Seven at Home Tests to Find Out if You’re Ready for Ski Season

By Theresa Haley PT, DPT

As a ski coach and Physical Therapist, I get a lot of questions about how to best train for skiing. With the days getting shorter and a distinct chill in the air, now is the perfect time to try these seven at home tests to find out if you’re ready for ski season.

Skiing is a complex activity. It involves multiple components of fitness working together to get down the mountain. You need adequate mobility in your ankles, knees, hips and low back to carve turns, good strength in your quads, glutes and hamstrings to protect your knees, low back and core stability for a steady upper body, quality balance to react to changing terrain or snow conditions and agility to change directions quickly (1). 

Identifying your weak spots can help reduce injury risk. For example, studies have shown that balance and agility are good predictors of injury risk (2), and core, quad, and hamstring strength are important for ACL injury prevention (3,4,5,6). To assess your current baseline, try these seven screening tests. They require minimal equipment, are easy to perform at home and are predictors of their relating factor. I recommend completing a five minute warm up prior to performing the tests.

Seven At Home Tests to Find Out if You’re Ready for Ski Season 

1. Full Squat (Mobility)

How this relates to skiing -  You need good ankle mobility to drive your knees forward and keep your hips over your feet. Hip, knee, and low back flexion become more important the faster and steeper you go. 

How to Perform - Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Squat down as low as you can keeping your feet flat on the floor. Are you able to get your hips below your knees? If you can, you have great mobility! If you can’t, try elevating your heels on a book. Now can you get your hips below your knees? If the answer is yes, you likely have limited ankle mobility. If the answer is still no, you most likely have some tightness in your hips or knees.

How to improve - Try Half Kneel Ankle Dorsiflexion to mobilize your ankle while also working on hip and knee flexion. Start in a half kneel position with the foot/ankle you want to mobilize in the front. Shift your weight forward, driving your knee over your toes. Try to keep your heel on the ground. Hold for three to five seconds, then return to the starting position. Rock back and forth for 20 reps.

2. Single Leg Stance (Balance)

How this relates to skiing - Skiing requires your skis to be in contact with the snow through a variety of conditions. Some are predictable, others are not. Responding to seen and unforeseen conditions is important for staying on your feet.

How to perform - Three systems in your body work together to help maintain balance: the visual system (eyes) tells you about your environment, vestibular system (inner ear) tells you where your head is in space, and somatosensory system (receptors in the joints, tendons and skin) tells you where your body is in space. We can test all these systems with different scenarios:

Single leg balance - To test how all three systems work together, stand on one foot with your hands on your hips and hold for 20 seconds. 

Single leg balance eyes closed - This test takes out the visual system, relying more on the vestibular and somatosensory systems. Stand on one foot with your hands on your hips and then close your eyes and hold for 20 seconds.

Single leg balance on an unstable surface - This test removes the somatosensory system - by standing on an unstable surface, you no longer get accurate feedback from your joints. Stand on one foot on an unstable surface (ideally a balance (foam) pad or a pillow/couch cushion). with your hands on your hips and hold for 20 seconds. 

How to improve - Analyze which scenario was the hardest  for you. This indicates the area you need to work on the most. The simplest way to improve is to practice the scenario you found the most difficult.

3. Lateral Step Down (Dynamic Balance)

How this relates to skiing - Dynamic balance, or the ability to stay stable while moving, is crucial to efficiently make turns and prevent falling. The Lateral Step Down challenges balance while moving at your ankle, knee and hip, and keeping your trunk and pelvis stable (7). It also requires loading through your knee while stacking your hips over your feet, all skills we need for skiing.

How to perform - Stand sideways on the edge of a step (ideally six to eight  inches tall). Place your hands on your hips. Keeping your weight on the step, reach down with the opposite heel, tap the floor, and return to standing. Repeat this five times. Score one point for each of the following “errors”: moving your hands off your hips, leaning to the side, dropping your opposite hip/unable to keep hips level, letting your knee fall in, and if you lose your balance. A score of zero to one indicates good quality of movement (8).

How to improve - If you had difficulty with your squat mobility, specifically in your ankles, you’ll probably find this test tough as well. Your ankle mobility will limit how far you can lower and cause your knee to cave in. In this case, work on ankle mobility as described above. If you have good ankle mobility and it’s challenging to keep your knee pointing straight forward, hips level, or truck stable, this could indicate some weakness in your core or hips. You can further evaluate this with the strength tests below. 

