The word fitness covers a huge variety of areas and plays a huge role in how healthy our lifestyles are.

Keeping physically fit does not mean being a professional sportsperson, but it does mean doing enough exercise in our day to day lives that we maintain a healthy mind and body.

A fit lifestyle not only keeps our bodies running more effeciently for a longer time, but also increases brain-power – allowing us to concentrate more when learning and working.

In general, a higher fitness level means more physical and mental efficiency – especially when we can combine something we enjoy with an apsect of physical exercise, such as skiing and fitness.

Exercise alters the rate that our brains produce chemicals such as serotonin and endorphines. This increases our ability to concentrate.

On top of this, regular exercise can improve our sleep pattern, creating a better balance between hormones and emotions.

Lastly, exercising in a Group class means a regular chance to socialize, giving us an outlet and circle of friends to confide in and talk about issues with.

Regular fitness can make periods less heavy through the effects of estrogen and weight loss. Basically, the more fat we have in our body, the more estrogen is produced which creates a thicker line on the uterus, leading to heavier periods. Losing fat from exercise can lower the estrogen produced, leading to a lighter flow.

Boosts blood flow to uterus = lightening cramps

Exercising is a great, natural way to decrease the prostaglandins that our bodies produce, which are a big cause of inflammatory-based cramps. Not only this, but the increase in blood-flow from the exercise we do also increases the endorphins we produce – which are a fantastic painkiller.

I won’t sit here and say that bodyweight exercise is better than using equipment or a gym…

I am adamant however, that using bodyweight exercise in an outdoor environment is one of the most free and natural ways to get fitter and healthier.

Using our body to achieve fitness goals may not suit all kinds training better than equipment, but it feels damned good!

Simple answer: YES!

Food is our body’s fuel, and our daily activities dictate what fuel we need to perform at an optimal level.

For example, a marathon runner will spend day before their competions loading healthy carbs in to their bodies, knowing that they’ll be needing the energy reservoir created from this fuel.

This is the same for if we have a day of doing no activity at all. WE DON’T REFUEL A CAR THAT HASN’T BEEN DRIVEN. 

Also, in the case of a heavy resistance-session – either in the gym or using bodyweight – our body needs protein to rebuild the muscle that we’ve ripped during our workout. Providing this will result in a more efficient repair of the muscles, meaning a quicker recovery time and a stronger result.

Getting fit is a relatively simple process. We just follow a program. working hard until we reach our goal.

Staying fit is a much harder process that requires a lot of discipline. 

In order to stay fit, we have to create good habits, in which both regular exercise and a healthy diet play large parts.

To build habits like this, we need to take small steps – ensuring not to overload our bodies and brains with too much, as this can lead to motivation-drop, food cravings and a very quick relapse.

The big assumption is that we can go for a run twice and suddenly start losing weight….

THIS IS NOT TRUE!

When it comes to weight loss, yes, exercise plays a role. However, what we do in the kitchen has a much larger impact on our weight that our exercise-regime.

Losing weight starts by analysing what we are eating and making changes. Here are some easy ways to modify our diet to aid weight-loss:

Make portion sizes smaller.

Substitute high-calorie foods for low-calorie replacements e.g. rice for cous cous.

Snack loads, but snack right – fruit/nuts ect.

Hire a personal trainer to set you a good nutrition/exercise plan.

Neither exercise, nor nutrition can be described as more important. But play a massive role in how healthy our bodies are – aiding physical appearance, mental strength and how strong our organs are.

We need both exercise and nutrition in our lives to stay 100% healthy.

Yes!

We currently run various weekly online group sessions. Some are better suited to new-comers in the exercise worlds, and some can be very specific in their aim, for example our “skiing and fitness” classes, which run less regularly.

If you are looking for an affordable, remote trainer, please drop us a line to book a free consultation here.

Our Outdoor Group Sessions take place at the Ahornsee Parking area in Söll, every Wednesday evening and Saturday morning during the summer season.

The base-price for 1-on-1 private training is €60 Per Hour.

This rate counts for face to face training – online training is considerably cheaper, and we are always happy to discuss costs to make it work for our clients.

Book a free consultation today here.

