Can't get passed thigh burn

M

magicman1

Member
Hey guys,

I've tried skiing maybe 5-10 times now after snowboarding from many years and I really like it, moreso than snowboarding, however I just can't get passed the intense quad burn that comes with it. I have 186 Armada ARVs with recommended mount spot, and I use very stiff boots. I'm thinking maybe it's cause I am too overweight? I am 235 5'10''. I don't really get much burn when snowboarding but for some reason skiis destroy me, I can't even do one run without stopping every 20 seconds and propping myself up for relief. I even did a lot of strengthening exercises before my last trip like wall sits, and even though those seemed really easy, skiing still destroys my legs. Anyone have any advice? I really hate throwing in the towel and going back to snowboarding just because my legs can't tolerate it.
 
14570701:magicman1 said:
Yes I've been doing it 3 days a week for months.
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Also not sure if you're insinuating I need stronger legs or be lighter, not sure how much stronger I can get them
 
You just have to build muscle my G. And you are probably skiing backseat. Work on applying forward pressure to your ski boots and you will last longer
 
14570713:mikem said:
You just have to build muscle my G. And you are probably skiing backseat. Work on applying forward pressure to your ski boots and you will last longer
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I'm betting it's mostly this. I know great athletes that have said what OP is saying when they've tried getting into skiing. It's not just the muscles but the muscle memory and application.

Find a mellow pitch where you won't pick up too much speed, find the front of your boot with your shins and let em run without tensing up. Thigh burn in new skiers is almost always caused by leaning too far back.

Keep at it bro, skiing is dope and we were all there at some point.
 
14570714:cndr said:
I'm betting it's mostly this. I know great athletes that have said what OP is saying when they've tried getting into skiing. It's not just the muscles but the muscle memory and application.

Find a mellow pitch where you won't pick up too much speed, find the front of your boot with your shins and let em run without tensing up. Thigh burn in new skiers is almost always caused by leaning too far back.

Keep at it bro, skiing is dope and we were all there at some point.
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Fish oil and gym
 
Based on the member since 2011 - all the gym comments are correct.

But I will 100% stand by backseat skiing, there are a metric-fuckton of better skiers than me on this website, but alot of their form is so terrible they get tired so fast. While it may be the midwest pizza, in-experience with busting steep crud, or just a peer freestyle focus. The key to lasting longer while skiing is to making your lower body dampen the blow to your core. And the best way to do that is to not have it reverberate through your quads, thighs and calfs. But rather abuse the shins, abs and shoulders.

Slash turns are not long lasting, the ARV allows you to do that but make less of them. Focus on allowing the tails of your skis to help accelerate you out of turns, instead of being something you need to "whip around". This can be done by edging your turns.

Your shoulders, head, and core should always be pointed downhill if you are headed downhill. Your lower body should function as a connected joint, if you are backseat it will feel like a spring. If you are skiing aggressively and forward it will feel like a well designed hinge.
 
14570714:cndr said:
I'm betting it's mostly this. I know great athletes that have said what OP is saying when they've tried getting into skiing. It's not just the muscles but the muscle memory and application.

Find a mellow pitch where you won't pick up too much speed, find the front of your boot with your shins and let em run without tensing up. Thigh burn in new skiers is almost always caused by leaning too far back.

Keep at it bro, skiing is dope and we were all there at some point.
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this. if you're going to the gym regularly then it's probably not just pure strength, it's just form and muscle memory and development of certain muscles. being a good skier 1000% does not require being too muscular

keep skiing, pay attention to having good form, and you'll be over this really soon man. enjoy!
 
I was gonna say wall sits then I reread your post… probably a form issue and you are doing more work than you have to. However some burn is definitely normal when you are learning to ski, and will go away as you develop ski-specific strength

**This post was edited on Dec 6th 2023 at 10:36:02am
 
14570701:magicman1 said:
Yes I've been doing it 3 days a week for months.
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I workout 7 days a week (counting ski days) and still get leg burn, skiing uses a very unique combination of muscles that you can't perfectly replicate in a gym, skiing more and exercising cardio has been the thing I've found that helps best
 
You are probably skiing too far backseat, and your boots might be too stiff, not allowing you to flex forward into them.
 
Your form might be the cause, but another thing is traditional gym exercises don't usually translate as well on their own because they are focusing on concentric movements, whereas skiing primarily requires eccentric strength. Basically, concentric is your muscles expending energy, eccentric is you muscles absorbing energy.

Here's a workout specifically made to develop eccentric leg strength in skiers (heads up it can cause plenty of DOMS): https://mtntactical.com/exercises/mnt110-leg-blaster/
 
Gym is great, I recommend things like squats, deadlifts, trap bar deadlift, elevated leg lunges (with added weight), box jumps, reverse hyperextension, and 45 degree hyper extension. Lower back and hamstring strength are super important. Diet is also super important to increase your stamina and prevent cramping/burning. Especially the night before skiing and in the morning. You could definitely lose some pounds at your height and still be just as strong and lighter on your feet.
 
Snowboarding and skiing work totally different muscles, the best way to get past it in my opinion is to just keep skiing as much as you can and over time the muscles being used for skiing will develop more and get stronger. But you have to be consistent in going for that to work.
 
14570704:magicman1 said:
Also not sure if you're insinuating I need stronger legs or be lighter, not sure how much stronger I can get them
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Skiing is an endurance sport, I believe what you need is physically conditioning instead of power/bulk muscle. Adjust your form and keep skiing, you'll get it over time!
 
As everyone else says, you're skiing backseat. I used to take SPORTLEGS when the thigh burn became too intense during long-distance cross-country bike races, if it's really intense you can always try them but I think it sounds like it is a technique issue.
 
As others have said, you're backseat. Imagine there's an egg in each of your boots between your shin and the inside of the boot. You should always be trying to break those eggs.
 
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