Good physical fitness is of the utmost importance in performing for sport as well as avoiding injury.
In this article I would like to focus on the health of your musculoskeletal system and the important part that it plays when working as a successful snow sport instructor / trainer.
“Fitness” refers to your overall health. Lifestyle, balanced nutrition, and an active training program are all key components.
Inactivity dramatically decreases the body’s ability to utilize oxygen around the body. Experiments have shown that after just 20 days of bed rest this capacity can reduce by 20-45%! This means that the muscles can literally waste away (hypotrophy) and your blood volume and cardiac output can also decrease. Your muscles can become hypoxic – you can literally starve them of oxygen. Lack of movement leads to lack of circulation which carries blood and nutrients to the soft tissues and organs in the body. Without good circulation and regular activity the muscles can become easily fatigued, tight and inelastic and therefore more prone to injury. However, this works in reverse and experiments have shown that the body responds very quickly and can adapt easily when new physical loads are placed upon it.
Pre season training programs are therefore essential to any successful participant in order to literally pump up the body and make it ready for any stresses and demands that may be asked of it.
When deciding on a training program athletes should analyze their sport and the strains that will be placed on their body when working. You need to consider what aspects it is that you need to work on. For example, it may be basic fitness to start with, balance, strength, and power or control etc.
Some key components of great skiing and snowboarding fitness are:
- Endurance
- Balance
- Core strength and control
- Optimal alignment and posture
- Strength and power
- Flexibility
When putting together a training program we need to consider all aspects that will contribute to better movement patterns and range.
We can offset fatigue by working on our cardio and therefore increase our body’s capacity and ability to transport oxygen around the body. By understanding our core, strengthening it and applying it to complex movement patterns we will improve our strength, balance, posture and co-ordination. The range your joints have depend on the health of your soft tissue (muscles). More range = more strength and power. So you can see from this brief outline how these components can have enormous consequences on your skiing or snowboarding.
The first pre season training program that you will get will be working on some of these factors. We will gradually progress the program to include different movement patterns and aim to challenge the body from all aspects so when you come to New Zealand you will be in the optimum shape to perform at your best!
(It is important with any new training program that you progress gradually and if you experience any pain or discomfort to seek the advice of a doctor or fitness trainer.)
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