How to help your body recover from skiing or snowboarding

Our guide to how you can help your body recover from a day skiing or snowboarding : Get the most out of your ski trip.

Do you plan to get ski fit for your next trip only to put it off and then suddenly you’re on a plane and you haven’t done any relevant exercises?

Skiing and Snowboarding work parts of your body that you don’t use in everyday life.

If you aren’t “ski body” ready there are going to be parts of you that will ache after a day on the slopes.

There are things that you can do during the evening in your chalet to make you feel ready for the next day on the slopes.

Meribel ski lift

Stretching

Stretching is one of the best ways to help your body recover after skiing, it will help you to avoid sore muscles the next day.

Stretching after a day of riding helps muscles return to their original position by removing the tension.

During your post ski stretching the circulation of blood will return to your muscles allowing them to recover and repair. Make sure that you focus on stretching your leg muscles, glutes and lower back.

Here is a handy warm down guide from ski expert Warren Smith.

Warm up

Warming your muscles up a few hours after exercises can really help ease the pain and get your body back to it’s full potential.

In most of our ski chalets you will find a hot tub or a sauna. Don’t mistake these for novelties that add a level of sophistication to your holiday, these are important bits of kit that can help your post-ski recovery.

Warming your body in a hot tub or sauna increases blood flow and allows more oxygen get to your muscles.

Experts advise that you wait for several hours before hopping into a sauna or a hot tub after skiing or snowboarding and to make sure that you are thoroughly hydrated.

Many sports therapists also suggest that you should wait until your a few days into your trip before indulging your muscles as the heat can also inflame your muscles and slow down the recovery.

… & in the morning

If you are an early riser or you don’t rush out onto the slopes you may want to use the time to warm up in the hot tub, sauna or shower. Warm muscles are less likely to be damaged during exercises.

Sauna

 

 GET FIT FOR YOUR NEXT SKI HOLIDAY

Massage

A great way to make sure you are ready for the next day on the slopes is to get a sports massage that works on the soft tissues around the most worked parts of your body.

A massage after skiing should focus on your lower back and knee area. Having your body looked after like this will aid your relaxation and increase your recovery.

Ice Bath

Out of all the techniques, this is probably the best at ensuring your muscles recover overnight.

The chances that your chalet will have enough ice on hand to do this is unlikely but don’t worry.

All you need is a bath at normal cold tap temperature, between 8°C and 10°C. The cold temperature will slow the inflammation and help get the recovery process working faster.

You should go for two sessions of five minutes with a warm-up in between. If there is a fresh dump of snow you could always jump in that.

Stay hydrated

All the above will be a waste of time if you don’t hydrate effectively at the end of the day.

We all know that at altitude you lose water from your body faster than at sea level. If you are then taking part in a strenuous activity such as skiing or snowboarding you will become dehydrated even quicker.

Your body needs liquid to help with repairing muscles as well as to extract the nutrients from your food during the digestion process.

Taking a drink directly after skiing will also lower your heart rate faster and ensure that you don’t spend the evening feeling fatigued. Please note that chalet wine is not an acceptable way to hydrate yourself!

As we mentioned at the start one options is to be ski fit for your trip.

Try this handy routine.

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