How to reduce muscle soreness after skiing

9 AM. The first day of skiing. You've been waiting for this for months. Problems are left in the city. You can hardly remember work anymore. It's sunny. The slopes are perfect. There's no crowd. You think you must be dreaming. You put on your goggles and decide to keep dreaming.

8 hours later. The slopes are closing. Last descent. Your head is still enjoying the ride, the snow, the air. You're skiing worse now. It's hard to get down the slope that was easy this morning. Your thighs are burning. You reach the end. You look around. Trees covered with snow, the sun slowly setting. You watch this idyll and have only one thought:

„Oh my body will be sore tomorrow.“

Anyone who has been in this situation knows there's no turning back. Now is not the time to regret not starting to exercise a few months before skiing, nor to conclude that you should have taken more breaks, skied easier slopes, or ended the ski day when you first felt tired three and a half hours ago. The damage is done. Here’s what you should do to avoid total disaster:

Hydration

Although cold weather can deceive us into not feeling that we are sweating, during moderate-intensity skiing, under ideal conditions (dry and not too cold), we lose about half a liter of fluid per hour. With aggressive skiing in poor conditions, this can increase to 2 liters per hour. Fluid intake will help muscle recovery, prevent dehydration, cramps, and regulate body temperature. When I say fluid, I mean primarily water, then drinks rich in electrolytes or herbal teas. Of course, we should drink water while skiing, but it is especially important to drink at least 250ml of fluid within the first 30 minutes after we have finished with slopes for the day, to start recovery as soon as possible. We continue hydrating after that and stop a few hours before bedtime, so we don’t spend the night in the bathroom. Bananas, oranges, and berries are also good sources of electrolytes and can be very helpful.

Thirst=Dehydration. It's not a sign that we should drink water soon, but that we are already late. 

Sauna and Cold Shower

If there’s a spa nearby, our chances of not being crushed tomorrow increase. We consider two basic things that every spa has, a sauna and a cold shower. We start with the sauna for 15 minutes. It will help the muscles relax, open the pores, and release toxins. Then comes the cold shower for about 2 minutes. It will improve circulation, refresh the body, and reduce inflammatory processes. When we come out of the cold shower, the first round is done. We do two and a half rounds, ending with a warm procedure, giving the body a chance to cool down naturally, thus signaling it’s time for a quieter part of the day.

Massage

If it's just the legs, it's useful. If it's the whole body, then it's a game changer. Besides relaxing muscles, speeding up circulation, and reducing pain, massage contributes to a sense of well-being by stimulating the nervous system to calm down and relax. This leads to the release of endorphins, which are natural painkillers and also improve mood.

Mini Break

If there is a desire and need, now is the right time for an afternoon nap. It’s best to last about 20 minutes, so we stay in the light sleep phase and avoid waking up "groggy." A 20-minute nap will refresh us and replenish our energy, but it won’t interfere with our ability to fall asleep at night.

Maxi Break

In situations when we are really dead and 20 minutes of sleep sounds like someone is teasing us. For these situations, there is afternoon sleep. About 90-110 minutes is the right measure. During this period, we will complete a full cycle of sleep, from light to deep and back, thus avoiding waking up in a bad mood. (For sleeping at night, that's another question)

Quality Food

It’s a must! About two hours after the slopes, we should focus on a serious meal. It’s crucial to eat protein-rich food to regenerate the damaged muscle fibers during skiing. Good protein sources are chicken, turkey, beef, fish, eggs, dairy products, quinoa, lentils... We consume complex carbohydrates especially if we skied very intensely. They are key for replenishing glycogen reserves (gives us energy) in the muscles. This includes rice, sweet potatoes, potatoes, whole grain bread... From healthy fats, which will help reduce inflammation and secrete hormones, we can eat avocado, salmon, olive oil, nuts...

Walk

The ideal step after a meal. It will help in digestion, speed up blood flow, which will thus much faster deliver nutrients to muscles and organs, thereby speeding up recovery. It will help the body to shake off, contribute to mental relaxation, and positively affect sleep. The goal of this walk is to relax, not to go hiking, so 20-30 minutes at a leisurely pace.

Ice

If, despite all this, pain in some body part remains (usually the knees), we apply ice in the evening. It’s not hard to find it on the mountain. Ice should not be applied directly to the skin, but put in a bag, a towel, and held on the painful area until the region starts to numb. Then we wrap it in a towel. When the skin temperature returns to normal, we can repeat the process two or three times.

Medication

We have come to preparing for sleep. We are still worried about what tomorrow will be like. In this case, we take aspirin, paracetamol, or some other anti-inflammatory and pain relief medication. It's always wiser to do this on the day of skiing, not when we wake up in the morning and realize we can't sit down on the toilet. A fizzy magnesium tablet before bedtime can also help relax muscles and provide a better sleep. 

Stretching

The right thing before going to bed. There is increasing evidence that stretching will not prevent muscle soreness, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do it. Deep static stretching, in which we put our body in the right position and hold it for 30-60 seconds, brings a sense of relaxation and lightness to the body, and that is something we need before sleep. It is always better to stretch in silence or with some ambient music to stay in our thoughts and get meditation benefits along with stretching.

Sleep

Last but not least. If we do not have long and quality sleep, all these recoveries we have been dealing with fall by the wayside. For the body, good sleep is far the most important. We spend about a third of our day sleeping, that's not a coincidence. Good sleep will help in muscle recovery, in replenishing energy, strengthening the immune system, improving focus. Usually, 7-9 hours of sleep are needed for full recovery, and it's not the same whether we went to bed at 10 and slept until 8 or fell asleep at 3 and woke up at 11. First, the slopes open around 8 or 9, why are you still sleeping? Other reasons for another blog.

And if the soreness comes after all this, we have one thing left. To remember that pain well, because time flies. A new ski season will come, and that memory will then tell us: Don't mess around, prepare this time!