Importance of leg day

ezavI'm still learning to slide my first rails and hit my first jumps, so I'm just wondering about the importance of regularly having leg day/how often it should be done. I run a decent amount but i have chicken legs (my quads are normal but my calves are pretty small). i also work out my upper body to somewhat get past my general scrawnyness.

I'm hoping to make it as easy as possible to scissor, rotate the full 90 on a rail, 1s/3s on smaller jumps and other simple stuff.

I probably wouldnt be asking this question if time wasnt an issue, but I'm starting college soon and the time I'll have in the gym is probably going to be less than what ive had so far. Help me out w some advice, exercises, etc.

Nothing builds leg strength quite like weighted squats. If you have less time here's a 3 day a week 5 by 5 with good leg emphasis. As a skier I notice my legs are often significantly stronger than my upper body, so this helps even that out.

your problem is your technice, not your legs

IMO it's a pretty easy area to keep in good shape for skiing. various squats, bike, take your running to hills or stairs, or even just walk backwards up hills whenever you can

Juan1325your problem is your technice, not your legs

Im not asking if working out my legs means I'll be able to do switch ups off the bat, just if it'll make it easier to put basic technique into practice.

ezavIm not asking if working out my legs means I'll be able to do switch ups off the bat, just if it'll make it easier to put basic technique into practice.

Your legs have to be very weak so that you cant switch up (and many other tricks) , I doubt youll need extra strenght unless you are pro.
All you need is to do something to keep your legs ( and body in general ) strong, 1 leg day a week and runing an other will be more than enough.

**This post was edited on Jul 27th 2018 at 5:37:15pm

Being stronger makes everything easier, jumps, landing, even crashing since your muscles act as a meat shield. Equally important however is flexibility, just put some basic stretching before and after can prevent tons of injuries.

ezavIm not asking if working out my legs means I'll be able to do switch ups off the bat, just if it'll make it easier to put basic technique into practice.

BigPurpleSkiSuitNothing builds leg strength quite like weighted squats. If you have less time here's a 3 day a week 5 by 5 with good leg emphasis. As a skier I notice my legs are often significantly stronger than my upper body, so this helps even that out.

Im thinking devoting one day for legs and two for upper body, core, etc. Are there specific muscles i should focus on or just hit everything in my legs?

Oh yeah, absolutely add core in. I usually throw in a simple ab workout on all 3 days. Take an incline bench with leg braces and do a 3 by 5 where you lie down and then do a full sit up and on the way back down try to hold yourself parallel to the ground for 5 seconds, then again. If it gets too easy, hold increasingly heavy weights

BigPurpleSkiSuitBeing stronger makes everything easier, jumps, landing, even crashing since your muscles act as a meat shield. Equally important however is flexibility, just put some basic stretching before and after can prevent tons of injuries.

Well another problem is that I'm flat footed and cant even touch my toes, so im def lacking when it comes to flexibility

BigPurpleSkiSuitOh yeah, absolutely add core in. I usually throw in a simple ab workout on all 3 days. Take an incline bench with leg braces and do a 3 by 5 where you lie down and then do a full sit up and on the way back down try to hold yourself parallel to the ground for 5 seconds, then again. If it gets too easy, hold increasingly heavy weights

Should i hit all parts of my legs or are there muscles that are worth focusing on more tham others?

I was like this for a long time. Unironically, nosepresses and butters helped my flexibility. Just do them on flayground and reach to touch your noses. Just reach as far as you can or try one leg at a time. You'll want to hit all your leg muscles, not just quads

ezavWell another problem is that I'm flat footed and cant even touch my toes, so im def lacking when it comes to flexibility

BigPurpleSkiSuitI was like this for a long time. Unironically, nosepresses and butters helped my flexibility. Just do them on flayground and reach to touch your noses. Just reach as far as you can or try one leg at a time. You'll want to hit all your leg muscles, not just quads

Sweet thanks for the advice man

ezavShould i hit all parts of my legs or are there muscles that are worth focusing on more tham others?

With what big purp said.. concentric leg exercises are what put me ahead: drop squats, running, and quick lunges

If i were you I'd focus on your core strength over your leg strength.

Don't forget about cardio. 9hrs of skiing is a marathon

make sure also do a lot of kegel pulls to maintain core strength

Building the right muscles in the legs takes years if not decades. Doing moguls will beef up your legs, but expect growing pains like hell and cramps that will make you cry. I competed in mogul contests for almost 10 years and trained to stay on top of the game. A good excercise is Piometry. Find a solid box (of ledge 1 to 2 feet high), keep your legs together and jump on the box from the side. Land on the box and jump down to the other side. Then repeat as many times as you can for 30secs. Do 5 sets of these every day; your legs should be burning and a little shaky after this.
However, muscle mass only helps with endurance and not with technique or skill.

Next is flexibility; having a good range really helps avoid injuries. Regular stretching should be performed before every session.

Last is dont worry about you body image. You can overcompensate by wearing XXL outwear. Ride with friends that are better than you and they will help you out, or you will learn while looking at them doing it. Make sure to not skip stages of learning (trying a 720 when you land on your ass all the time with a straight air)

remember to have fun

Legs are very important, and often overlooked. Often people think they don't need to hit legs because they walked up a flight of stairs to get to class.

Quads, knees and glutes are all very important muscles for skiing. It's important to lift for strength rather than purely size. I would also recomend a lot of stretching to get a good combination of strength/power and flexibility/injury prevention.

Calves are still important, but not quite as much as the other three. I would focus on your knees and quads with some lighter focus on glutes and calves.If you use google there are hundreds of more certified and knowledgeable people that will show you how to do the appropriate exercises properly.

DieselChevys

OP, I have been skiing park since I was quite young and when I started I had no form of training or strength whatsoever. But when school sports started to require more strength training I saw it directly correlate to my skiing and now I regularly implement ski related strength training into my workout year round. The first thing you will notice is core strength, if you can improve your core strength you will notice you are not only able to be more agile and control your balance but you will be more comfortable in the air. Technique not even just in the park but good general skiing technique is built around a strong core to drive not only your skis but your whole body. Another massive component is explosiveness, work on explosive lifts like cleans directly into box jumps. I noticed that this explosive training helped improve my pop and ability to ski faster in variable conditions but they more so improve your landing gear and your control on take offs and sketchy landings. The final and honestly most important is flexibility, try yoga, I do t care if you think it’s gay there’s 300 lb lineman who do yoga every day. I cannot tell you how many times flexibility from yoga has saved me from injury. Finally, wear a fucking back protector, learn from mine and many others mistakes, you will be doing yourself a huge favor. I am currently sitting out this amazing season as bachelor and the surrrounding areas get shit on every weekend with two broken vertebrae because I landed on a rock buried just under the snow.

Plyometrics. Get a box. Jump on it. Jump over it.

3maniaPlyometrics. Get a box. Jump on it. Jump over it.

Box jumps are clutch. Stair jumps are really good to. Find some stairs at the gym or even your house and jump up 3-4 stairs at a time and repeat. Make sure to KEEP YOUR EYES UP and use your peripheral vision to spot your landing. That can really not be stressed enough.