Winter is not for away and you have to get in shape for the season ahead, right? Unless you are a hemisphere hopper and chase the snow around all year, you are going to have to prepare on ‘dry land’.  So to come up with some ideas I did a bit of reaserch on the internet. Here are some videos I found of possible ways to get into shape and improve your skiing at the same time.

The Racers Edge.

This great piece of equipment will help you get into shape for sure. I have never tried the Racers Edge but a few things jump out at me in terms of crossover into real skiing. First, I think you should be wearing your ski boots to get a real feel for the movements. Second, skiing involves going down hill whilst this device is flat. Third the legs are always in the same position relative to each other, in downhill skiing the inside leg usually moves forward a bit to accommodate the slope you are standing on.

My rating:

The SkyTec Simulator

A couple of boxes are ticked by the SkyTec Simulator that the Racers Edge doesn’t, you will notice the inside leg moving forward and the athlete is wearing ski boots, yay! However, there is still no slope angle built in, so it might be difficult to reproduce the same movements on an actual ski hill. Also this machine looks rather large, the average house probably wouldn’t accommodate it.

My Rating:

Homemade version

This looks to be a homemade version of the two exercise machines above. Also looks to be a great way to keep children entertained in the school holidays and stop them from running off.

My Rating: (half star given for the sound track)

Harb Carvers

I like how these have a downhill component. This makes it closer to downhill skiing than the other trainers minus the car hazard. Probably best to have a good medical insurance. Skiing and rollerblading have quite a bit in common so this is an excellent way to get in shape, work on balance and get the legs working.

My Rating:

Tree skiing without the snow

So far the most realistic ski training I’ve found on the net. I like that the dry leaves are a good simulation for snow and that the trees give it realism too. Also you can use your normal ski equipment if you wish making it very cost effective. As a negative I imagine there would be quite a large hazard from exposed tree roots.

My Rating:

Lastly,

If you are short of money and don’t actually own any equipment you could try this for your dry land training.

Dry Land Training

All you need is a shovel and poles for this preseason exercise drill. I guess you could use stairs too as an alternative. This drill has obvious application to skiing the bumps. If you can do this as well as Jonny Moseley then you are a legend.

My Rating:

I’d be interested to know if anyone has used any of the preseason training equipment I’ve shown here or have your own way of getting into shape. In part two of this post I will write about some more practical things that you can do to get ready for winter.