Effective ski exercise programs strengthen the muscles and simulate the movements used in skiing. Accomplished skiers have the balance, agility, strength and coordination required for carving turns, absorbing moguls and maintaining stability on steep terrain. While the home environment hardly resembles a ski slope, some household items, along with inexpensive balance equipment, provide efficient off-slope training.
Carving Exercises
Carving is unique to skiing. No other activity requires you to balance on the edges of your feet. During the off season, use your couch cushions or pillows to maintain the ankle strength and muscle memory required for carving. Stand upright with your feet on the cushion. Shift your weight so that you balance on the big toe of one foot and the little toe of the other. Flatten your feet in the transition, and then perform the movement on the other side. Perform 20 repetitions, or 10 to each side.
Wall Slides
The wall slide is a modernized version of an older ski exercise, called the "wall sit." Stand with your back against the wall and your feet separated at pelvic-width apart. Bend your knees until your hamstrings are parallel to the floor. Remain in position, straighten your legs about an inch, and then bend them again. Perform 20 repetitions. This exercise works the quadriceps and hamstrings.
Towel Glides
While gliding movements are specific to snow sports, practicing them does not require an icy surface. A freshly waxed wood or linoleum floor will suffice. Stand in an upright alignment, and place a towel or a paper plate under one foot. Inhale and glide your leg to one side. Exhale, contract your inner thigh muscles and glide your leg back to center. Perform 15 repetitions on each leg.
Ball Marching
If you have ever taken ski lessons, your instructor might have taught a drill called "the thousand steps." Bob Barnes, director of training at the Keystone Resort describes this as a drill that enhances balance and the ability to transfer weight from one leg to the other. The skier maintains balance by marching through the movements of the turn. Simulate the thousand steps drill on the stability ball. Lie supine with your feet on the ball. Lift each spinal vertebra until you are in a bridge position. Maintain the bridge, and march your feet on top of the ball. If your weight is equally distributed, the ball will remain stable. Perform 20 repetitions, and then roll down. Repeat the exercise three times.
Rope Walking
Harald Harb, of Harb Ski Systems, suggests the rope walking exercise to promote balance. Place the rope in an "s" shape. Step on the rope and walk with one foot in front of the other. Repeat the sequence, but walk backwards. When you gain proficiency, perform the series with your eyes closed
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