So you have worked hard to prepare for your snow trip doing your ski and snowboard exercises and workouts, getting Snow Fit, and the trip has arrived! But now the question is:

How do you get more bang for your buck when you strap into your boots?

The answer is recovery – in particular, hydration.

With our love for caffeine, wine, beer and schnapps, many skiers and boarders spend most of their day speeding around the resorts in a dehydrated state. This affects performance, endurance and recovery. Most people don’t drink water while on the hill, some grab the odd bottle of water or sip on a water fountain, but alot of people ski and snowboard all morning, head in for lunch, fuel up and have a few sneaky other drinks. Cold temperatures and altitude are the key factors causing us to think we don’t need or want a drink. Not to mention needing a toilet break on a powder day isn’t ideal.

Let’s set the scene…
You have had your morning coffee and breakfast. You are eager to go and are lining up for first lifts on day one.  You slide for hours, building up your confidence and feeling the benefits of our snow fitness exercises you did before you arrived. You find the perfect secret spot for lunch and enjoy a hearty winter meal before strapping back into your gear and getting another few hours of skiing or riding in.

As the sun sets on the best first day you have had, fatigue sets in, your legs are getting tired and your back is getting tired. The gluhwein at the aprés tent can’t come quick enough. You enjoy a few schnapps and head back to your accommodation, shower, eat and grab your dancing shoes, but wow are you feeling stiff! If you’re stiff now, what’s tomorrow going to be like?

 

It is vital to make sure that you remain hydrated (with water!) during your snow trip. The higher altitude, cooler temperatures and the physical demands of skiing and snowboarding mean that you need to drink more water than usual. Wear a backpack/hydration pack with water in it, takes sips on each lift up the mountain or make sure you take time out to stop somewhere you can access water.

Add in some stretching and some light exercise (walking, running, stationary bike) at the end of each day. Exercises for skiing and snowboarding not only help boost your on-snow performance, it also helps you recover quicker, ensuring day two is even better than the day before. As part of the Snow Fitness membership, you are given access to bonus sessions including many stretch sessions designed to help you reduce soreness and speed up your all important recovery time. After all, this is what will keep you on snow longer and having a better time!

We are all for having a good time, so do yourself a favour and chase each gluhwein/schnapps/weißbeir with water to ensure that you wake up the next day ready to carve up the corduroy or slay some powder pockets.

Written by Sami Kennedy-Sim
www.samikennedysim.com
Twitter @samikennedysim