The Importance of Preparation for the Winter Athlete

Kate’s Real Food is thrilled to be working with athletes like Max Martin that take safety in sport very seriously. Professional skier, personal ski trainer, and Kate’s partner writes about how to prepare for the ski season with the best ski training exercises.

We’ve reached the seasonal milestone: Fall. There is always a faint scent of pumpkin spice in the air and the colors of the leaves make the world seem like you’re living in one giant pastel painting. It is a beautiful showing of mother nature making room for winter to settle in. This is always a highly anticipated time of the year for me – because as I see it, the fall represents a season of preparation and anticipation because when the snow starts settling I want to be ready.

Preparation

As a professional skier I can’t hide my excitement for the winter, but I can’t think about the sport without recognizing some of the unpleasant formalities that lurk within it. There are real hazards that come within the sport and can cause serious injury or death. Anytime you are traveling in the mountains the risk of avalanche, hidden stumps or rocks just lingering under the surface, even other parties of skiers are risks to your safety. While most of the time we are at the mercy of the environment, we can still prepare ourselves to have an advantage if the situation arises.

Strong Body, Strong Mind

While we might not be able to control our environment we can certainly control what we do with our health. A strong mind and body is important on the slopes. Over my lifetime of skiing I’ve learned the importance of proper ski training and pushing my body to be strong as it can. When I work and train hard for a season I am instilled with physical and mental confidence to take on whatever the mountain has in store for me.

This is a discipline that I developed at a young age through many years of ski racing and now it stands as one of the most influential aspects of my life. Skiing can be brutal; the beat-downs on the relentless ice of the race course, The high-speed tomahawk, the “not as soft as it looked” landing, and a personal trademark– colliding with trees. While I’m grateful to walk away from most of these, I’m most grateful for the ones that left a mark. These are the testaments of proper training because in my eyes those marks are a small slap on the wrist for what could have happened.

Training

Aside from my career as a professional skier, I’ve also had the pleasure to work as a personal ski training and strength coach to many of the Teton Valley’s residents. I’ve always been inspired and found so much joy in helping people understand the value of proper ski training exercises. This has driven my passion for educating and encouraging others to understand their body. I’m a firm believer that the more you can know about your body the more you can listen, adapt, and improve. I hope that by showing how much proper ski training can help us in the way that we play, that I can also inspire others to find how it can help them in everyday life.

If you are looking for a way to get yourself prepared for this winter, I am offering a remote ski fitness and conditioning program with some of the best ski training exercises to start this season to feel strong and fresh.

“An ounce of preparation it worth a pound of cure”

To learn more about Max and his program, you can check out his website and follow him on Instagram!