Posted on December 09, 2014 by Jenny Cromack

If we asked you ‘ which muscles are used when skiing ‘ you would probably most likely say ‘the legs’ but skiing is one of those sports where there isn’t much you don’t work from a muscular point of view, however as you might have gathered there are some muscles that take a bit more of the brunt during skiing. The main muscles used when skiing can be divided into several key groups:

• Core muscle group
• Hip muscle group
• Thigh group
• Lower leg group

 

Core Muscle Group: Surprisingly this does mean your transverse abdomnis (TA), multifidus and obliques and not so much your rectus abdomnis (RA). Although the RA does require some training to help with balance. A strong transverse abdomnis will help with spinal stability, particularly important in skiing where changes in direction are frequent.  Interestingly skiers with stronger cores fail to adapt the rapid arm swing and frequent falling of skiers with weak cores.

Hip Muscle Group: This is the skiers power house, their foundation, their anchor. Weak gluteus mean that the house of cards will come crashing down! The Gluteus acts as the stabiliser for flexion, extension, and assists in external rotation of the upper leg, something that as long as you don’t ski in straight lines is very important.

Thigh Group: This can be quite complicated, what you need to know is that strong hamstrings help protect the Anterior Cruciate Ligament, something that is very very important in skiing.  The quads are your shock absorbers, they’re going to absorb most of the change in directional force as well as vertical forces. They need to be trained with a focus to enhance their lactic acid tolerance.

Lower Leg Group: Often the most overlooked group of muscles for skiers, they are particularly important, again especially if you want to make turns… the muscle to the front of the shin helps raise the toes up and turn their direction. The calf muscles help stabilise the whole body and stop forward falling, whilst assisting in ankle stability during turns.

All in all if you want to get the most out of your ski trip it’s best to be prepared and do some training, why ride the greens when you can have more fun on the black runs. Who would have thought a little personal training in Leeds could help you have more fun in the mountains of France!