presented by Montana Molyneux MKIN CSCS, (Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and owner of Mountain Life Strength and Conditioning, Head Coach & U16 Coach Sun Peaks Racers)

At Home Work Out
This is a basic exercise progression workout you can use 2-3 times per week, along with your other sports, or an activity day. Simple, effective exercises to build whole body stability!

Equipment: A resistance band, water bottle, a mat, optional skipping rope
Warm Up: 10 minutes of running, biking – can mix in skipping
Dynamic Warm-up: 10/side or for 20m:
-High Knees              - Butt Kicks               - Leg Swings             -Caterpillar Walk
- Lunge walk             -Arm Circles (small àbig)(Fwd/Rvs)        - Karoake (both sides)
Exercises: TIP: Do these exercises CORRECTLY or else it is not worth doing!

1. Stable Mountain Climbers: pull knee towards chest for 2 seconds (foot off ground). Tip: work to keep hips from shifting – keep them parallel to floor

 

1. Hollow Rock Progression 1: sit with knees bent and feet on the ground, lean back to 45 degrees. Have arms straight out ahead of you and let them fall out to each side. Hold for 30seconds and do not let back arch.
   
2. Band Flys: Take your resistance band, holding it with palms facing each other (inward). Keeping elbows slightly bent, pull the band apart, while squeezing shoulder blades together. Start with the shoulders and back, before arms pull band apart.
   
3. Clockwork Lunges: Hands on hips, keeping head up and shoulders back, lunge “around a clock”- Forward, diagnol, sideways, diagnol back and backwards. Perform on both legs= 1 rep.
   
4. Downward facing dog & shoulder tap: Move into downward dog position and without shifting lift hand off the ground and tap opposite shoulder. Engage core and push hips up and back.
   
5. Hip Bridge & Hold: Hamstring bridge – lay on your back, and bring your feet to the ground just below your bum. Push hips up into the sky and hold. Try to relax your glutes (bum) and let the hamstrings do the work.
   
6. Table Top: move onto hands and knees, with a neutral spine. The goal is to minimize the amount you move when you lift your Left Arm and Right Leg off the ground. Bring it parallel to the floor, then switch sides. Both sides = 1 rep
   

Exercises 1: 20 reps      Exercise 2: Hold 30 secs                   Exercise 3: 20 reps      
Exercise 4: 10 reps           Exercise 5: 20 taps        Exercise 6: Hold 30s      Exercise 7: 15 reps 4 Sets in a circuit style (1 through 7 x 4)

Exercises with pictures see file: 

presented by Eric Doak MPT, CAFCI (Alpine Canada Technical Team Physiotherapist
West Vancouver Sport & Orthopedic Physiotherapy)

Injury prevention: The importance of a good warm up
 
From a standpoint of injury prevention, today’s top-level athletes are the only ones doing enough to help minimize their chances of becoming sidelined. Typically what I have seen is a drastic difference from the preparation between up and coming athletes to those that are at the National level. An appropriate warm-up will help to prime the body for what is the most intensive exercise performed that day.
 
I would encourage people to create a more dynamic approach to their warm ups as it is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle to minimize your chances of becoming injured.
 
The two main physiological reasons to warm up:

1.  Get blood flowing to the bodies’ tissues (muscle, tendon, joints) to increase their resiliency to load
2. Prime the nervous system to improve motor control and force production

 
These two variables increase the window for what a tissue can tolerate before it reaches its failure point on the stress/strain curve. Hence, increasing your body’s own protective mechanisms to withstand load.
 
Here are a few simple movement patterns that can be performed prior to any athletic endeavour. You only need to run through this as a circuit 2-3 times to get the desirable benefits of a dynamic warm-up.

1. Single leg walking toe touches
2. Butt Kicks and High Knees
3. Lateral leaps with single leg catch
4. Star Pattern Lunges

Try it out, there’s a reason why National level athletes start each morning with a few dryland drills before putting on their ski boots.  I bet you will feel more energized and ready to gain the most from your on snow training.

Eric Doak, MPT, CAFCI
Alpine Canada Technical Team Physiotherapist
West Vancouver Sport & Orthopedic Physiotherapy