Fitness
Skiing and snowboarding are both very demanding for the body in terms of stamina, strength and coordination. Training your core and leg muscles as well as your balance before and during the season can reduce the risk of accidents.
Warming up
Warming up stimulates the circulation, improving your coordination and your ability to concentrate. It also gets your muscles, joints and head ready to ride. Warming up in the morning and after a lengthy break is especially advisable. The added benefits of a good warm-up are that it can be fun and improve the group dynamic.
Visualising
It’s worth going through the movements in your head before hitting the slopes or attempting tricks in the snowpark. Where are the difficult parts? Where do your strengths lie? Are the conditions right? Thinking your ride through first means you are ideally prepared for the challenge ahead.
Rituals
Rituals help you to feel safe and make you more attentive. Group rituals promote structure and make lessons more enjoyable. Familiar rituals are calming and help you to focus on the next run.
Running in
You should keep your speed low on your first run to learn the lie of the land and the conditions and gauge what shape you’re in so you can decide how many runs to do, how fast to go and what difficulty level to attempt with your tricks.
