Early Season Recreational Skiing
As I write this, it is mid January 2010 and most of the ski areas have been open since before the Christmas-New Years holidays. As a senior, I waited for the holiday excitement to subside before venturing forth for my first outing. The first ride up the lift was invigorating as I reviewed the new features passing under my gaze. At the top, my memory reminded me of another trip, many years ago, where on the first run I did a classic “face-plant” with arms outstretched. The resulting broken clavicle (collar bone) ended skiing and many other activities (like driving) for the next few weeks.
The principle lesson here is to warm up the muscles and joints before the first run of every day. With this rule, I have not had a similar injury, even with occasional falls, since the collar bone incident. So before starting the first run of the day, do some stretches. Here are the ones I like: I hold my poles with both hands to help stretch by swinging from one side to the other while twisting the torso. Then raise arms overhead and stretch to the rear, holding for a few seconds. Then grab the poles behind your back and stretch upward as high as possible, and bend torso forward. Next stretch your hips and legs, use poles for balance. Do a slow deep knee bend, then put weight on one leg while stretching the other straight to one side to feel some stretching in the hip. Repeat with your weight to the other side. Don’t forget to exercise your neck by rotating the head once or twice. These stretches should be done every day when you ski, then it is wise to start skiing modestly on gentle terrain, stopping frequently on the first few runs.
As your body and cardio-pulmonary system has become “tuned” to the hill conditions, feel free to move faster while still staying comfortably within your limits. Are your leg muscles burning or cramping? Stop at the side of the trail, rest, and shake the knots out of your legs. If you have been doing the earlier exercises such as described in agility training, the cramping will resolve quickly and become less frequent. It is especially important to Have Fun!
By: Larry Ball
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Filed under Recreation And Sports by on Jul 16th, 2010. 