3 Amazing Leg Workouts For Skiers
Do you ever wish you had stronger knees and improved lower body endurance? Wish you could build core strength at the same time?
Look no further than these three single leg exercise progressions, each aimed at building stronger ski legs and core stability. Remember that skiing is always performed with weight loaded asymmetrically from leg to leg.
There’s always an uphill ski and a downhill ski in every ski turn. As a result, it’s imperative that your workout program includes single leg exercises that will build stability and strength for the ski season.
The following three exercises build upon each other by reducing stability, changing the loading of your core muscles, and requiring significantly more balance by exercise #3 compared to #1.
Don’t rush to start doing the third progression. Always start small, build proficiency and then progress once you feel confident in the movements. You could spend an entire summer on just exercise #1 and still make progress before the season.
The Step-Up Progressions:
DOUBLE GRIP STEP UP
This is the most basic step up variation. Here, the skier isolates the quad muscle and glute muscles to perform the action of stepping up onto a surface. The loading is equal because each hand holds the same weight. As a result, the leg on top, the skier’s core muscles, and their arms all bear the same load.
To execute, drive the standing foot into the bench and re-stabilize at the top.
Recommended Reps:
- Strength: 4-6 reps/leg - heavy weight
- Hypertrophy, Size: 8-10 reps - moderate weight
- Endurance: 12+ reps - moderate to light weight
KETTLEBELL SINGLE ARM “RACK” STEP UP
Here, the kettlebell adds loading to one side of the body. This creates asymmetrical loading on the oblique muscles and demands more core stability to execute the movement properly. This is a great progression for skiers looking to take their workouts to the next level while prioritizing stability.
The bottleneck will be the skier’s ability to secure the kettlebell without wavering. Again, start small and only progress once you feel confident in your mechanics.
Recommended Reps:
- Strength: 4-6 reps/leg - heavy weight
- Hypertrophy, Size: 8-10 reps - moderate weight
- Endurance: 12+ reps - moderate to light weight
“CONTRALATERAL” STEP UP + BALANCE
Here, the skier has the opportunity to put all the previous elements to the test: balance, stability, core engagement, and strength.
By holding the weight “contralaterally”, or opposite the stable side, the legs, hips, and core muscles are required to work extra hard to stabilize and prevent the body from being pulled into the open space. For skiers, this is invaluable because these are the same core muscle demands we experience on snow. It's the same reason the Paloff Press is so crucial to skier strength training. You can watch my previous video on the Paloff Press HERE.
Recommended Reps:
- Strength: 4-6 reps/leg - heavy weight
- Hypertrophy, Size: 8-10 reps - moderate weight
- Endurance: 12+ reps - moderate to light weight
The balance component at the top requires the stance ankle to stabilize the position. It has been shown that mobile ankles capable of stabilizing themselves correlate to stable knees. This is an imperative for skiers but is commonly overlooked because we are forcefully stabilized in boots.
That, however, doesn’t mean we should eliminate balance work from our skiing workout programs. Quite the contrary.
As always, if you find value in these posts, please share them with a fellow skier who would benefit from the information.
Thank You,
Abe