Reclaiming our “ski legs”

Yesterday was my third ski outing, but first "real one" of the season into deep, natural snow as Park City Mountain Resort opened more terrain; I had a chance to enjoy three steep runs non-stop, top-to-bottom, into cut-out deep powder tracks and I could sense that my legs had to work really hard. Alpine skiing is a unique sport in that it's quite passive as it essentially requires strong retention, mostly produced by the thigh (quadriceps) muscles. When the effort is significant and the body is not yet trained to that kind of exercise, the “morning-after” pain can be quite evident. The thighs, knees, calf and – to a lesser extent - abdominal muscles can feel a bit sore. Regardless of the previous dry-land exercises performed before hitting the slopes (i.e. running or biking) we'll need to rebuild our strength gradually as we get back into the sport. That’s good news, because I was starting to think that my age was finally getting the best of me!