Cybex International, Inc., a leading manufacturer of premium exercise equipment, released a video featuring exercise tips for skiing and snowboarding. The video is part of an initiative to highlight the continued importance of fitness and training for participation in sports.

Hosted by Paul M. Juris, Ed.D, the executive director of the Cybex Research Institute, the video provides step-by-step instruction on how to train in the gym to get ready for ski and snowboarding by building muscle strength and endurance.

httpv://youtu.be/DVVrhC7fbjk

For cross-country skiers, wall squats have been a traditional exercise for developing muscle endurance in the quads. Dr. Juris introduces a new version of wall squats on the Bravo Functional Trainer, tailored to ski movements, which focuses on muscle endurance in the quads as well as an excellent strengthening exercise for the upper body. For mogul skiers who are accustomed to traveling over uneven terrain, the alternating superman exercise on the Bravo Functional Trainer can help combat some of the lower back pain and discomfort that can emerge following a day of pounding on the bumps by working the posterior chain muscles in the back.

All skiers and riders who are eager to build power, endurance and strength in their legs can benefit from using the Eagle Leg Press, which according to Dr. Juris is one of the best ways of accomplishing all three goals.

“You could lean [the seat] all the way back, which is kind of comfortable, but it would put you in more of an upright position,” advises Dr. Juris. “So what we want you to do is set it in the middle or even a little bit further forward, and that’s going to get your spine at an angle relative to your body that’s similar to what you’re going to do out on the snow.”

From timed-endurance leg press exercises to Plyometric jumping movements, Dr. Juris walks viewers through a variety of routines that can be used on the Eagle Leg Press to increase lower body strength, power and endurance. Building endurance is especially important for skiers and boarders who want to last the whole day on the mountain. Legs can often get shaky after repetitive runs due to lack of muscular endurance.

In addition, the video includes routines on a frequently neglected muscle region of body – the plantar flexors. Dr. Juris demonstrates a new exercise on the Eagle Calf that will help develop these muscles while maintaining a position similar to skiing or snowboarding.

“One of the most important muscle groups that’s often overlooked are the plantar flexors, gastrocnemius and soleus – those are the muscles that help us get up on our toes,” says Dr. Juris. “They’re really important because when we’re digging in – skiing or boarding – it’s those muscles that help control our posture and help us supply force to the skis and snowboard.”

Image courtesy Cybex International