Winter Sports and Pilates

Southwest Colorado is a snow-lovers dream, our little corner of the state offers endless opportunities to get outside in the winter and explore. Whether you enjoy the thrill of back country skiing, a powder day at the resort, or making fresh tracks with your snow shoes, Pilates can help you feel safe and strong this winter.

All these winter actives require great strength, alignment and coordination of the lower body, which Pilates addresses in every class! We need balanced strength of the gluts, quads, and core to help us with these sports.

When we work our abdominals and back muscles we are creating a solid center to help us maneuver the body, transfer weight and absorb shock through the spine.

The hips are extremely important in weight transfers and shock absorption, and supporting force through the knee. The hips are probably our favorite muscle group to work in the winter months (or really all the time!) The Abductors, or Gluteus Medius & Minimus support the side of the hip and pelvis, (you know these muscles when we’re in our side leg series and we get an aching burn in the side of the butt!) As you take a turn on your skis, your abductors will help you execute the turn with more power and precision. If you’re a Skate skier, the abductors should be your new best friend, they’ll help you be faster and stronger on your skis.

The quadriceps and hamstrings act on the front and back side of the knee to create proper alignment and function. The knee joint only moves in one direction, so we need to support it from all sides to prevent injury. We get a lot of knee injuries during the winter months, like ligament tears, and meniscus issues etc.

By finding balanced strength through the gluts, quads and hamstrings you’ll give your body the foundation it needs to excel during the snowy months ahead.

If you want some extra ski specific conditioning this winter check out Rhonda’s SKI FIT REFORMER Mondays at 8:30am.