We offer the an array of skiing and fitness-based services. Here is a list of just some of them:

1-on-1 Private Training (In person and remote)

Group Training Sessions (Set Times, both in person and remote)

Pre-Ski Conditioning Package (Online based preparation package for ski-season)

Tailored Programs (Written on a weekly basis)

Tailored Muscle-memory Video Packages for Skiing and Snowboard Training

If you have any further questions about our services, please contact us here.

All consultations and enquiries are free of charge.

It does not matter what your enquiry is about – although our main areas of expertise are within snowboarding, skiing and fitness.

We’re here to help you, not rob you!

Our Outdoor Group Sessions run for approximately 1 Hour, and occur every week from april until october at the following times:

Wednesday @ 1800

Saturday @ 1000

If you are looking to book a group session, this can be done here.

The Pre-Ski Conditioning Package can be purchased here.

For all other services, please contact us here for a free consultation about what suits your needs best.

For our Outdoor Group Sessions, no equipment is required – just a water bottle and some motivation!

Whether or not equipment is required for 1-on-1 Training is completely down to client-needs. 

Just as with all other equipment, there are probably a billion different types of skis. Choosing which is best for you can be determined by a few factors:

Size and Weight

Generally, the larger the human, the longer the ski. This is because more stability is required underfoot to stay upright. If you’re 5 ft 1, 50Kg and the rental shop hands you a pair of 190cm skis, they should probably change trade, as those are the WRONG SKI for you.

Ability

If you’re a first timer, you won’t be needed those sexy twintips, or the premium Off-Piste Skis at the back of the rental shop. Beginners and low-intermediates should generally aim for a shorter ski, for ease of mobility and a bit more forgiveness in trickier terrain.

Ski-Style

The kind of terrain that you like to ski on heavily dictates the kind of ski to choose. If you want to hit rails and do big jumps, a pair of Twintips would suit you best. For Off-Piste, we want large, fat skis. And if you just want to relax on a nice blue piste for the week, nothing special is needed – just a bog-standard ski in a good length for your height/build.

Mogul-Skiing – whether it’s a dedicated mogul-piste, or the pistes have just been rutted out throughout the day – is difficult. If Mogul-Skiing is on the agenda for your next holiday, my first advice would be to prepare physically. Focus on training your legs, improving both strength and endurance.

Now, the technique for Skiing in a Mogul Field is quite different to your everyday Piste Skiing. The name that we use for this technique is called deep-release – and it allows us to absorb the bumps whilst making turns.

Imagine that your head is on a long zip-wire that runs down the piste and you don’t want it to deviate from this line. The legs are constantly bending and straightening, depending on where we are on a Mogul. At the highest point, they should be completely bent, and at the lowest, they should be more straight (never completely straight, but quite). It is when our legs are completely bent that we can change edge and begin to straighten again.

This method essentially prevents us from taking off at the highest point of a bump. Although a hard technique to master, it is well worth adding to your repertoire.

Skiing backwards – also knows as “Switch” – as well as being invaluable to freestylers, is a helpful skill to dabble in for all who enjoy skiing. Here’s why…

Have you ever tried to make a turn, only to end up facing up the hill, still moving, but in completely the wrong direction? From an instructor’s point of view, most beginners/low intermediates find themselves in this position at some point, and all react the same way… With panic!

Having even a small amount of practice at making a backwards turn will save you from this panic.

How we make a backwards turn is quite simple. Stand up now, and imagine you have your skis on. Put your feet in to a “backwards plough” position, with the heels much closer together than the toes and your weight slightly more on the insides of the feet. This is exactly what we should do when finding ourselves backwards on a piste for the first time. From here, simply look over one of your shoulders and the skis will do the rest.

DON’T FORGET, Looking over the right shoulder will results in a left turn, and visa-versa.

For a complete beginner, turning on skis can seem like the most complicated thing in the world. As long as we are already able to brake/stop, turning is only one step away.

Firstly, we need to have a little bit of speed in order to create the right pressure to make a turn – so I always get ma students to go straight first, gaining a small amount of momentum whilst holding a small plough-position.

From here, we need to lean heavily (pretty much all of our weight) on to one of our legs. It is important to note that when we lean, our knee should be bent and our shin on the pressurized leg should be pressed well against the inside of the boot. Leaning back whilst doing this can make the process very difficult.

