The Fitness Needed for These Snow-Bound Sports

GATESHEAD, U.K. - April 21, 2021 - PRLog -- The world of extreme winter sports has always been somewhat of an unknown realm, a dark art if you will. Mystery and intrigue have surrounded the likes of snowboarding, skiing, and ski jumping — to name just a few.

For most looking from the outside in, the questions posed towards anyone involved have been ones like "how do you get involved in such a thing?", or, similarly, just statements like "you'd have to be mad."

That said, in 2020, with summer sporting events cancelled as a consequence of the coronavirus pandemic, more people are turning to winter sports as an opportunity to escape the reality of the current situation. And with the winter Olympics approaching (https://www.olympic.org/beijing-2022), interest in snow sports is at an all-time high. Younger people are looking for new experiences that appeal to their adrenaline-seeking nature.

As more and more of us decide that we're going to embark on extreme winter sports, whether as a hobby or a newfound calling, we thought we'd look at what it takes in terms of fitness to be able to succeed.

Let's delve into what extreme sports fitness involves…

Skiing

This winter sport is a full-body workout! There are many variations of the sport, including downhill and cross-country racing. Effectively, you want to get from one place to another as quickly as possible using the power of your legs and arms.

Alongside creativity and cunning, to succeed and more importantly stay safe in competitive skiing, you'll need to display sheer physical strength and ability.

A combination of cardio and resistance training, skiing is the ideal full-body workout, engaging almost every muscle you can think of. Alongside being a guaranteed method of weight loss, skiing can help boost your mental aptitude, as it requires quick thinking and an abundance of new skills.

General cardiovascular fitness is required – improve this through a mixture of long (5-10k) runs and short (1-3k) runs. Develop upper body strength with functional calisthenic exercises like pull-ups and press-ups. Your lower body muscles are also required for that explosive power when pulling yourself along the snow track. You can build your adaptive leg strength through exercises like squats and lunges.

If you're not ready for any competitive skiing, you can always practice your abilities during the gap year ski season (https://siaaustria.com/gap-year-ski-season/), regardless of your fitness level.