In the Media
2005-11-21, The Edmonton Journal
Women Skiers Have Different Needs
Chris Zdeb; journal staff writer, Edmonton
Special skis and exercises are designed for balance
Novice female skiers spend more time on their bums than their male counterparts.
“Women think it’s because they’re weaker, or not as fit as men, but it’s just that their body isn’t designed as efficiently to be an effective skier,” says Alexandra Senkow, a personal trainer at Defining Eve.
Women are built bottom heavy. Their hips are wide and their Q-angle or quadriceps angle - the alignment of their femur (the thick bone between the hip and the knee) to the knee – is wider than men’s. It makes women perfectly designed to have babies but not-so-perfectly designed when it comes to sports that require balance. In addition, women’s quads are dominant, but they don’t have the support underneath from the hamstrings that mean have, which leaves them with less balance, making them more likely to end up sitting on the snow than gliding over it at the start.
“We also tend to have poor core strength, partly because of fat storage. Women who store more body fat, for example, in their chest or on their stomach or on their backside, pull their spine out of alignment which actually lengthens and weakens the abdominals while strengthening and tightening the lower back,” Senkow says.
Ski manufacturers began addressing women’s problems a few years ago with the first designs of skis just for women. Traditional skis are thin at the tip and tail and thick underneath in the middle where the skier stands. Women’s skis thin out from the middle to the tail allowing the back half of the ski to flex easier.
Novice female skiers tackled their own problems with exercises to improve balance and strengthen their legs. Trainers then improved on those exercises by not only tackling muscle but the nervous system, which contributes to sport-specific strength, says Senkow, whose gym offers a six-week conditioning program specifically for novice females skiers.
“Stability training is really key because it helps develop the brain-to-body connection which is essentially how you develop balance,” she says.
BENCH SLALOM (SIDE-TO-SIDE BENCH JUMP)
This exercise mimics the motion of zigzagging down a ski slope so it strengthens the same muscles.
Start by grabbing the sides of a backless bench. Bend elbows slightly, engage core muscles by pulling belly button to spine. Stand with feet together, knees slightly bent and jump over the bench landing with two feet on the other side. Don’t stop. Immediately jump back to the other side and keep repeat until fatigue.
Once you load your muscles, you want to keep them firing, explains personal trainer Alexandra Senkow. Pausing requires you to keep reloading the muscles after each jump, making the exercise less effective.
It’s an exercise many people haven’t done since they were in school, which makes them a little leary of trying but they always end up able to do it and they enjoy it because it’s fun, Senkow says.