Now for the confusing part – to turn right, we need to lean on the LEFT LEG, just as turning left requires us to lean on the RIGHT LEG.

Lastly, experimenting with how much pressure we apply will help us learn how small or large our turn sizes can be. More pressure = a tighter turn. This is one of the reasons that I focus so heavily on single-legged power throughout the Pre-Ski Conditioning Package – to create a confident foundation where we trust leaning on one leg at a time.

So yes, skiing CAN keep you fit – just as regularly exercising and taking part in sports consistantly also can…

Skiing and fitness can be one and the same thing – with the sport including a lot of work for our core and legs, especially once we begin to move towards harder terrains e.g. Off Piste. 

From an intermediate level upwards, we can burn between 300 and 600 calories per hour, so rest-assured, that beer you drink during Apres-Ski can be easily burnt off the next day.

So yes, skiing CAN keep you fit – just as regularly exercising and taking part in sports consistantly also can…

Skiing and fitness can be one and the same thing – with the sport including a lot of work for our core and legs, especially once we begin to move towards harder terrains e.g. Off Piste. 

From an intermediate level upwards, we can burn between 300 and 600 calories per hour, so rest-assured, that beer you drink during Apres-Ski can be easily burnt off the next day.

Simply put, a lot of exercises are good for skiing – from squats, to planking, to explosive training. Top level skiing and fitness go hand in hand!

A great way to train for skiing is using bodyweight exercises at home prior to going on holiday. This is the main reason behind the Pre-Ski Conditioning Package , as we have used 28 different exercises that all relate directly to our ability on the pistes.

Exercises that improve our single-legged stability are very imprortant for skiing, and things like lunging, hopping on one leg, pistol squats ect are all part of our Pre-Ski preparation course.

We don’t have to be in the best shape of our lives in order to ski, however having a skiing and fitness base-level in the following things can majorly improve our overall time on the pistes:

Strength: We need to be able to comfortably lean on and keep all of our weight on one leg at a time, whilst having a bend in the knee. This is always a good test to check if we already have the leg-strength needed.

Endurance: Skiing is a sport that can last all day – meaning we need to last that long as well. Improving our endurance level with cardio, interval training, circuits ect can make a huge difference with how fatigue hits us.

Never underestimate the correlation between skiing and fitness. Spending a month or 2 getting your body ready for the Pistes will improve your time on the mountain greatly. 

Knowing exactly how to prepare is a difficult task however. This is why we have put together an 8-workout package, covering all aspects thag combine skiing and fitness. This Pre-Ski Conditioning Package is a buildup program for all skier levels – giving you more body-confidence, more fun and less chances of getting injured!

The main answer to avoiding injury on the slopes is to SKI SAFELY. Always ski within your limits and follow the FIS Rules. 

Other than this, a prior knowledge of skiing and fitness training to strengthen our knees and ankles before heading out on holiday can reduce our risk of injury greatly.This is due to the amount of impact we can absorb. Exercises such as Squat Jumps can heavily increase our legs’ ability to take impacts well.

Snowboard Boots are always the first equipment I recommend for a new Snowboarder to buy. 

There are so many brands, styles and specifications, but the main thing to look for as a beginner/low-intermediate is a relatively low flex. 

Boot-flex means how flexible the boots are, so a lower flex means a more forgiving, comfortable boot. 

Flex is ranged from 1-10, with 1 being very flexible and 10 being concrete blocks. Anywhere between 2 and 5 would be suitable for an inexperienced snowboarder.

Bindings are quite similar to boots in the way that they are chosen – using the flexibility and a main-basis for deciding.

The Binding-Flex determines how much of the movement our feet make is transferred directly to the board.

The scale for bindings ranges from 1-10, with 10 being the stiffest. The stiffer the binding, the more response is transferred to the board. 

A flexible binding will allow for more foot-movement, without a direct affect on the snowboard.

A beginner/low intermediate should generally aim for a medium to low flex binding, as this gives us more room for error in our movements.

The main factors when choosing a snowboard can be broken down in to the following (and should be prioritised in this order):

Length

The right Board-Length should be determined by using height and weight. For a first snowboard, the height of it stood on one end should be between the chin and nose (as a general rule for a beginner – low intermediate).

