With all this new fresh powder in Tahoe, you may be hitting the slopes for the first time this season. Then, as you start to work your way down the first run, your quads are on fire and you are immediately reminded of the aches and pains that can come with a day on the mountain, especially at the beginning of the season. This is the epic day of your dreams, but your legs are screaming for the après ski lounge. RIGHT NOW!!!
Sound familiar?
While skiing is fun, it can also be hard on the body. Skiers and snowboarders need to be fit and agile to manage the challenging terrain and conditions, and to reduce their chance for injury. Skiing demands eccentric leg strength (it is probably the biggest eccentric sport there is!) and most people do not train their muscles eccentrically.
Getting back on the slopes will certainly get you back into ski or snowboarding shape over time, but cross training is just as important. Insta workouts will have you prepared on day one, so you aren’t suffering from burning thighs and glutes, or a tweaked joint. Cross-training on the Megaformer can help prevent injury, increase your strength on the mountain, and will help you ski all day long without suffering from soreness!
Insta athlete, Brad Davis, uses the Megaformer consistently to cross-train for his season. InstaPhysique has improved his skiing and “has made it so that I am ski ready at the start of the season.” He just hit the slopes and shared, “Even x-country skiing was better. All the ‘balance’ muscles are already in place and the lunges from class make it a piece of cake to make long strides and extended gliding on the first day out.”
So, how does INSTA prepare you to shred the slopes?
We do this by strengthening the hamstrings and glutes, balancing overused quads, and strengthening all of your stabilizer muscles. Insta workouts focus on conditioning your entire body (especially your full, functional core) and improving your flexibility and balance to help you control your skis and support areas, such as your knees and hips, that are more prone to skiing injuries.
STRENGTH
On the Mega, we perform movements that work both the eccentric muscle contraction (the lengthening motion) and concentric muscle contraction (the shortening motion) in a single rep. with zero rest or stops so that you’re using the muscle for 100 percent of the movement.
The duality is important for skiing because concentric strength is “positive” strength, like what you use to stand up from the bottom of a squat, or hike up a steep hill, where eccentric strength is “negative” strength, like what you use to lower yourself into the bottom of a squat, or hike down a steep hill. Eccentric strength absorbs force, and by training your legs this way you will lengthen and strengthen your muscles through negative contractions, and best prepare yourself to dominate the mountain this year!
FLEXIBILITY, POSTURE & BALANCE
Good flexibility in the joints can improve posture and alignment as well as help prevent injuries through all stages of life. The movements we perform on the Megaformer always work your muscles in their length, which improves flexibility.
InstaPhysique workouts also focus heavily on core stabilizing exercises, which allows you to keep optimal body alignment by stabilizing and supporting the spine. The core is the body’s center of power, so the more strength and stability trained in this area, the better chances you will have in preventing injuries and maintaining good alignment and posture!
ENDURANCE
InstaPhysique trains and improves both muscular and cardiovascular endurance.
Muscular endurance is the ability of the muscle to continue to perform without fatigue. Ironically, in order to perform without fatigue, you need to train the muscles TO fatigue. We train the muscles to a threshold of intensity that will stimulate adaptation and improvement as we take you to the brink of muscle failure and back.
Cardiorespiratory endurance is the ability of the body’s circulatory and respiratory systems (heart and lungs) to supply fuel to the tissues and cells during sustained physical activity. Each Insta class keeps your heart rate elevated at a safe level during the workout, and we perform movements for at least 60 seconds of constant tension to allow the aerobic system to kick in and improve your cardiorespiratory endurance.
Do you want to ski or snowboard longer, stronger, with more confidence and less pain? The good news is you don’t have to make any special modifications to class to see improvement on the slopes. Just show up to your 40-minute Insta class, give your best effort, and reap the results once you hit the slopes!
BOOK YOUR CLASS TODAY!