4. Single Leg Sit to Stand (Quad Strength)

How this relates to skiing - Eccentric control of your quads (thigh muscles) or the ability to control your knee bending, is required as you sink into a turn or land from a jump. The Single Leg Sit to Stand Test is correlated with quad strength (3,4).

How to perform - Sit on a surface where your knees and hips are at about 90 degrees. Place one foot on the floor. Stand up using just that leg and try not to touch your opposite leg to the floor. When you reach full height, sit back down, controlling the descent as you go. Repeat for as many reps as you can until you are no longer able to control the motion or need to use momentum to get up off the surface. Count the number of reps you can do on each side. The goal is to get 22 reps or more. 

How to improve - Use this in your exercise routine. Start with 80% of the reps than you achieved in this test and perform three sets.

5. Single Leg Bridge Test (Hamstring Strength)

How this relates to skiing - Our hamstrings (back of the thigh muscles) work together with our quads to stabilize our knees and have been linked to ACL injury prevention (5).

How to perform - Lie on the floor, with one foot on a chair (ideally about two feet high). Cross your arms over your chest, push down through your heel into the chair and lift your hips off the ground while holding the opposite leg in the air. Pause and then control the descent. Repeat for as many reps as you can, maintaining the same height. Count the number of reps on each side. Studies have shown more than 30 reps indicate good hamstring strength (9,10).

How to improve - Again, you can perform this as an exercise. Start with 80% of the reps you achieved in this test and perform three sets.

6. Side Plank (Core Strength and Endurance)

How this relates to skiing - The Side Plank measures key muscles of your core and low back which help you twist and stabilize your upper body (7), along with the gluteus medius (muscle on the side of your hip), which stabilizes your pelvis and is a key component in the Lateral Step Down Test (8).

How to perform - Lie on your side with your feet stacked on top of each other and your forearm on the floor under your shoulder. Raise your hips off the ground and hold a straight line from your shoulders to your feet. Hold for as long as you can, until your hips start to drop or your trunk starts to rotate. The goal is 60 seconds or more (12). 

How to improve - Side Plank Hip Dips are a great way to challenge your core more dynamically. Start in a side plank position, then lower your hips to the ground and back up. Perform three to ten reps on each side.

7. Side Hop Test (Agility)

How this relates to skiing - Skiing requires changing directions quickly. The Side Hop Test assesses agility, has a component of endurance, and mimics the movement of skiing (13,14).

How to perform -  Place two parallel strips of tape on the floor 40 cm (15.75 inches) apart. Set a timer for 30 seconds. Stand on one foot, start the timer and hop side to side over the outside of the lines. Count the number of reps you can complete in 30 seconds. If you step on the line, that rep does not count. The goal is to get 55 reps or more on each side (15).

How to improve -  If you find this test challenging, start with double leg side hops or single leg through a smaller range, such as over one line. Gradually work your way up to the testing conditions as you improve.

How did it go? Is one leg more tired than the other? Skiing requires different forces through each leg throughout the turn, so having similar strength on each side is helpful. You can use the single leg tests to measure limb symmetry or the difference in strength between sides. To calculate your limb symmetry score, take the lowest limb score and divide it by the higher for each exercise. Research has shown having 90% or greater limb symmetry can help with injury prevention (13,16).

If you’re looking to improve your skills on the slopes, check out Rippin Chix camps. If you would like more guidance on your workouts, I have several programs available this fall - ranging from online programs to in person (if you live in WA state!). Check out my instagram @alpinemechanics to see video examples of each test and bonus content on how to improve. Have a great season!

About the Author: Theresa is a PT who specializes in working with mountain athletes through her practice, Alpine Mechanics PT and Performance. She is based in North Bend, WA and has been a PT for 14 years and a ski coach for 16 years, the last eight with Rippin Chix. She enjoys working with athletes on the mountain and off to help them get the most out of their time enjoying the snow.

Disclaimer: This article relates to the author's opinions and thoughts along with current evidence regarding specific subject matter related to physical therapy and skiing. Your application of this material is a personal choice, and in no way, shape, or form is the author responsible for those choices. Examination, treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation for athletes should only be performed by a licensed medical professional. Anyone experiencing pain, discomfort, abnormal sensation, or other symptoms should stop immediately and seek formal medical consultation.

Resources:

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