Aspen Club and Spa

By Asia Jenkins from the Aspen Daily News

With winter around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about getting your body ready for ski season.

I have taught ski conditioning on and off for the past five years and I am consistently hearing the same question from clients: “How do I get my body ready to take a ski conditioning class?”

Going from zero to 60 in 10 seconds is OK for a car, but our bodies need a little bit more of a warmup. Pulled hamstrings and twisted ankles are no way to start the ski season. Those who did not do much physical activity this summer except maybe a couple hikes may want to get their heart rates up before the first class.

Since skiing is an explosive sport, plyomectric workouts are the perfect fit. Plyomectric means to jump up and down or side to side. So class is full of jumping on and off steps, lateral side-to-side movements, and high and low squats. A good class will also include lunges, loaded squats and single-leg balancing.

Trying to build up endurance for that first top-to-bottom run takes time. If you are starting with no aerobic background, it could take you four to six weeks to build up a solid base. The basic idea is that you can go hard for about two minutes because that is the average length of a run. Then when ski season hits you can handle that first big powder day and keep up with the pros.

So lets start with the basics:

• I found that jumping rope is a good way to wake up the muscles and get the heart rate up. Start by jumping for two minutes at a time. It’s OK to take little breaks. Jump rope for 10 to 15 minutes. Once you are finished, stretch the muscles of the legs – gently — not to overdo it.

• Next, move on to walking lunges. Walk back and forth across the gym, or for a more challenging exercise, hold hand weights while lunging. Perfect form is the front knee staying over the ankle not angling towards the toes. If your legs do not feel fatigued try another jumping exercise.

• My favorite is jumping squat thrusts. Bend your knees to touch the floor with your fingers, then jump up, reaching your hands to the ceiling. Try to complete three sets of 15 thrusts.

• Add in a little balancing act. Stand on one leg on some kind of balancing device like a disk or Buso Ball. Try touching the floor and then the sky. Keep the chest lifted, head up, eyes forward; try not to break at the waist. Keep the non-standing leg bent and try not to touch it to the floor. Do two sets of 10, a total of 20 on each leg.

• To finish, jump side to side and back and forth, using both feet, like you are tracing the shape of a box. Keep the feet and legs glued together like a fish tail. Hands stay low and in front of the body — imagine that you are holding ski poles. Try to do this just once for three to four minutes. It’s harder than it sounds, so when you start running out of breath think of soft fresh bumps on your favorite run. Bend the knees and absorb the impact softly; think of not making noise with the feet every time you land.

• Remember to be nice to your knees — you only have one pair. If you have any sharp pain in the knees, stop, slow down and listen to your body. You don’t want to go into the season with any kind of injury.

• Mix these great moves into your usual workouts or try all three together. Yes, you will be a little sore, but think about how much better you will feel going into your first ski conditioning class.

Asia Jenkins was born and raised in Aspen and has competed in the 24 Hours of Aspen, X Games, and NBC’s Gravity Games in the skiercross division. She currently works at the Aspen Club and spa as a Pilates/yoga instructor and as a ski condition trainer.