Pre-ski exercises we can all benefit from

Craig Silkens, a sports massage therapist and personal trainer at M Club, suggests exercises to prepare for a skiing holiday.

My clients often ask me for exercises to help them to make the most of their ski holiday. I usually guide them over to M Club’s Vibrationplate, because this Vibrationplate is designed to activate the body’s natural reflexive response to vibration. It vibrates 25 to 50 times per second to stimulate muscle contraction in a controlled and consistent manner.

Performing certain exercises on the Vibrationplate will mimic a similar stimulus to skiing. Even those who aren’t fortunate enough to hit the slopes will benefit from performing these exercises as they are a fantastic way to help condition the muscles, promote fat loss and increase muscle tone.

The exercises can be performed on the floor, but doing them on a Vibrationplate can lead to faster results.

Find out more about the membership options at M Club Spa and Fitness.

Ski position static squats 

With your feet perfectly flat, hip width apart, feel the pressure of your body weight through your heels.

Drop your bottom as low as possible (90 degrees at the knee) maintaining a straight spine, chest and with your head up.

Try to hold the position for up to a minute. Perform five sets with a 30 second breather between sets.

Dynamic lunge step-ups

Place one foot firmly on the Vibrationplate and the other behind you in a lunge position.

Power through the front foot to a standing position, lifting the back leg high.

Perform as many repetitions as possible for 30 seconds on each leg and repeat for five sets with a 30 second breather in between.

Feet elevated plank

Place your toes on the Vibrationplate and adopt a plank position.

Suck your abdominals in and focus on maintaining a straight line through the body.

Try to hold the position for up to a minute and perform five sets with a 30 second breather between sets.

Single leg bridge

Lying on your back, place one foot flat on the vibration plate and extend the other leg up to the ceiling.

Sucking your abdominals in, gently lift your bottom and lower back off the floor as high as possible and then return to the floor.

Repeat this action for as many repetitions as possible in 30 seconds on each leg.

Static V-Sit

Balancing on your bottom, extend your legs out as far as you feel comfortable.

Suck your abdominals in and tense hard.

Try to hold for up to a minute and perform five sets with a 30 second breather between sets.