Massage Service

Ski Fitness - Are you Fit to Ski?

Your general fitness can of course have a marked effect on the enjoyment you get from your skiing or snowboarding. This is especially true for beginners and early skiers for whom the effort of repeatedly regaining one's feet (and skis!) can quickly become tiresome. Just a little, regular, exercise will make a huge difference to your holiday, so we're delighted to provide some tips to help you get started.

First Day Ski Blues

Most skiers feel the burn in the thighs above all else, but a day on the slopes can also leave you with aching calves, bum, groin, lower back and stomach. No matter how fit you are, your first days skiing always seems to leave you with soreness in muscle groups you did not even know you had. Of course, our Massage Therapist will be on hand at the end of the day to help ease the pain of aching muscles and get you ready for the next day on the slopes, and the advice below will certainly help to prepare your skiing muscles.

Pre-Season Training

A pre-season programme of exercise for general fitness, combined with ski-specific strength training will help combat this. Your ski specific exercise needs to replicate the movements made when skiing, and must incorporate an element of balance and coordination.

You should try and cover all the key, complementary, areas :-

• Endurance - to ski longer runs without breaks.
• Strength - so you tire less easily.
• Balance - to enhance your technique.

Lots of gyms run pre-ski fitness courses, which are specially designed to focus on the muscles you will use most on the slopes, particularly thighs and stomach. Knee-bends and squats can help you to get into shape, but the best form of pre-ski exercise is anything that will increase your endurance. 

All the effort you can make before you go skiing will be repaid many times over; if you are fit when you hit the slopes, you'll be able to ski for longer, feel less tired and will enjoy your skiing a whole lot more.

Warm Up Excersises

When you get to the slopes a few warm-up exercises before you start can make an enormous difference to the way you ski. We've put a few suggestions below:

Five minutes jogging; just get your heart rate up, don't go too hard.

Five minutes dynamic stretching; controlled leg and arm swings that take you to the limits of your range of motion. Here are a couple of examples:

• The Goose Step - with a slight swing bring your leg straight out in front of you until you feel a tightening in your hamstrings. Make sure you keep your toes pointing upwards.
• Kick Down The Door - lift one leg in front of you then extend it as if kicking open a door.

Venture Ski Massage Treatments

It's the perfect remedy for those tired skiing muscles.  Our massage treatments are tailored to your needs, from relaxing Swedish massage to deep tissue sports massage or a 'hot stone' massage treatment, it's the ultimate ‘après ski' activity and will get you ready to hit the slopes again in the morning. 

Massage Prices 

One hour Swedish/ deep tissue/ fitness massage - £70

One hour 30 minute Hot stone massage - £95

30 minute Swedish/ deep tissue/ fitness massage - £35

45 minute hot stone massage - £50 

We use beautiful, natural balms with essential oils to benefit tired aching muscles, clear lactic acid build up, and rejuvenate the body and mind.

We use Tui Balmes from New Zealand that only use ingredients that are either whole substances occurring in nature or that are directly extracted from a whole, natural source.  All are free of genetic engineering and have no artificial preservatives, emulsifiers, colouring agents, stabilisers or chemical additives are used in our products. All profits of Tui Balmes & Waxes are donated to charities, most notably the Tui Spiritual & Educational Trust, a registered charity dedicated to the fostering and promotion of healthy communities in New Zealand.

Y? Aromatherapy products are hand made, Botanical-based products made from natural raw materials and essential oils.  They have been chosen for the active and vital function they play in skin protection, maintenance and nutrition. Carefully selected essential oils have been added for the lovely aromas and therapeutic benefits, to help maintain a healthy appearance, and promote a sense of well being