NEDERLAND — When I was on the US Ski Team, I spent more time training for skiing than I did actally skiing. This is because skiing requires strength and power, aerobic fitness, and balance and agility.

With ski season eight weeks away, here are five ski specific exercises you can incorporate into your weekly routine. 

Strength and power

At high speeds or through clean carving turns, centrifugal force and gravity combine to generate external loads that can reach two to three times your body weight. Your quadriceps, glutes, and hamstrings need maximum force output just to keep your knees from collapsing. 

Quick, repetitive turns require a fast rate of force development—firing the glutes and quads instantly to generate pop off the tail of the ski into the next arc.

The core, lower back, and anti-rotational muscles must lock the upper body in place so the legs can move independently. Without strong trunk stability, energy leaks away from the ski edges, leading to loss of control.

The Bulgarian split squat is a great single-leg strength training exercise that can mimic the demands of skiing. 

Photo Courtesy of Indian Peaks Training Center

Try these:

1. Heavy Eccentric Rear-Foot Elevated Split Squats (Bulgarian Split Squats): Lower down slowly on one leg over a 4–5 second count to train the quads and glutes for absorbing terrain bumps and high G-forces.

2. Lateral Bound & Stick (Skater Jumps): Bound side-to-side dynamically, sticking the landing on one leg for 1 second before exploding back to train lateral push-off power and joint stability.

3. Pallof Press (Cable or Resistance Band): Hold a static athletic stance while resisting horizontal pull, building core stiffness to prevent upper-body rotational leaks.

Aerobic fitness

While strength and power initiate turns and hold edges, aerobic capacity is the foundation that keeps you skiing lap after lap without injury or exhaustion. Skiing operates as a hybrid sport: downhill runs demand intense anaerobic bursts, but your aerobic engine dictates how efficiently you recover between turns, runs, and entire ski days.

4. 30/30s: Progressive warm-up (10-15 min). Perform two rounds of 30 seconds hard 9/10 effort, followed by 30 seconds easy 1/10 effort, 5-8 times. Rest five minutes easy 1/10 between rounds. Cool down and stretch (five minutes).

Balance and agility

Skiing demands a high-level of balance and agility because you are negotiating a slippery, constantly changing surface at speed while supported by two independent, narrow platforms. Balance in skiing isn't static like standing on one foot; it is dynamic, requiring continuous real-time adjustments over your center of mass.

5. Four-Square Grid / Cross Hops (Multi-Directional Agility): Visualize or draw a simple 2x2 grid cross on the floor. Number the squares 1 through 4. Hop two-footed or single-footed in sequence (e.g., 1-2-4-3-1) as fast as possible while keeping your torso facing forward.

Thanks to El Niño, this winter’s forecast is for snow (and maybe lots of it). Use these exercises to maximize your time, enjoyment, and injury resistance on the snow from day 1.

Alison Powers wants people to have confidence in their physical abilities no matter where they are in life. She is a certified Personal Trainer & Corrective Exercise Specialist through NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine). She is a former professional downhill skier and cyclist. Today she is the Nederland High School Mountain Bike Team coach and has her own training center, the Indian Peaks Training Center. Learn more at iptrainingcenter.com or email Alison Powers at apowbike@gmail.com.