Avoid injuries during your skiing holiday – start training now

A week on the slopes is tough for an untrained body. Many skiing injuries can be avoided with the right training in the months leading up to your skiing holiday. If you are going on skiing holiday in February, you should start training now.

Going on skiing holiday is popular – but also associated with risks. The injury statistics at SOS International’s alarm centre show that skiing holiday is the most risky holiday of the year.

It can be difficult to avoid injuries entirely when skiing, especially if you are inexperienced. However, many injuries can be prevented with targeted training, says physiotherapist and former ski instructor, Oscar Lundström from SOS International:

- You are much more physically active during a skiing holiday, than during a normal day. So, if you want to avoid injuries resulting from overloads and fatigue, you should prepare your body.

Oscar Lundström recommends that you start your targeted training three to four months before going on skiing holiday. It requires a good combination of strength and endurance training to go skiing for a week.

- The risk of injuries increases, if you are untrained. The risk further increases, if you are tired, so it’s a great idea to be in good shape, Oscar Lundström says.

Oscar Lundström recommends strength and endurance training such as running or biking three times a week. The former experienced ski instructor especially recommends the following five exercises, which you can do at home:

Squats
Wall sit
Ski jumps
Plank
Torso rotations

If the exercises are new to you, you can find them on YouTube and see how they go.

Remember the following while on the slope
Many skiers want to make the most of their skiing holiday and ski for several hours every day, but if you want to avoid injuries, it is important to take breaks and let your body regain strength.

Oscar Lundström has the following advice: