Set for the Season: March/April

MONDAY

Cardio

>30 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or a sport

Strength

>Squat

>Push-up

>V-sit: Hold for four one-minute intervals.

>Back hyperextension

>Ab ball twist: Sit on the floor and hold a soccer ball or light medicine ball in front of you. Lean back until your tailbone touches the ground. Keeping your abs tight, reach and rotate to the right with your arms fully extended. Lightly touch the ball to the floor. Return to the center, pause, then rotate to the left. Do two sets of 20 touches. (See photo)

WEDNESDAY

Cardio

>60 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or a sport

Strength

>Plank: Do three one-minute intervals.

>Side plank: Do three one-minute intervals.

>Prone scissors kick

Balance

>Ball toss Do 20 tosses on each leg.

FRIDAY

Cardio

>30 to 45 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or a sport

Strength

>Step-back

>Dumbbell shoulder rotation

>Weighted stomach crunch: Do two sets of 15 regular, 30 crossover.

>Lower ab lift

>Rotational cable pull

>Exercise ball reverse back extension

FLEXIBLE GAME PLAN

Maybe the desire to stretch just isn’t part of your DNA.

Don’t despair, says Maureen Madden, a physical therapist at The Stone Clinic. “You don’t need to be yogi-master flexible or ballerina flexible, because you don’t do those things,” she explains. “What you do need to do is maximize your own potential.” To do so, follow these three guidelines:

1

Stretch muscles that feel tight (we guarantee that includes your hamstrings and hip flexors).

2

Identify the positions you need to be in to ski at your best, and make sure you’re flexible enough to hold those positions.

3

Think symmetry. If corresponding body parts (say, right hamstring and left hamstring, or right hamstring and right quad) aren’t equally flexible, you’re a prime candidate for injury.