Anastasis Tzanis
Reformer Pilates for Skiing: Injury Prevention & Performance in Tufnell Park
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For most residents in North London, skiing is a highly anticipated seasonal activity often preceded by limited physical preparation. This gap between desk-bound work and the intensity of the slopes is why injury rates are so high. At our Tufnell Park studio, we use Reformer Pilates to prepare your body for the unique demands of the mountains, helping you avoid accidents while enhancing your performance in 5 unique ways.
1 Core Strength Beyond 6-Pack
Your ‘core’ is responsible for keeping you upright and transferring force between your lower and upper body—functions that are critical when navigating a descent. Both functions are critical when skiing. Our abs will meet our skiing demands however only to the extent they can. When our movement exceeds our muscles ability (due to force or load) we will be prone to injury.
Our approach in Tufnell Park goes beyond the ‘6-pack’ aesthetic. We use the Reformer to synchronize abdominal recruitment with total-body movement, ensuring your spine is protected when the terrain becomes unpredictable.
In Pilates there are specific exercises that allow us to target different sections of the abdomen. Reformer Pilates has a big advantage in comparison to mat offering: a. A bigger selection of exercises, b. The ability to make a lot of the mat exercises easier / harder, c. The opportunity to execute movements that synchronise abdominal recruitment with other muscle groups.
It would be no exaggeration to say that the stimulus the reformer machine offers your core is impossible to substitute with other forms of exercise.
2 Hip & Ankle Stability For “Strong” Knees
ACL injuries are the most frequent ‘holiday-enders’ for skiers. Avoiding them requires exceptional proprioception—the body’s ability to sense its position in space.
Aside the obvious strength work in the muscles above and below the knee capsule: quads, hamstrings, tibialis anterior and calf muscles, there are 2 joints very important for knee health stability of which can also help keep the knees healthy: hips and ankles.
When hip and ankle joints are strong the skier will be able to absorb the impact from landings, adjust his position quick, acceleration and break with ease. Most importantly though as these joints will be more stable the knee capsule will be less subject to movements that can risk an injury.
3 Hip Flexibility
Similar to any sport that involves leg work, athletes need to keep their hips in check. While you don’t need a contortionist flexibility it is often the case that one of the 6 movements of the hips is restricted. The reformer machine allows for flexibility to be addressed with the help of the resistance which can be useful both for beginners that are not used to stretching or hyper-mobile individuals that have loose joints.
4 Balance: Muscle Coordination
Muscles don’t work independently. When we walk, jump, run we recruit many muscles at the same time. The Reformer machine allows skiers to perform a lot of regular movements with resistance and/or an unstable surface, developing muscle coordination, and thus balance, in a controlled environment. These exercises often involve the extremities and the midsection while the stabilising muscles of the hips and shoulders can also be targeted.
Poor coordination between muscles in the midsection is a bigger contributing factor for lower back pain than lack of flexibility.
5 Strong Legs: Quad / Glute Balance
Most skiers are either quad or hip dominant. This imbalance is often what leads to early fatigue or knee strain on day three of a trip. At Perola Bruta, we use specific Reformer protocols to isolate and balance these muscle groups. We don’t just want you to have strong legs; we want them to be balanced so you can ski from the first lift to the last.
To sum up
Reformer Pilates can help skiers with their performance in the slopes by improving their strength in the core, quads, glutes, their flexibility in the hips and overall balance.
Depending on a skier’s strengths and weaknesses as well as other types of training he may be practicing it might be worth focusing on 1-2 of these areas more than the rest.
The 'Pre-Ski' Protocol in North London
Planning a trip to the Alps? Prepare your body at Pérola Bruta. We offer specialist ski-conditioning for residents across N7, N19, and Highgate.