Fit For Snow

11/02/2026

Take a couple of days 'off' after the stair workouts - but recovery doesn't mean not doing anything. If you like swimming get into the pool, biking - get out for a ride. A walk outside restores more than just your muscles, and nothing can beat the fun of doing a sport you love with a friend.

11/01/2026

If you were able to complete the previous sequence with a bit of gas in the tank it's time to move up. Otherwise, repeat the last sequence.

We can add load by adding reps - this gives endurance but also takes more time. That's the tactic we'll use until the workout reaches 60 minutes - then we can increase the intensity for power or add weight for a bump up in strength.

The workout is designed for a set of stairs with 8 flights. If yours is shorter just add reps to get the equivalent.

Warm up by jogging up one set and then back down. On the way down think about your posture and core to protect your back. Tap your glutes and even your VMO as your knee lifts to wake these muscles up.

Sprint two flights, jog one flight all the way to the top. On the way down jog a couple of stairs until you've settled down from the sprint and then start dropping from stair to stair in your skiing or riding stance. When you are 2-3 stairs above a landing do a 2 foot takeoff, spring up and drop down onto the landing. Stick the landing by holding the low squat position for a count of 30.

The next two reps up face sideways and do crossovers up the stairs at a fast jog pace. Go all the way to the top facing right and come back down with crossovers. Face the railing in case you stumble as the crossovers on the way down can be tricky.

Next two laps are two foot hops from stair to stair on the way up. Try to hold your skiing or riding stance so that you stay in a squat position all the way with your legs extending to power the jump underneath you and tucking up to maintain a tucked stance. If these are easy try alternating one-legged hops, one flight on the right leg and one on the left. On the way down let your legs recover by jogging down, with just the drop jumps onto the landing.

Recover with a lap of slower skater's jumps on the way up. Get down low and spring from side to side. Jog down the first flight and then do the two foot hops for the rest of the way down. Repeat these jumps but the second time try to make them as powerful as you can.

Sprint one rep up to the top and then jog back down.

Two laps repeating the crossovers on the way up, taking two steps at a time if you have the leg power.

Last lap is a slow jog, then cool down with 5 minutes of jogging and stretch out your quads, hamstrings and calves.

Well done!

10/31/2026

What you don't want to short yourself on is making sure that you have adequate nutrition for your recovery! Without the material and energy to build new tissue it ain't gonna happen. So in honour of Halloween, a great pumpkin based recovery snack!

High Protein Pumpkin Squares

1 cup plain Greek yogurt, or drain regular yogurt through a cheese cloth for several hours. You could also use silken tofu or cottage cheese
1 cup pumpkin puree (roast your pumpkin and peel off the skin)
1 cup dry milk powder or 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
½ cup brown sugar or sweetner of your choice
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.5 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice ( or a mix of cinnamon, allspice and ground cloves)
1/2 cup flour of your choice (pulse oats in blender if you want oat flour)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Blend everything together in a blender or food processor until very smooth. The consistency should be thick like a cake batter.

Pour into a parchment lined 8 x 8 pan and sprinkle with the topping of your choice. Granola, chopped nuts, pumpkin or sunflower seeds or chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, just until a toothpick inserted in the middle pulls out clean

10/30/2026

What you do for recovery can influence how well your body responds to the load, and how fast you are ready for more - though these two goals are sometimes at cross purposes. For example, the inflammation that happens as a result of a hard workout will make it harder to perform well at physical activities but it also stimulates your body to rebuild at a higher level.

Things like ice baths and heat can make your muscle recover faster (so good in-season) but can also lower how long the signals for building stronger muscle hang around.

10/29/2026

Hey All, sending out an apology for missing a few days of posting workouts. Unfortunately, here at Fit for Snow we've been busy with some unavoidable life stuff. Hope you've been keeping up with your training. As before, repeat each sequence at least twice before increasing the load. Take one or even two days off in between these hard workouts to allow for sufficient recovery.

Here's the next sequence:
The instructions are for 8 consecutive flights, but remember that if you only have access to a couple of flights you can still build a killer workout by just going up and down until you have the equivalent of 8 flights.

Warm up by jogging up one set and then back down. On the way down think about your posture and core to protect your back. Tap your glutes and even your VMO as your knee lifts to wake these muscles up.

Next lap step up two steps at a time as fast as you can. On the way down jog a couple of stairs until you've settled down from the sprint and then start dropping from stair to stair in your skiing or riding stance. When you are 2-3 stairs above a landing do a 2 foot takeoff, spring up and drop down onto the landing. Stick the landing by holding the low squat position for a count of 30.

The next two reps up face sideways and do crossovers up the stairs at a fast jog pace. Go all the way to the top facing right and repeat the hops from stair to stair and the drop jump sequence on the way down, but this time when you land instead of sticking the landing position, as soon as you touch down spring back up as powerfully as possible. Repeat but face left on the way up.

Next two laps are two foot hops from stair to stair on the way up. Try to hold your skiing or riding stance so that you stay in a squat position all the way with your legs extending to power the jump underneath you and tucking up to maintain a tucked stance. On the way down let your legs recover by jogging down, with just the drop jumps onto the landing.

