises because I always managed to hurt myself by doing them wrong.

Grrrr.

Remember: 'No' is a good word. Especially with a sub (the old one will be available again, right?) PT. I'm vaguely testing out new massage therapists and I specify 'start gentle'.

It makes me crazy, on your behalf, that the sub didn't review the work you had been doing and just build on that. Adding a bunch of new doesn't help!
 

marzNC

Angel Diva
A lot of people tend to overlook core strength, which is so, so important. I posted about it in my blog today, if anyone's interested. Go here.
Nice article!

I like the plank test. Easy and quick. Doing it once a month between now and Jan would be a great way to see if whatever ski conditioning someone does is making a difference.
 

fgor

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh @newboots good luck with the IT band issues! The IT band can be a real pain, as a bonus my experience is that if you annoy it too much, it just gets kinda irritated which is counter-productive!

Hope your next PT session is better and you have better luck trying the exercises at home maybe :smile:
 

newboots

Angel Diva
Thanks, all!

I saw the regular PT yesterday and she only did light stretching. But lying in bed last night I was angry all over again. Still hurting, after another Epsom salt bath and Aleve, trouble sleeping, and a spot on my knee (Gerdy’s Tubercle, for those of you following along in your anatomy books) that was inflamed when I started and is now significantly worse, keeping me up at night. As proof, I offer the bruise from where the better PT had been massaging it.

Cancel some appointments and give the body a rest? Find a different PT? Ugh.
 

Latest posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
26,237
Messages
497,683
Members
8,503
Latest member
MermaidKelly
Top