The ACE Winter Sports Workout Builder
Certified™: November 2024
At the San Diego headquarters of the American Council on Exercise, the arrival of winter means there is a slight chill in the air (temps in the 60s!) and a chance of light rain (up to 2 inches per month!). But, for those of us living in other parts of the country, winter brings plunging temperatures, brisk winds and snowfall, and is typically a time for skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and other cold-weather adventures. To be fair to those Southern California folks, who often take pride in the surrounding biodiversity, ski resorts like Bear Mountain and Mammoth Mountain are a short drive away, so let’s not leave them out of this conversation.
Group Fitness Classes
As a group exercise instructor, you can also plan classes around a specific theme such as “winter sports” to add a fun element to preparing for winter activities. While you may not be able to individualize the program to each group participant, you can adjust your exercise selection and other training variables—not to mention your cueing—to meet the needs of changing fitness demands during the winter months. You can use the group fitness class blueprint to prepare and the exercise evaluation criteria to make sure you are choosing appropriate exercises for the class goals. Both forms can be found by logging into your My ACE Account and opening ACE Answers.
Every sport has specific programming requirements based on the movements performed and the particular elements of physical fitness required to excel (e.g., cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular power, speed, agility). Winter sports are no different.
For example, workouts designed to prepare clients for skiing and snowboarding should focus on developing the strength and coordination required to maintain stability and balance on constantly shifting terrain. And let’s not forget that winter sports often involve moving at high rates of speed (such as in downhill skiing and ice skating), which requires coordination, agility and quick decision making. Other sports may involve cardiorespiratory fitness to sustain physical work (as in cross-country skiing and snowshoeing) or power for explosive movements (as in ice hockey and skiing moguls).
The sample workout featured below is for general fitness and strength for winter sports, but be sure to use the ACE Workout Builder templates to modify it as needed to meet the preferences and needs of each individual client based on their goals and the sports in which they participate.
Safety Considerations
Two major problems are encountered when exercising in the cold—hypothermia and frostbite—and they are both related to an excessive loss of body heat. When the blood or skin temperature drops, the body activates certain mechanisms to conserve body heat and increase heat production—peripheral vasoconstriction, nonshivering thermogenesis and shivering. Peripheral vasoconstriction is a narrowing of arterioles to reduce blood flow to the shell of the body, which decreases the amount of body heat lost to the environment. When altering skin blood flow is not enough to prevent heat loss, nonshivering thermogenesis is increased. This involves stimulating the metabolism to increase internal heat production. Shivering occurs next if the other two primary mechanisms are not adequate. Shivering is a rapid, involuntary cycle of skeletal muscle contraction and relaxation that can increase the body’s rate of heat production by four to five times. In other words, the body reacts differently when exercising in the cold as compared to performing the same movements in warmer weather, so be sure to adhere to the following guidelines when training your clients outdoors during the winter (or share them with clients to ensure their safety during outdoor sports):
- Wear several layers of clothing so that garments may be removed or replaced as needed. Remove outer layers as intensity increases and then put them back on during rest or cool-down periods. Check out the above link for more specific layering strategies.
- Select garment materials that allow the body to give off heat during exercise and retain body heat during rest. Wool is an excellent choice for exercising in the cold, as it maintains body heat even when wet; cotton, however, is a poor choice because it absorbs sweat. Nylon is an appropriate choice for outerwear when windchill is a factor, but synthetic materials like Gore-Tex are often the best choice because they block wind, are waterproof and wick moisture away from the body.
- Allow for adequate ventilation of sweat by replacing wet garments with dry ones, as wet clothing will continue to drain the body of heat.
- In windy conditions, it is best to begin the session facing into the wind and to finish with the wind at your back.
- Wear proper footwear and slow down, if necessary, in slippery conditions.
- Focus on hydration. Many clients will associate dehydration with exercising in the heat, but proper hydration is important during the cold weather, too.
The Workout
Because it can take at least four to six weeks for the body to adapt to an exercise program, the sooner your clients begin to specifically prepare for winter sports, the sooner they will be able to get outside and enjoy their favorite cold-weather activities.
This four-day split routine is divided into upper- and lower-body workouts that are performed on alternating days. Prior to starting each workout, have your client perform a 10- to 15-minute warm-up using a method of your choice to get their heart beating faster and to prepare their body for the upcoming workout.
Instruct your client to perform each exercise for eight to 15 repetitions (on each side of the body, if appropriate) and rest for 30 seconds or less between each exercise. Your client’s training schedule will dictate on what days of the week these workouts are performed. Just be sure to alternate between the upper-body and lower-body workouts so that your client has a chance to recover fully between sessions.
Day 1: Upper Body
Pick at least one exercise from each upper-body column and at least two exercises from the torso column.
|
Chest |
Back |
Shoulders |
Arms |
Torso |
|
|
||||
Day 2: Lower Body
Pick at least two exercises from each column.
|
Hips |
Legs |
Day 3: Upper Body
Pick at least one exercise from each column.
|
Chest |
Back |
Shoulders |
Arms |
Day 4: Lower Body
Pick at least two exercises from each column.
|
Hips |
Legs |
Torso |
Final Thoughts
An individualized sport-specific training program involves the balancing of countless variables, from the client’s goals and the physiological and psychological demands of the sport to the training days available and their background with exercise. That said, the workout presented here is a good starting point for a recreational athlete who wants to reduce the risk of injury while improving their performance during their favorite winter activities.
If you work with more serious winter sports athletes, be sure to read How to Build a Sports Performance Fitness Training Program or consider becoming a Sports Performance Specialist.
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