My Fitness Hot Takes for Ski Season

Breaking down common ski fitness myths.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been getting a lot of great questions about ski fitness. Many of them came from people in our 8-week pre-ski program, others came through Instagram conversations.

Some of these questions come up every season, so I thought it would be fun to share a few of my current ski fitness hot takes.

Let’s get into it.

Does Cycling Translate to Ski Leg Strength?

Cycling is fantastic for building cardiovascular fitness and strength endurance. When you’re riding, you’re improving your heart and lung capacity and building some muscular endurance in your legs.

But cycling alone doesn’t fully prepare you for skiing.

When we cycle, we’re typically moving at a sub-maximal effort with a very repetitive motion. Strength training, on the other hand, often involves heavier loads and lower repetitions, which builds the pure strength and power that help you feel strong in big turns or long runs.

Another thing cycling lacks is lateral movement. Skiing requires the muscles around the hips to control internal and external rotation, as well as the adductors and abductors that help stabilize and move us side to side.

Cycling is a great part of a ski fitness routine, but adding strength training and lateral work will help prepare your body much better for time on the hill.

Does Running Prepare You for Skiing?

Running has a similar limitation.

I love running. Trail runs, ultras, long adventures outdoors. But when it comes to preparing for ski season, running alone isn’t enough.

One of the biggest differences is range of motion.

Think about someone in the middle of a ski turn versus someone in the middle of a running stride. Skiing requires deeper knee and hip flexion and a much larger range of motion.

Strength is gained in the range it’s trained in. So when we’re preparing for skiing, we want to include exercises in the gym that expose our bodies to the deeper positions we’ll see on snow.

How Does Alcohol Affect Ski Recovery?

This question comes up every winter.

A post-ski drink can be fun socially and part of the classic après experience. But when it comes to recovery and performance the next day, alcohol does have some downsides.

The biggest one is dehydration. Alcohol can make it harder to stay properly hydrated after a long day on the hill.

It also doesn’t provide the carbohydrates your body needs for recovery, and it can affect sleep quality. Both of those factors can impact how you feel the next day.

If you do enjoy a drink after skiing, pairing it with water, electrolytes, and a proper meal will help support recovery.

How Can You Ski Multiple Days in a Row Without Burning Out?

The answer often starts before the ski season even begins.

Building strength, endurance and aerobic capacity before the season makes a huge difference. If your heart, lungs, and muscles are prepared for repeated effort, your body can recover faster between runs and between ski days.

Aerobic training helps your body process metabolic waste products like lactate more efficiently, which means you’ll feel less fatigued over time.

With the right preparation, skiing multiple days in a row becomes much more enjoyable.

How Do You Know If You're Fit Enough to Ski?

This question always makes me pause.

Personally, I don’t think there’s a point where someone is “not fit enough” to ski. The goal of fitness is to help you enjoy your time outdoors more, not to act as a gatekeeper.

You can always start with easier terrain, take more breaks, and gradually build up your confidence and stamina.

Where fitness really helps is reducing the amount you have to think about your body. When you feel strong and capable, you can focus on technique, scenery, and the people you’re skiing with instead of worrying about fatigue or discomfort.

What Should the First Day on the Mountain Look Like?

The first day of the season is special.

Even experienced skiers sometimes feel a little unsure on that first run. One of the best things you can do is start easy, even if you’re an advanced skier.

Choose a green run for the first run of the year and use it as an opportunity to reconnect with your skis.

Play with a few simple drills:

• Move forward and back on the skis

• Feel where your center balance point is

• Focus on smooth edging and controlled turns

  
  

Starting slow helps your body and brain remember the movement patterns of skiing.

It can also help to alternate between harder and easier runs during that first day. Easier runs allow your muscles to recover a bit while you continue to practice technique.

How Do You Maintain Ski Fitness During the Season?

Once ski season starts, many people stop training completely.

Instead, I recommend maintaining a simple strength routine that preserves the power and strength you built before the season.

Skiing itself trains certain muscles heavily, but other muscles may not get as much attention. A maintenance workout helps keep your body balanced and reduces the risk of overuse issues.

Even one or two short sessions per week can make a big difference.

What About Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness?

If you’ve ever gone skiing and felt fine afterward, only to wake up incredibly sore the next day, you’ve experienced delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS).

This happens when your muscles experience small amounts of damage from unfamiliar or intense activity.

Recovery comes down to three key things:

1. Sleep Most people need between seven and nine hours per night for proper recovery.

2. ProteinAfter exercise, your body needs protein to repair and rebuild muscle tissue.

3. HydrationWater helps your body circulate nutrients and remove waste products.

When you’re dehydrated, everything becomes harder for your body to do.

Supporting these three areas helps your body recover and adapt after a big day on the hill.

Why Are My Quads Burning While Skiing?

There are a few possible reasons.

One common cause is leaning too far back. When your weight shifts behind your center of balance, your quads end up working extremely hard to hold you there.

Technique also plays a role. Ski turns can involve the posterior chain including the glutes and hamstrings. Learning how to initiate turns using those muscles can reduce the load placed on the quadriceps.

Of course, skiing does naturally involve a lot of quad work. Sometimes sore quads simply mean you’ve been skiing hard and putting in lots of turns.

Can You Train for Skiing Without Hills?

Absolutely.

You don’t need mountains nearby to prepare for ski season.

Strength exercises like squats and rear-foot-elevated split squats can prepare your legs for steep terrain when performed through a full range of motion with control.

Building strong core stability is also incredibly helpful. A strong core helps you stay balanced and controlled on challenging terrain.

With the right training, you can build a lot of ski-specific strength even if you live far from the mountains.

Ski fitness isn’t about perfection. It’s about preparing your body so you can enjoy your time on the mountain more.

A mix of strength training, aerobic fitness, recovery habits, and smart technique goes a long way toward helping you ski longer, feel stronger, and reduce your risk of injury.

And if you’re wondering where to start, that’s exactly what our 8-week ski training program is designed to help with.