Workout : Developing a Routine.

Although everyone can benefit from doing a workout now and again, or going for a sporadic run, to really get in great skiing shape, you're going to want to have a routine.

As I stated in the workout page, there are many ways to schedule a routine. My belief is that most people will benefit from a simple circuit workout routine with a emphasis on flexibility and mobility. For those more elite competitors, a more specific and demanding routine will be needed to match your intensity of training.  

  
If you've never worked out in the gym, I can not stress enough how important it is to seek advice from a trained professional for help. A coach, gym teacher or a personal trainer can all help you and should be consulted with before you start working out. 

So what is a circuit? In its most basic form it is a training system in which you preform an exercise at 10-20 reps, then move onto another and another. After you complete all of your desired exercise's, you return to the beginning of the circuit and do the exercises a second and then a third time. This differs from traditional weight training where you preform the same exercise three consecutive times before moving onto another.  

  

For those new to circuit training, I recommend doing the following routine and doing a simple circuit such as the exercises from the US freeski team training post or from this video with Lindsey Vonn.  Remember, do each one of the four exercises for 10 -20 reps then move onto the next. After you've completed all four, do another circuit of those same exercises in the same order.

1)  10 - 15 minute cardio warm up 

2) 5 minute plyometric stretching  (including 20 crunches)

3) 5 Minute static stretching 

4) Circuit

5) 5 – 10 minute arobic cool down

 6) 5 minute static stretching

-cardio warm up : run, jog, bike, skip rope, whatever you do, just make sure you’re getting warmed up. You shouldn’t be trying to break the record for greatest distance run in ten minutes, you just need to get you’re body moving. A good measure of how hard you should be working is that you should be able to carry on a conversation while performing the warm up

 - plyometric stretching : plyometric stretches are those that involve movement.  Click here for a full blog post about theses stretches and warm ups.  

- Static stretching : If you've played a sport, you’ve probably done static stretching. Make up a routine on you’re own based on what you’ve done in the past or for more info check out this post.

 - cool down cardio/stretch : same as you’re warm up, just a little less time