Recover with a lap of slower skater's jumps on the way up. Get down low and spring from side to side. Jog down the first flight and then do the two foot hops for the rest of the way down.

Jog one last rep up to the top and then jog back down then cool down with 5 minutes of jogging and stretch out your quads, hamstrings and calves. Follow this workout with a high protein and simple carb snack. The insulin will help your muscle rebuild after this killer workout!

You won't regret putting in the time on these workouts! The payoff is in legs that do not let you down, even at the end of a hard riding day!

10/24/2026

It's that time of year again, the leaves are falling, the snow has started to grace the peaks, and our FREE webinar series is back! Join us October 28, when we'll be talking preparation and planning with our friends from .

Pre-registation is required, grab your spot now https://bit.ly/AvCanWebinarOct25

10/24/2026

If you're wondering why the stair workouts cause some serious delayed muscle soreness this post is for you.
When moving downhill or in the lowering phase of a movement your muscles have to contract to resist the pull of gravity but they also have to lengthen at the same time so that the movement can take place. The neural pattern for these types of contractions (called eccentric) is different than for movements where the muscle shortens to lift an object up (concentric contractions). Because of this, the forces exerted on muscle are greater with eccentric contractions and when the load is greater than what you are habituated to, small amounts of damage occur within the structure of the muscle. But don't worry, this is not a bad thing because it signals to your body to rebuild a stronger system!
The peak soreness is experienced at 48 hours because part of the healing process requires an influx of white blood cells to remove the damaged tissue and this inflammatory process includes pain signals to prevent you from doing anything to cause more damage to the healing tissue.
The best way to facilitate the rebuilding process is to do light exercise during the painful period. Warm up gently by moving your legs through gentle range of motion movements and then walk, jog, swim or spin on a bike with minimal load. The idea is to get the muscles warmed up and increase blood flow to wash out wastes and deliver nutrients so that the muscle has what it needs to rebuild.
Making sure to stay hydrated, eat well including a bit of extra protein, get 8 hours of sleep and keep moving are the best ways to reduce the pain and make sure that you maximize muscle building in response to your stair workouts!

10/24/2026

Stairs are a great way to prep for skiing and riding because as you run downward your leg muscles have to resist gravity in a similar way to when making turns on your board(s). This type of muscle contraction is called eccentric and it places a high load on each muscle fibre. We'll use hops on the stairs to mimic these movements for both your muscles and nerves making your legs stronger than ever and dialling up the joint reflexes that will protect you against injury.

Hopefully you've found a set of stairs with at least 8 consecutive flights, but remember that if you only have access to a couple of flights you can still build a killer workout by repeating the prescribed sequence until you've done it at least 8 times.
Warm up by jogging up one set and then back down. On the way down think about your posture and core to protect your back. Be precise with your footwork as there is some risk when jumping down the stairs.
Next lap sprint one flight, jog one flight up to the top. On the way down jog a couple of stairs until you've settled down from the sprint and then start dropping from stair to stair in your skiing or riding stance. When you are 2-3 stairs above a landing do a 2 foot takeoff, spring up and drop down onto the landing. Stick the landing by holding the low squat position for a count of 30.
The next two reps up you are going to face sideways and do crossovers up the stairs at a fast jog pace. Go all the way to the top facing right and repeat the hops from stair to stair and the drop jump sequence on the way down, but this time when you land instead of sticking the landing position, as soon as you touch down spring back up as powerfully as possible. Repeat but face left on the way up.

Now comes the time to dig in. This rep do two foot hops from stair to stair on the way up. Try to hold your skiing or riding stance so that you stay in a squat position all the way with your legs extending to power the jump underneath you and tucking up to maintain a tucked stance. On the way down let your legs recover by jogging down, with just the drop jumps onto the landing.
Next lap is skater's jumps on the way up. Get down low and spring from side to side. You'll likely have to slow the pace down for this one, but try to make the jumps powerful. Jog down the first flight and then do the two foot hops for the rest of the way down.
One more hard lap, two foot hop up one flight, skater's jumps the next. Hop on the way down if you've got anything left in your legs
Jog one last rep up to the top and then jog back down then cool down with 5 minutes of jogging and stretch out your quads, hamstrings and calves. Follow this workout with a high protein and simple carb snack. The insulin will help your muscle rebuild after this killer workout!

10/23/2026

Fit for Snow was designed based on studies looking at mountain guides, patrollers, instructors and lift ops, but the principals apply to other jobs at snowsport resorts (and people who love to spend time on snow). Snowcat drivers also have to deal with difficult environmental conditions and staying focused when fatigued. Our research showed that when blood sugar fluctuates reaction time can be slowed by as much as a third of a second. The delay in reacting to an unexpected event is compounded by two other factors - risk propensity and decision making.

10/22/2026

Big news! A study has shown that 45% of injuries occur in the hour prior to lunch and the mid-afternoon!! But they completely missed the boat in their discussion as to why. The research behind Fit for Snow revealed the reason for this clustering of injuries (in guests and in staff). Follow the page for an easy fix to prevent these injuries and save your season!

Discover the deadliest times of day for ski accidents and practical tips to stay safe on the slopes. Learn what the data reveals!