By Daniel Lucas …
Last month we gave you three exercises to help strengthen your legs. This month we’ll progress from those exercises into three new movements to specifically help you prepare your legs for the challenges of winter sports—such as skiing, snowboarding or climbing. These exercises move through a different plane of motion than last month’s. Changing the plane, speed and load of your leg exercises will help you make your legs truly strong and ready to handle all the different challenges of moving on snow and ice. Here are this month’s exercises:
•Exercise #1. The Clam
•Exercise #2. Plié lunge
•Exercise #3. Lateral lunge
The video below demonstrates the exercises in Part II of my leg strength series. Perform 2-3 sets for 15-20 repetitions. You can hold a kettlebell, dumbbell or medicine ball to increase the load. If the load you’ve added is challenging, you can drop the number of repetitions. Remember, this is not meant to be a full workout, but rather a series within a workout. That being said, if you only have time for these exercises today, then take it!
Proper form is important, so work on becoming aware of where your body is in space, and how you can improve. These exercises can also reveal your current level of strength. Also, assess the difference between your left leg and right leg. Pay extra attention to your body if you see a noticeable weakness on one side.
