What Do Skiers Do in Off-Season?
Typically, the ski season takes place from September to June, with dates varying depending on the ski resort. It’s normal for ski resorts to close over the summer months, which poses the question, what do skiers do in the off-season to entertain themselves? The summer months provide an excellent opportunity for skiers to get in shape for ski season. Explore our selection of ski fit exercises below, which are an excellent way to prepare for the ski season.
Taking top-up ski lessons
During the off-season skiing months, skiers have the perfect opportunity to brush up on their technique before heading abroad to hit the slopes. Improver Ski lessons are an excellent way for ski-enthusiasts to get in shape for ski season while developing their skills.
This may be particularly relevant for skiers who have been away from the sport for a while, perhaps due to work or family commitments. Taking part in top-up ski lessons can provide a confidence boost for individuals, ensuring they’re ready to enjoy the ski season in all its glory. Additional confidence boosts can be achieved through the use of a ski lift pass at an indoor snow centre like Chill Factore.
Practising across the full length of an indoor snow slope can help to boost confidence and ability across higher, steeper slopes. When combined with targeted private ski lessons, this puts skiers in great stead for the beginning of the ski season.
Rollerblading
One of the most surprising ski fit exercises that is popular with skiers during off-season months is rollerblading. This sport works lots of the critical muscles used during ski activity.
The oblique leg movements used to manoeuvre and power movements during rollerblading provide a fantastic workout for your gluteus medius. These are the three gluteal muscles that connect the pelvis to your femur, allowing you to target complex hip muscles. Typically, our hips are only used to move forwards and backwards, but lateral strengthening of the hips is critical for maintaining healthy knees. Given that happy knees are crucial for strong skiing, this ski fit exercise is a perfect pastime for skiers during the summer months.
Exercise with weighted bands
Introducing weighted anklets, vests or wristlets into your training is a fantastic ski fit exercise. When you use this equipment, it directly impacts your skiing muscles, leading to improvements in your downhill power and cliff stomping strength.
To get the most out of this equipment, it’s best to walk at a slow pace across various inclines. When walking uphill with weighted bands, your muscles have so much resistance to work against. This provides fantastic targeted workouts for your quad muscles because they’re working to move away from gravity. As we know, your quad muscles are essential for skiing.
Benefits can be reaped on the way down a hill too! By moving along a downward incline, your muscles need to exercise impressive control. This ski fit exercise works the quads again, strengthening their muscle fibres. As a result, skiers will be able to improve their control during turns and exits and improve recovery from cliff drops.
So if you were wondering, ‘what do skiers do in off-season months?’, there’s your answer! Skiers spend the summer months engaging in ski fit exercises to ensure they can get in shape for ski season whilst boosting their confidence and focusing on technique. If you’re looking to book some ski lessons or practice your ski skills with a ski lift pass, explore our website to get ready for the ski season.
