Ski Strong This Season: How to Prepare Your Body for Powerful, Injury-Free Turns

Written By Pam Gatewood

Ski season is here—and whether you’re chasing powder days or carving groomers with friends, how your body is prepared matters just as much as the gear you’re riding.

Every winter I see the same pattern: strong, active skiers sidelined by knee pain, low-back strain, hip issues, or lingering soreness that could have been prevented with the right preparation. Skiing is a dynamic, high-load sport that demands strength, balance, mobility, coordination, and efficient breathing—not just leg strength.

The good news? A little intentional prep goes a long way.

Why Skiing Is Harder on the Body Than You Think

Skiing requires:

  • Eccentric strength to control speed and absorb terrain

  • Rotational stability through the hips and core

  • Single-leg balance in constantly changing conditions

  • Quick reaction time and neuromuscular control

  • Breath control to manage fatigue and nervous system stress

When one of these pieces is missing, your body compensates—and that’s when injuries happen.

Common Ski Injuries I See (and Why They Happen)

Some of the most common ski-related issues include:

  • Knee pain or ACL strain from poor hip control

  • Low back pain from lack of core and pelvic stability

Where do we start? Core and Breathing

Core and breathing exercises this can look different depending on the individual

  • First can you control your abdominal wall without pooching the lower abdominal while breathing or doing a lower leg lift while lying on your back and/or you can try blowing up a balloon and see what it does to your abdomen

    • If you can’t control your lower abdomen, then you need start with exercises that allow you to control the abdomen

      • This might look like dead bugs or modified planks with breathing

  • Abdominal Rotational control is also a big component of skiing

    • Being able to do different rotational abdominal exercises, some examples:

      1) Start with Pallor Press with Band or Cable

      2) Planks with arm reaches or knee taps or toe taps

      3) Half-Kneeling Cable Chop

      4) Medicine Ball throws at wall

      5)Weight overhead hallo

  • It isn’t about how fast you can do the exercise but how controlled and are you keeping ribs stacked over the pelvis

  • How well is your ribcage/diaphragm moving? Stiffness in this area can lead to compensation in the neck and shoulder or low back. Below are some ways to work on this:

    • Breathing over foam roller in child’s pose

    • Rolling upper back over the foam roller

    • Snow angles with back laying on the full length of the foam for chest openers while keeping back in contact with the roller

Hips and Pelvis

Hip mobility is essential to how well you can turn and transfer load during turns vs using your back muscles to turn

Examples of good hip mobility

Pam Gatewood