Wanna do this? Get in shape! Courtesy of P. Media

Remember the good old days when a day skiing meant just that. No stops for no one, especially not lunch! Now we are lucky if the legs hold up until midday, a lunch stop has become a necessity and the best runs are the ones with chair lifts to enable the legs to recover in between. Every year the same thing happens. We look forward to the coming ski season with excitement and can't wait for that first sunny, snowy day when we can carve up the slopes. But despite being awake before the sun rises to make sure we are the first on the lifts by midday reality has set in as we find our bodies unable to cope with another run without the fear of serious injury!!

So for those of us who promised once again to do something about it this year, here are some simple steps to put you in the right direction.

The first and possibly the most important fitness component needed for skiing is flexibility. Poor flexibility can result in a greater chance of injury from pulled muscles as well as make it difficult for us to get the full range of movement needed to perform some of those more radical moves. So the best and cheapest thing you can do is to develop your own stretching program, something you can do in front of the TV each night. It's amazing what a regular stretching regime can do for your general fitness. For skiing you need to focus on the hip flexors, hamstrings, trunk and calves. Simple static stretching (where you take the muscle to its fullest point, without experiencing extreme pain, and hold for 15 - 30 seconds) will improve your flexibility over time. For the less disciplined of us there are plenty of classes available with a focus on flexibility, such as yoga and body balance.

The main area of the body used extensively in skiing is the lower body and this is the area that most often gives in first. Strength and endurance of the legs is essential for a pain -free ski season. Squats, calf raises and leg curls are important exercises that will help. If you are wishing to improve the endurance of your legs then focus on completing a greater number of repetitions with lighter weights (weights can consist of small hand weights, purchased from any sports store or improvise by using a bag of shopping!!). If on the other hand you need to improve the strength in your legs then you need to do less repetitions with a greater resistance. Bench hops and stair jumps are also excellent ways to improve leg strength and endurance.

As well as the lower body, remember to focus on the trunk. Simple exercises such as medicine ball twists, crunches and back raises will all help to condition this area.

Another area to develop is balance and coordination, both are important to good skiing, yet often it is seen as one of the harder areas to improve. However, some of the following activities may help. Remember, skiing is a dynamic activity and therefore you want to imitate that as much as possible. Try balancing on a wobble board or a small semi circle of foam tube. Also try one-legged dips, this will help both your balance, coordination and strength. Skipping is also considered an excellent training tool for many sports, including skiing.

Possibly the most important component and definitely the cornerstone to all sports is your cardiovascular fitness. It doesn't matter what activity you chose to do as long as you raise your heart rate for at least 30 minutes at a time. The old adage of "30 minutes a day" is true for a healthy lifestyle and if you can commit for longer then this will surely help your heart and lungs cope with a full day up the mountain. Simply using the stairs at work instead of the elevator is a step in the right direction.

Flexibility, balance and coordination, strength and endurance, and cardiovascular fitness should be part of every skier's preseason training program. The intensity and frequency of your training will obviously vary depending on your skiing ability and time you intend spending up the mountain, however, the fundamentals will remain the same. The benefits of being fit for skiing rather than getting fit by skiing are huge; you will be able to ski for longer, improve your technique, prevent injury and have a heap more fun.

Courtesy of New Zealand Adventure