You will develop balance when you start putting yourself on a slippery surface like that, as youre going to work against gravity, travelling down a slope. And again, this is going to make you unsteady and force you to become better at balancing under these conditions, he says, adding: it will help to activate your core muscles in order to achieve this and will probably make you more steady, stable and strong in general, too.

Because of the range of motion needed to remain upright and steer, the better your balance, the better you will ski. Vickers even recommends including some balance practice in your pre-holiday conditioning. Simply standing on one leg and transferring your weight from one to the other will help (and can be fitted in as youre brushing your teeth at home).

Snowsports utilise many muscles because of the isometric posture a slight squat being held for hours at a time, keeping your legs engaged. With the right pair of skis, this means feeling the burn in the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and muscles deep in the groin.

The nice thing about skiing is that it involves all major muscle groups, because it started as a functional activity. So your legs and leg muscles play a tremendous role, particularly in cross-country and downhill skiing, says Pate.

You wont use your lower legs, like your calves, too much because theyre in boots that are more or less rigid, but what you do have to use is your core as a stabilising muscle for downhill. This will keep you in control while your legs do the work. Despite skiing focusing on the lower body, Pate adds that the arms and upper body are also slightly engaged because of the poles used to propel you forward.

However, the leg muscles are more often where we feel the fatigue of skiing, resulting in what Vickers refers to as the dreaded third-day stiff legs, or delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Thats micro-inflammation within the muscle. Its been pushed past what its been conditioned to do prior to exercise and then has a low-grade inflammatory response, which is the stiffness, he explains. The area should stop aching in two to five days without medical attention.

Your nose may be running from the cold, but your blood will most definitely be pumping. Skiing on a regular basis will benefit your heart and lungs and better the overall cardiovascular system that is working to pump oxygen around the body. And as your cardio fitness improves, your heart will need to work less to complete the activity.

The heart rate will most probably be elevated over the majority of the day when people are skiing, which will enhance circulation around the body, Vickers explains. In itself, its great exercise. If youre doing repeated runs short bursts of activity at a good level and you really go for it for 90 seconds, its high intensity.

Pate agrees that it is the duration of the activity that sets skiing apart for cardiovascular health. Any kind of exercise that lasts for an extended period of time is beneficial. Thats why skiing tends to be good for your cardiovascular fitness and health, because even though a ski run itself might not last long, your aerobic system will keep functioning.

A study by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health placed participants aged 60 to 76 on a 12-week recreational skiing regime and found that oxygen capacity, and therefore cardio-pulmonary health, improved, meaning those in later life can still reap the benefits of the sport.

Harvard Medical School calculates that 30 minutes of downhill skiing can burn around 216 calories for a person weighing 70kg (155lb). Often, Vickers says, people forget just how demanding a ski holiday can be on the body. The key difference with skiing is that normally on this kind of holiday, most people ski for the majority of the day. Most people wouldnt do this with sports like running, he says.

See the article here:
All the health benefits of skiing - The Telegraph