The leaves are starting to fall, the mornings are becoming crisp, and it’s almost that time to turn on the heat. With the cooler evenings, Ski Mountains are prepping for the winter season, Sunday River turned on and tested their snow guns last week, ski season is coming!

Skiing, and snowboarding, require a lot of core and leg strength and stability. The fall season is the perfect time to get our bodies ready so that we can enjoy the whole season shredding the mountain.

Let’s dive into a few examples of exercises that would focus on strength and stability of a few key muscles to keep us skiing all winter long:

Wall sit: start by standing with your back against the wall, walk your feet out about 1.5-2 feet from the wall, slide your bottom down the wall so you create a 90 degree angle with yours hip and at your knees, start by trying to maintain this position for 20s and work your way up from there. This helps build strength and endurance in your quadriceps, so that you can rip through that soft snow on a powder day.

Lunges: start by taking a big step forward, and then drop your bottom down towards the floor, bending through both the front and back knee, ideally try to prevent the front knee from sliding forward over the toes, and from diving in towards the middle over the big toe. Focusing on the control of the knee position as you drop down will help with control and protect your knees while skiing, helping to prevent injury.

Side plank: having a strong core helps maintain a steady base of support over your skis or snowboard. An excellent way to work your core and hips at the same time is a side plank, there are a lot of variations, but let’s start on our knees. Start by laying on your side and prop up on your elbow and knee, trying to maintain a straight line from your shoulder to your knee. Start by holding the position about 20s and working your way up from there.