How to train now to excel at snow sports later

Hopefully, it will snow a lot this winter and mountain resorts will not have to spend so much money making artificial snow. But whether you ride on the sprayed stuff or the much better natural fluff, you need to be in shape to ski or snowboard down the mountains without gasping for breath or stopping to let your burning thigh muscles recover.

If you start training now, you will have a couple months to prepare your body for the slopes. That's enough time to become a super person if you work at it. Even if you're not an expert skier or snowboarder, training to be one will bring out your muscles, help you get rid of body fat, and make you a better athlete on or off the mountain. It's a worthy goal, even if you never intend to get on a ski lift.

You don't have to go to a gym to get in optimum shape. Sports that require using the same muscles as skiing and snowboarding will work just fine for conditioning your body. So start by skating, which is the closest you can get to being on snow. Skate on wheels or skate on ice. Skate on a skateboard. Whichever one you choose will improve your strength, your reflexes and your reaction time, all of which are important skills whether you ride through the trees or only on mild green trails.