Six months is more than enough time to get yourself in shape and polish out any inadequacies in your form or moves that you want to work on for winter sports. Here are some summer training ideas to stay ready for winter sports.
Balance Boosters
Because most winter sports involve some form of frozen terrain, you’ll need to ensure that your balance is the best possible. One way that you can train for this is through balance booster exercises.
First, try standing on one leg as long as possible and alternate legs. Start short and only do it a few times until you work your way up to doing it without wobbling, and then increase the time.
Next, walk toe to toe for an extended distance. This will also help you with your balance to simulate walking on a tightrope.
You can also use a wobble board to focus your ankle strength and your center of gravity to help with your balance.
Jump Squats
The dreaded squat has always struck fear in anyone who trains because they know just how painful squats can be. But with them comes the glory of all that upper leg strength built up to climb mountainsides or snowshoe through deep snowy terrain.
You’ll also need all of that leg strength for added endurance as the cold air and winter weather tends to fatigue athletes much faster than hot weather does. For this reason, you should also wear winter thermals to get you hotter during your workouts. This will enhance your overall health and help you regulate your temperature better in the cold.
Step-Ups
Just like climbing, step-ups are used to build anything you might have missed with jump squats, only it’s easier on the joints and ligaments. So, you might choose to alternate this exercise with jump squats.
Jump squats are more intense, so it’s advised that you go easy on those and not do as many. Start small with step-ups and work your way to jump squats. Reserve them for the end of your workout so that you can get the most out of your training instead of burning yourself out.
Dynamic Stretching
With any great workout, there should be optimized stretching as a component. Whether before or after does not matter, so long you’re doing it.
This will help with your body’s overall flexibility to get in and out of corners quickly when you’re lunging downhill, flipping and doing tricks on a snowboard, or even ice skating—the most graceful of winter sports—which requires flexibility from start to finish.
These are just a few summer training ideas to get ready for winter sports in case you needed help preparing. Best of luck out there this winter and during your training this summer.