Download Benefits of Downhill Skiing - Dale Charles Physiotherapy

Benefits of Downhill Skiing
By Courtney Parker, Registered Kinesiologist (BHScKin)
Sports Clinic and Dale Charles Physiotherapy
Welcome to the New Year! Now that we have finished eating
and drinking the holidays away many of us find ourselves
committing to a healthier style of living as a part of our New
Year’s resolution. The pledge to regular exercise becomes
increasingly difficult as we find ourselves exactly one year
older than the previous New Year. Many people begin to say,
“I’m getting too old to exercise”, when in fact they should be
saying, “I exercise because I’m getting older”.
One of the primary causes for the loss of independence as we
age is muscle weakness. This muscle weakness is associated
with an age-related decrease in muscle mass known in health
care as “sarcopenia”. Although there can be many reasons
for this loss, a decrease in physical activity contributes to the
effects of sarcopenia. Specifically, in order to maintain muscle
mass and strength, appropriate stresses and loads need to be
applied to the muscles. Have you ever heard the cliché “use
it or lose it”? If you do not challenge the muscles regularly,
the muscles will begin to waste away because the body thinks
they are not needed. For this reason, resistance training is an
important factor in the health and wellbeing of our muscles and
bones as we age.
Resistance training does not have to be performed with
particular exercises using certain weights, with specific
sets and repetitions. This is good news for people who shy
away from the gym scene. An example of resistance training
outside of a gym facility is downhill skiing. Recent studies
have concluded that downhill skiing 2-3 times per week for 12
weeks is an effective way to combat the age-related loss of
muscle strength and size. Furthermore, the downhill nature
of the activity provides the body with appropriate mechanical
stimuli to produce remodeling of the muscle fibers by inducing
overload to the muscles. This results in greater gains in strength
and size.
Along with the gains in strength and muscle size, downhill
skiing also improves cardiorespiratory health, mental health
and postural stability. The exertion associated with skiing
can be varied by the difficulty of the run, the speed and skiing
style of the skier. This makes it easy for the skier to keep the
intensity at a moderate level to facilitate aerobic fitness. This is
an important factor because poor aerobic fitness is correlated
to increased risks for cardiovascular disease, as well as Type-2
diabetes and obesity. Downhill skiing promotes cardiac fitness
as well as muscle and bone health to lower these risk factors.
The dynamic environment of the ski hill forces the skier to be
very attentive to changes in the snow conditions, obstacles
such as trees or rocks, and the other snow enthusiasts on
the run. Downhill skiing requires constant awareness of
body position and places high demands on postural stability.
Furthermore, the change in acceleration, snow conditions
and other obstacles forces the skier to alter body position
and direction frequently. This places a great demand on the
strength and body awareness to balance oneself over top of
the skis. This demand has been shown to cause beneficial
changes in muscle control, at both a muscular and neurological
level; these adaptations are important due to the increased risk
of falling associated with the aging process.
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Finally, downhill skiing has been found to be associated with
elevated positive emotions and positive mood states. This
means that the benefits of downhill skiing are not limited to
physical fitness, but also mental wellbeing. So, if you are
looking for an activity to boost your winter blues, promote
cardiovascular health, and stimulate gains in muscle strength
and size then look no further than Apex Mountain.