Ski Injury Prevention & Strength Periodization

By Aaron Castonguay PT, DPT, OCS, CSCS | September 2025

Ski season is around the corner. The excitement of that first powder day is real, but so is the risk of showing up unprepared. Whether you’re eyeing Opening Day laps at Keystone or back bowls at Vail, the difference between a fun season and an injury-shortened one comes down to how well your body is prepared.

At Summit Sports Lab, we think about this prep in two ways:

1. Injury Prevention – building durability so your joints, muscles, and ligaments can handle the unpredictable terrain of Colorado skiing.

   
   

2. Performance Readiness – moving beyond survival so you can ski stronger, longer, and with more confidence all season.

The good news? Both goals follow the same path: structured strength training and smart recovery.

Why Strength Training Matters for Skiing

Strength is the foundation for nearly every physical quality in sport: speed, agility, power, endurance, and injury resistance. In fact, a landmark review by Suchomel and colleagues (2016) showed that stronger athletes consistently perform better across all areas of performance—and they get injured less often [1].

For skiers, that means stronger legs = better control on turns, stronger hips = more balance on varied terrain, and stronger connective tissue = lower risk of ACL or overuse injuries. Strength isn’t just about building muscle—it’s about protecting yourself while unlocking higher performance.

Adaptation Takes Time

Your body doesn’t change overnight. Early in a training cycle (the first 2–6 weeks), most strength gains come from neural adaptations—your brain and muscles learning to fire more efficiently together. Behrens et al. (2019) demonstrated that early strength training success is all about motor unit recruitment and synchronization, not bigger muscles [2].

Translation: the first phase of training is like upgrading the wiring in your house before plugging in more appliances. You get stronger quickly because your brain is running the show more efficiently, even before your quads or glutes “look” different.

After that, hypertrophy (muscle growth) and connective tissue changes start to take hold, but only if you’ve laid the groundwork and allowed time for adaptation.

Phase 1 (Weeks 1–6): Neuromuscular Priming & Strength Foundation

Goals: Build stability, coordination, and tissue tolerance.

• Programming: 65–75% of your max, 3–4 sets of 10–12 reps, controlled eccentrics (2–3s lowering), rest 60–90 sec.

• Movements: Back squat, Romanian deadlift, walking lunges, leg press.

Why It Works:

This phase trains the brain-muscle connection and sets the stage for later hypertrophy. Neural gains arrive fast—expect strength without muscle growth at first. Behm et al. (2015) also highlight that balance and coordination training during this stage reduces injury risk by improving proprioception [3].

Phase 2 (Weeks 7–12): Hypertrophy & Metabolic Conditioning

Goals: Build muscle size, local endurance, and fatigue resistance.

• Programming: 70–80% of max, 4–5 sets of 8–10 reps, shorter rest (30–60 sec), with intensity techniques like supersets.

• Movements: Front squats, split squats, step-ups, glute bridges.

Why It Works:

Here, you’re asking muscles and connective tissue to grow thicker and more resilient. Mitochondria increase (better endurance), capillaries multiply (better recovery between turns), and fibers like Type IIa thicken (more power). Lauersen et al. (2018) showed that strength training can cut overall injury risk by 50% and overuse injuries by 66% [4]. That’s a huge payoff from showing up consistently in this phase.

The Hidden Key: Recovery

More training isn’t always better. Adaptation happens during recovery, not in the gym. Recovery days—even when they mean doing nothing—are part of the plan, not a sign of laziness.

Kraemer and Ratamess (2005) demonstrated that resistance training triggers anabolic hormones like testosterone, growth hormone, and IGF-1, which drive repair and remodeling [5]. But these benefits vanish if you train without recovery. Sleep (7–9 hrs), adequate protein (1.6–2.2 g/kg/day), and mobility work maximize the hormonal benefits of training.

Translation: if you skip recovery, you’re canceling the very adaptations you’re training for. Sometimes the best thing you can do for ski season prep is to rest.

The Big Picture

Strength training is the single best way to prepare for ski season. It improves balance, coordination, endurance, and resilience—while cutting injury risk in half. Neural gains arrive first, then hypertrophy, then performance adaptations. Recovery ties it all together.

So as you’re waxing skis and shopping for season passes, remember: the real prep happens now, in the gym and in recovery. Train smart, recover strong, ski harder.

References

1. Suchomel TJ, Nimphius S, Stone MH. The importance of muscular strength in athletic performance. Sports Med. 2016;46(10):1419–1449. [PMID: 26838985]

2. Behrens M, Mau-Moeller A, et al. Neuromuscular adaptations to early-phase strength training. Front Physiol. 2019;10:211. [PMID: 30930908]

3. Behm DG, Muehlbauer T, et al. Neuromuscular adaptations and injury prevention following strength and balance training in sports. Eur J Sport Sci. 2015;15(5):417–426. [PMID: 24998758]

4. Lauersen JB, Andersen TE, Andersen LB. Strength training as superior, dose-dependent and safe prevention of acute and overuse sports injuries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2018;52(24):1557–1563. [PMID: 24124015]

5. Kraemer WJ, Ratamess NA. Hormonal responses and adaptations to resistance exercise and training. Sports Med. 2005;35(4):339–361. [PMID: 15831061]