How Flatlanders Can Train to Ski

In a little more than a week, more than two months will have passed since I last skied--New Year's Day, Park City, Utah. While I wish that wasn't the case, especially every time I hear word of a snowfall out west, I'm almost as disappointed about my loss of ski shape. It's long gone, with practically no hope of revival. I can swim, bike and run all I want--and have been since Jan. 2--but it's not quite the same on the quads, calves and core.

Ah, but that's what I thought until I spoke with Nancy Fudacz, director of performance training at Chicago's East Bank Club. I've been approaching the whole training thing, or lack thereof when it comes to something ski specific, all wrong. She talked to me about how to train a flatlander (me included thanks to pancake flat Chicago) for skiing.


Forget the cardio and the endurance training that's my bread and butter. Bring in the balance drills, the lateral lunges, the one-legged variations. If I wanted to prepare for the powder, the hikes and the downhills--and didn't have any to contend with at home because I'm a flatlander whose seeing a very mild winter--I needed to listen to Nancy's advice and forgo my usual routine. The more she talked, the more I felt like I desperately needed to return to the two-week boot camp that forced me into shape last February. Maybe that was why I felt so strong during the 2011 Talons Challenge when hubby, who's the stronger mogul skier, started to feel the altitude and the 13 bump runs. I can't be sure unless I try these five moves from buzz.snow.com before hitting the mountain again this season. And with my plans getting derailed and pushed back time and again, I know I have plenty of time to train.  

Photo from cnolan011 at flickr.