The squat – an indispensable exercise for anyone serious about skiing. Requiring full core stabilisation and strength in all major lower body muscle groups, squatting should be the keystone of any pre-season workout.
In this blog I’m going to focus on squat variations that you can do without a gym and a full squat rack – it’s always better to perform technically sound, full-range squats with less weight than risk injury using a barbell.
I’ll go through the muscles you use, why it’s such a good exercise for skiers, how to perform it correctly and a few different variations for every stage of your programme.
Muscles Used
The main muscles working in the squat movement are the glutes and the quads – the big muscle groups in your bum and the front of your thighs.
In a supporting role the hamstrings (back of your thighs), adductors (inner thighs) and calf muscles are also working. Additionally, your core muscles should be braced while squatting to maintain stability around your spine.
Why Skiers Should Squat
Various studies have shown that leg strength is one of the best indicators of success for elite alpine skiers. While the forces and loads most people will experience while skiing will be much less than those experienced by a ski racer, increasing leg strength will still help you to improve your skiing performance and enjoyment.
As we saw above, squats engage all your major leg muscles, and require both eccentric (lowering) control and concentric (lifting) strength making them a great exercise for this purpose.
How to Squat Correctly
Set Up:
1. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Toes either pointing straight forwards or slightly outwards if more comfortable.
2. If you have tight calves or less mobility in your ankles, you may also want to lift your heels slightly by resting them on some small disc weights or equivalent. This makes sure you can squat to full depth.
3. Draw your tummy in, breath in and brace your core.
Execution:
1. Bend through your ankles, knees, and hips to lower your bum towards the floor.
2. Keep your chest lifted so that your shins and torso are roughly parallel to each other.
3. Lower until your hips are below your knees,
4. Stand into your heels, squeeze your glutes, and drive the hips back up to the start position.
Variations:
1. Dumbbell Squat – a great way to start adding weight to your squats once you've mastered the technique and are ready to build strength.
2. Goblet Squat – another way to add weight with either a dumbbell or
kettlebell, can help keep the chest lifted compared to the dumbbell squat.
3. Sumo Squat – squatting with the legs wider targets the adductor muscle group more.
4. Single Leg Squat – working the legs unilaterally (one at a time) is great for ensuring both legs build strength evenly and helps improve stability.
5. Pistol Squat – a challenge for your strength, mobility and stability.
It's time to build those ski legs - get squatting!
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