How To Train For Ski Touring: Your Ultimate Preparation Guide
How Physically Fit Do You Need to Be for Ski Touring?
When it comes to ski touring, your training should be centered around your own personal goals. However, there are a number of general skills that everyone should acquire if they want to reach peak performance:
Good endurance will make or break your ski touring season. To enjoy your outdoor adventure to the max, you should be able to move at a moderate speed for several hours without getting fully out of breath.
Strength is key for conquering the mountaintop. In order to safely reach the summit and maintain a good balance throughout, your leg muscles and core need targeted training beforehand to make sure they’re up to the challenge.
When Should You Start To Train For Ski Touring?
Although you’re technically training for a winter sport, your preparation should start in summer. Ideally, you’re already leading an active lifestyle on a day-to-day basis, allowing you to complete one or two runs, bike rides or other endurance sessions throughout the week. In short: Hopping off the couch and onto the slopes is not the way to go. That being said: If you’re reasonably in shape and frequently engage in recreational exercise, you’ll be perfectly fine if you start your targeted ski touring training about eight to ten weeks before the start of the season.
Endurance Training: Building the Foundations
In ski touring, endurance takes center stage – it's what you need the most on your way to the top, so getting your basic fitness levels up is key. This will go a long way in helping you manage the long and challenging ascent without ending up completely exhausted – or missing the stunning views, while we’re at it.
Is Cycling a Good Way to Train for Ski Touring?
When it comes to recreational athletes, sports that require as much strength and endurance as ski touring itself are a great choice to get winter ready – like mountain biking or road cycling in hilly terrain. Equally suitable as preparatory exercise: Hiking , mountaineering , trail running and swimming, as they simulate the type of movements and physical demands you'll encounter on a ski tour.
What Zone Should Your Endurance Training Focus on?
If you want to improve your base endurance, your body should primarily function in the aerobic zone, i.e. your oxygen intake is sufficient to meet your body’s energy needs. This means that you’d theoretically be able to keep going at a moderate intensity forever and ever. A simple rule of thumb: As long as you can easily hold a conversation throughout your workout, and barely feel the strain of the exercise when you’re done, you're in the right zone.
The Best Exercises for More Strength in Ski Touring
A standard for pros, but often overlooked by recreational athletes: Strength and stabilization training. While getting your endurance up to speed is vital, constant repetition of movement patterns can lead to shortened tendons and muscles. So in order to fully tap your performance potential, as well as prevent injuries, regular stretching is a definite must.
Which Muscles Are Used in Ski Touring?
Besides your leg muscles – which naturally do the main work – your core and arms will be engaged throughout as well. Since ski touring is a full-body sport, you’ll need to train all your muscle groups accordingly. Here’s a list of the most important exercises to help you build a solid base:
Core Training for a Strong Base
Strong core muscles are generally a huge plus, whether in sport or your regular day-to-day. When ski touring, your core transfers the force from your arms to the lower body, while also assisting with your leg work.
Abdominal Crunch
This popular exercise is the ultimate classic for strengthening your rectus abdominis. Lie on your back, bend your legs, and press your heels firmly into the ground. Then pull your hands toward your heels while lifting your upper body. Important: Make sure your lumbar spine stays firmly on the ground, and to keep your shoulder blades slightly raised at all times, even when lowering your body.Hip Lift
Lie on your back, cross your arms behind your head, and place your feet on the ground. Then place your right ankle loosely on your left knee. Now tighten your abs and glutes and lift your pelvis off the ground until your upper body and left thigh form a straight line. Then lower yourself back down to the ground in a controlled manner, vertebra by vertebra. Also, don't forget to switch sides!Hip Abduction
Lie on your side and support yourself on your forearm and knee. Keep your body in as straight a line as possible. Now lift your upper leg straight up and lower it back down in a controlled manner – can you feel how your lateral abdominal, hip, and thigh muscles work? Make sure to repeat the exercise on the other side as well.
Leg Training for Long Ascents
When it comes to ski touring, it’s your legs that will carry you across steep inclines, and help you master seemingly endless walks in the snow – provided you've properly trained them, of course. Your thighs and calves in particular need to give the performance of their life to help you move upward as stably and efficiently as possible.
Squat
This exercise strengthens thighs, glutes, as well as your lower back. Stand upright with your legs spread apart at shoulder-width distance and distribute your weight evenly on both soles, making sure to keep your back straight. Looking forward, squat down low until your thighs are parallel to the ground. Mobility permitting, you can go even lower. Important: keep your heels firmly on the ground to ensure full stability, as this will allow your muscles to work to their full potential.Lunge
From a hip-width stance, take a long step forward, alternating between each leg. Bend your front leg until the knee is at a 90-degree angle and directly above your toes. Then push yourself back up and switch legs. To make the exercise even more specific to ski touring, you can support yourself on your ski poles and push yourself up using both arms and legs simultaneously – this will turn your simple lunges into a full-body workout.Step-Downs
Stand on one leg on an approximately knee-high box, with the other leg floating freely beside the box. Now slowly bend your standing leg until the floating foot touches the ground. It's important to keep your upper body upright and your knee stable – under no circumstances should it twist inward! Then straighten up again, always making sure your leg axis stays straight.
Real progress only happens with regular training. So instead of doing super intense sessions here and there, it’s much more effective to engage in sporting activities at least three times per week. Using the exercises above, you can easily design an effective training routine for ski touring to boost your endurance and strength. With proper preparation, you’re all set for your big mountaintop adventure. Ready for your next tour? Then strap on your skis and get going!