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travel / adventure zone
| The Adventure Zone |
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Fit to ski
Impatient Canadian skiers and snowboarders have been counting
the days until the first serious snowfall. Across the country,
November is the month of restless anticipation as, weather permitting,
the country's premier ski resorts, from Whistler-Blackcomb,
Sun Peaks and Lake Louise to Mont Ste-Anne and Mont Tremblant,
gear up for the season's first big day. Whether they've dedicated
hours to cycling, roller skiing or swooshing on the trusty Nordic
Track in the basement, most savvy athletes have spent the spring
and summer months training on dry land. To ease the transition
from fall to winter, most clubs offer pre-season clinics that
help put skiers safely back on the slopes.
For those who've left it on the final hill they skied last year,
there's still time to get in the fitness frame of mind. A smart
place to start is Carl W. Petersen's 2004 guide Fit to Ski:
Practical Tips to Optimize Dryland Training and Ski Performance.
At 332 pages, it's packed with information that's as relevant
to the recreational weekend skier as it is to the professional.
Petersen is a physiotherapist and director of high-performance
training at Vancouver's City Sports and Physiotherapy Clinics.
He's also worked with Alpine Canada at three Olympic Winter
Games and travelled on the World Cup Ski Circuit. For Petersen,
building fitness starts from the ground up. His book includes
chapters that cover the basics from nutrition, hydration and
performance diets to smart stretching, strength training and
ski-specific warm-ups. All in all, skiers should live according
to the mantra: be prepared. "Don't just ski or play to
get into shape, get into shape to ski and play," writes
Petersen. With a copy of this user-friendly and well-illustrated
book on hand, that's a goal within your grasp.
For more information on Fit to Ski, visit www.citysportsphysio.com
For more information on ski clinics in your area, visit:
www.canski.org
www.foothillsnordic.ca/programs.jsp#masters_training
www.canada.com/national/features/snowsports/story.html
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