Width

Boards do come in wide-variations, which is very handy if you have big feet. If a board is too narrow for your feet, the toe and heel of the boots can drag in the snow, which makes riding very difficult.

Flex

Snowboard flex is measured on a scale from 1-10, with 1 being a wet noodle and 10 being a steel girder. I would always recommend to stay within the middle-low side of this scale for a first snowboard, as this provides both stability and forgiveness underfoot. and 

Camber

The Camber of a Snowboard is basically the shape of the board from a side-point of view. This subject can become very confusing, so I would recommend looking up the different camber-types here.

Graphic 

Although generally the first thing we see when looking at snowboards, this should be last on the priority list when choosing the RIGHT BOARD. That being said, when you do finally find the right specification for you, having an epic design is always a bonus, and can help to make the final decision if you narrow it down to 2 or 3 boards.

Have you ever Skateboarded, Longboarded, Surfed or tried any other board sports? If so, this is generally a great way to get an idea of whether you’re naturally Goofy or Regular. 

Goofy is riding with the right foot forward and Regular is left foot – and both are actually just as common as eachother.

If you really have no idea, stand up and pretend you’re riding down a hill – even if you have never done it. Close your eyes and feel which way is more natural for you. 

Now lean on the front leg, pushing that knee in the riding direction. If there is one side that feels more comfortable, chances are, this is your stance.

Stopping on a snowboard is a skill that can only really be fully learnt by doing it. 

There are however some exercises that can be practiced at home, to make it easier to learn once we get on the slopes. These include Calf-Raises to Squats, Anterial-Tibia Raises, and some basic Balancing Exercises.

Just as skiing and fitness go hand in hand, Snowboarding also uses a lot of muscles in ways that we aren’t used to. 

To prepare for this, we should be strengthening our legs with exercises like Squats, Side-Lunges and Mountain Climbers.

Also, there is a huge crossover in the physical aspects of skiing and snowboarding, meaning that the Pre-Ski Conditioning Package would be very much suitable for Snowboarders also!

There is an old saying that goes “Harder to learn, Easier to master”. 

This is, from an instructor’s point of view, very true for snowboarding. 

It is generally a longer and harder endeavor to learn snowboarding than skiing. However, once the basics have been learnt and you can ride down a blue piste, the fundementals are the same for most pistes – with the main difference being the “fear-factor”.

Learning to overcome the fear simply takes experience – or less brain cells…

So in plain terms, Snowboarding IS harder to learn than skiing, but easier to further improve at.

First and foremost, helmets are a MUST. I spent years not wearing one, using the fact that they are uncomfortable as an excuse. It took a pretty nasty accident and a concussion to open my eyes, and since then I won’t go up the mountain without one.

There are a lot of different brands of helmets, most of which are completely safe and trustworthy to use. My first point would be to always buy new helmets, as we know 100% that they haven’t had any prior hits and bangs.

The other point would be the fit of the helmet. Styles vary – with some people preffering to wear a beanie and goggles under the helmet, and others sticking with the classic “goggles over the top” style. Both are completely safe ways to wear the helmet, however you should always have your style in mind when choosing one. For example, I will always take my hat and eyewear with me when helmet-shopping, to guarantee the best fit for my head.

Simply put, the main difference between piste colours is the steepness, and instead of going into the technicalities, let’s word it this way:

Green: These pistes are for beginners and you children to learn on.

Blue: The first real pistes, this is where we should stay whilst learning, until we become more confident and want to push our skills further.

Red: this is where the pistes can become steeper, allowing us to reach higher speeds and hone in our skills at a higher level.

Black: These pistes should only be attempted by high intermediate/advanced riders, with the gradient being very steep and sometimes quite icy.

Snowboarding off-piste is one of the single best feelings this beatiful world has to offer.

I would only recommend goin off-piste once your piste-riding is very confident – with the ability to ride down most reds with no issues.

If you are lucky enough to have a powder-board (built for off-piste), then apart from keeping very soft knees, there is no huge difference between off-piste and on-piste. 

If you don’t have a powder board, then my advice would be to lean a little more on the back foot than normal, as we need to keep the board’s nose out of the snow.

This is another one of those things that can only really be learnt by doing.