Who doesn't know this feeling after a day on the slopes: The legs feel heavy and a pleasant tiredness spreads throughout the body. Not only occasional skiers, but also regular skiers are not immune to this. No wonder, because skiing is an intensive sport that puts a lot of strain on the muscles. It is therefore important to listen to your body and follow the most important tips for regeneration after skiing.
If you pay attention to the correct posture when skiing and make clean turns, you not only strain your legs, but also your entire musculature. Especially legs, buttocks, abdomen and back are stressed in the squat position. Unpracticed or incorrect posture when skiing quickly leads to overstraining of the muscles - there is a risk of sore muscles. This occurs when the strain on the muscles becomes too great - the pH value in the body changes, lactic acid is formed, which causes the well known tugging and tearing pain. So the commonly held belief that muscle soreness is a sign of good training is not true. Rather, the muscles were then loaded incorrectly or too much.
When looking at the amount of muscles that are stressed during skiing, it is therefore not surprising that skiing makes you tired. Especially at the beginning of the ski season, the body is usually not yet used to the load, so the muscles are even more stressed. What's more, although skiing is not usually something you forget quickly, those who have taken a longer break will probably need some time to find the right posture on the skis.
So what do you do when your muscles are tired after a day on the slopes and sore muscles are on the horizon? Effective regeneration is the magic word that helps to give stressed muscles the necessary rest. We have summarized the most important tips:
To prevent nasty muscle soreness, it makes sense to prepare the body for the unaccustomed strain before the start of the season. This is best achieved through appropriate ski gymnastics, such as knee bends, standing balance, side support, wedel bounce and Co. If you want to prepare yourself optimally for the skiing vacation or the skiing season, it is best to start 6 to 8 weeks before the start of the season and train 4 to 5 times a week for around 20 minutes.
Since the muscles contract due to the heavy strain of skiing, it is important to stretch them again after a day on the slopes. The best way to do this is through a short cool-down phase, i.e. an active recovery phase. The most effective way is to perform stretching exercises directly on the slopes, when the muscles are still warm from the sporting activity.
To stimulate the metabolism in the body, alternating showers are advisable after skiing. The temperature fluctuations caused by alternating showers with cold and warm water support better blood circulation in the muscles, but also in the bones, tendons and ligaments. In addition, the body is also supplied with more nutrients as a result. A similar effect is achieved by going to the sauna.
This is because saunas gently overheat the body, causing the vessels to dilate and transport more blood and nutrients to the tissues. The heat also relaxes stressed muscles. Those who opt for the regenerative sauna should take it easy and not sauna for too long or too hot. One or two sauna sessions of 15 minutes each and a maximum of 60 degrees are quite sufficient for effective regeneration; anything else would only put unnecessary strain on the body. Fortunately, finding accommodation with a wellness area is not difficult in the stubai valley.
Warmth makes for relaxed muscles and so it is important to keep the body sufficiently warm not only on the slopes, but also before and after. For a good start to the skiing day, it is advisable to do some light warm-up training in order to make the first turns with muscles, tendons and ligaments that are already warm. To prevent the body from cooling down too quickly, the right choice of clothing is also important. After all, you also spend breaks from skiing while waiting in line at the lift or riding the chairlift. Special ski underwear, whose fibers can store body heat well, is ideal for this. Tip: You are guaranteed to find the right ski clothing in our four Intersport stores. A comfortably warm sleeping environment also ensures restful and regenerative nights.
A short break is advisable not only after skiing, but also during it. It's better to plan an extensive stop at a mountain hut to give yourself and your body a rest and return to the slopes reinvigorated rather than just hastily devouring a quick snack. How about an extensive lunch break in the noble ambience of the Restaurant Schaufelspitz?
And it's also important to get enough rest after a day of skiing. A short power nap before an extensive après-ski is not enough for effective regeneration. Because: only in the deep sleep phase the body can recover well. A healthy and sufficiently long night's rest is therefore particularly important for regeneration after skiing. And finally: pay attention to the signals of your own body! Skiing is associated with great effort for the body, which requires a correspondingly good regeneration. If the body demands a rest, you should allow yourself this and, if necessary, take a day off from skiing. After all, there are several alternatives to skiing on the Stubai Glacier: such as a short and leisurely winter hike, a visit to the ice grotto or the impressive panorama on the viewing platform.
As with many sports, skiers should eat a healthy, nutritious diet and drink plenty of fluids. You should drink at least two liters of fluid a day - with the exception of alcohol, of course. This is because alcohol dehydrates the body and inhibits muscle growth during the night. For effective regeneration, alcohol should therefore only be consumed in small quantities during a skiing vacation.
When eating, the muscles can be really boosted with certain foods. A balanced meal consists primarily of lots of protein, a small portion of good fats, a handful of carbohydrates and nutrient-rich vegetables.
All tips for regeneration after skiing heeded? Then nothing stands in the way of a successful and injury-free ski season! In the next step, download our checklist with the 5 tips for regeneration after skiing: