Get Fit for the Slopes This Season in the Warmth of Your Own Home

We all missed out an awful lot during 'Locky-D'. Initially, it was the day-to-day, like shaking hands or hugging humans when you met them, or actually getting to meet humans other than those in your direct household. But it soon emerged, as the weeks became months and, (unbelievably) a full year and a half, that we were without the larger events that normally define the grander passage of time. Birthdays came and went without fanfare, seeming as if they didn't happen at all. Summer holidays were spent within the boundaries of your own garden, if you were lucky enough to have one.

With flights grounded and resorts closed, the annual pilgrimage to snowier climes for a week of skiing or snowboarding, mountain air and apres ski were non starters last year. Yet as more and ever more countries get off the red list, the later months of 2021 and early 2022 will see some of the 100 million snow-sporters who hit the slopes each year make their comeback.

There is, of course, the nagging worry of being utterly physically unprepared for a six days of gunning it down black runs. After a long time spent hunched over laptops in the kitchen and divorced even from the movement of the commute, you would be just in thinking that strapping yourself in and throwing yourself at gravity's whims might result in injury.

Thankfully, you can shun the dry ski slope and prepare with the new programme from Apple Fitness+... Get Ready for Snow Season. Featuring and designed with two-time Olympic gold medalist and five-time world champion Ted Ligety, who is recognised as one of the world’s best alpine skiers, along with Fitness+ trainer Anja Garcia, who is herself an experienced snowboarder, the moves are inspired by exercises Ted adapted from his training programme as an elite athlete, and include HIIT, strength work, some yoga, and core.

“I spent the last 17 years of my life training as a professional athlete, and now more than ever, I know how important it is to continue training in an accessible and realistic way so I can stay on the slopes longer, prevent injury, and have fun with my family,” said Ligety. “I hope people enjoy the workouts Anja and I put together, with some moves inspired by how I used to train as a professional athlete, and some that reflect life as a dad, carrying my kids’ skis, my skis, and my kids through the parking lot."

The new ski-specific programme is the latest in a series of programmes geared toward a particularly stage in a person's life, or pushing toward a certain goal, rather than single workouts to hit at home. “Whether you’re just getting started, trying something new, or switching up how you train your mind and body, the amazing and welcoming Fitness+ trainer team is here to help users live a healthy lifestyle, no matter where they are in their fitness journey,” said Jay Blahnik, Apple’s senior director of Fitness Technologies.

With Ted and Anja, you can expect unique movements that fuse bodyweight classics with skiing elements and plenty of unilateral work, to bulletproof your body against the sort of injury that can really ruin your long-awaited trip. You can choose from sessions as short as 10 minutes and build up to the longer 20-min workouts, so you can go from blue to black, rather than end up black and blue.

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