Skiing Exercises

good leg exercises for skiing?

with the up and coming ski season, i find that both my upper legs and calves are usually burning while i ski. does anyone know of any exercises that can improve my leg's endurance and strength?

Public Comments

1. First off, squats. Lower the weight and push up the number of reps. Second, same thing with the calf raises - do both seated and standing. Third, do you have someone you work out with? Get yourself into a tuck and have them place a weight on your back (25, 35, 45, whatever - it just needs to be a plate), and hold that position for at least 60 seconds. Do 3 sets of those, and then a final one until you can't hold it anymore. Finally, just remember that you need to up your cardio. Mountain biking, running, or anything else that uses your legs a lot will do. Interval sprinting is high recommended. Oh, and one other thing; do you belong to a gym? Lots of gyms have ski-specific exercise classes this time of year. See about joining one.
2. Start jumping rope on a regular basis. 15 minutes a day every day. Take some lessons to adjust your balance, I suspect you are letting your hips drift back and this puts more strain on the legs. It could be as little as 2 inches that your hips need to move forward.
3. Running and jump roping should help. Calf raises help a lot.
4. 3-5 minute wall sits (repeat) run a couple of miles everyday tip: make sure your knees are bent at a 90 degree angle