Love Those Leg Strengtheners

Can you do this? I can't.

Is it just me or is this Midwest weather wearing you down? We're still supposed to have a few more days left of summer, according to the calendar the autumnal equinox isn't official until early Friday morning, but it feels like our weather system has reverted back to the gloom, cold, ick that settled over the city in May and June. If there's any light at the end of the tunnel it's that the ski season comes closer every day. Not that I've had reservations for months to be in Keystone when it opens November 4, nor am I armed and ready to drop everything and dash to Arapahoe Basin or Loveland when they rush to be the first North American resort to open for the season. But I can be ready to go from a fit standpoint for the next time I am taking to my skis. That is, if I get in some leg training that's more than swim, bike, run (I'm having a hard time dropping triathlon dreams from my workouts) and truly focused on finding my best Lindsey Vonn...or Julia Mancuso...or Maria Riesch.

How to do it: leg strengtheners, especially those that'll get the quads, glutes and hamstrings ready for the day on the snow. Sounds simple enough, especially if you run and bike as much as I do (er, bike only since my running is still quite pathetic). But all that forward motion from pavement pounding and concrete cruising doesn't get you too far when you're on skis--that lateral movement can hurt, bad, if you don't prepare for it. Where to get started? Try these four moves, and a bonus one that Mancuso and Vonn make look easy (see above), from Buzz.snow.com that'll work your lower half for ski season. And even if you're not a skier, check them out. You can get some pretty rocking legs for Indian summer or any beach getaways planned for fall. 


How do you get your legs in gear for skiing?

Photo grabbed from Lindsey Vonn's Under Armour Workout.