How to Find (and Use) Your #1 Training Priority for Ski Season
Clarity can help you build a ski prep routine you can actually stick to.
If you’ve ever bailed mid-run, limped into the lodge early, or woken up sore in all the wrong places…this one’s for you.
A well-rounded ski conditioning program should cover strength, endurance, mobility, power, and core. But knowing your #1 priority? That’s the key to building a training routine that fits your real life and moves the needle most for your performance on snow.
1️⃣Identify Your Top Training Priority
Which ONE of these hits closest to home?
➡️ Conditioning: You’re gassed out. Huffing on the skin track or pulling over mid-groomer to catch your breath.
➡️ Muscular Endurance: Your legs turn to jelly before the day’s done, forcing an early lodge break or leaving you nervous you’ll tweak something.
➡️ Single-Leg Strength + Balance: Your turns feel sketchy… either mentally or physically, single-leg work feels wobbly.
➡️ Power + Agility: You struggle to react quickly. That “pop” isn’t there when terrain changes and you don’t feel powerful.
➡️ Stability, Mobility + Core: You’re sore in all the wrong places—low back barking, shoulders cranky, core feeling MIA.
👉 Yes, a well-rounded program includes all of these. But when it comes to fitting training into your real life? Picking a clear focus helps you prioritize, scale, and stay consistent.
2️⃣Match It’s Key Training Element
Your cheat sheet to the training element that matters most for your goal 👇
Conditioning: Cardio training - steady state or interval based is your bae.
If this is your weakest link, prioritize getting your cardio training in over strength - even if it means scaling or skipping a lift day (or a few)
Muscular Endurance: Prioritize the following for lower body work
High rep work at challenging loads with relatively short rests (60s or less) AND
Slow eccentrics (lowering slowly for 2, 3, 5+ seconds)
Single-Leg Strength + Balance:
single leg strength - split squats, step ups, lunges, single leg RDLs, single leg hip thrusts or bridges,
loaded isometric holds, carries and marches
Power + Agility:
Plyometrics - bounding, hopping, jumping, landing, skipping - in any direction
Power work - think “moving weight fast” - push presses, thrusters, snatches, cleans, med ball work
Mobility
Mobility work - often found in movement prep or warm-ups
Full range of motion strength - for example…heel elevated squats, deficit knee push ups, Turkish get-ups
Core: training all of the following…
resisting arching - planks, bear crawls, dead bugs, hollow holds
resisting rotation - pallof presses,
creating rotation - chops, twists, windmills
stacked position - loaded carries, marches, iso hold
3️⃣Use Your Priority to Guide Your Training
Now that you know your #1 focus AND the training element that builds it - you can prioritize getting that in - even when life is life-ing. Here’s how:
🗓️ Schedule Your Priority First
Your calendar should reflect what matters most. If strength is your top focus, block those workouts first each week, and see what else fits.
Doubling up on cardio & strength? Do your priority first in the day while you’re fresh.
Busy week where something’s gotta give? Protect your #1 priority and let the rest go.
💪 Scale Smart Inside a Workout
Not every workout goes as planned. Here’s how to scale around your priority when time or energy are in short supply.
Here are 3 strategies you can use or combine:
Move your focus work earlier in the session (e.g., pulling single-leg strength up before other accessory work, or doing the core “finisher” first).
Trim sets from everything else.
Do just the lifts that correlate with your top focus and skip the rest.
This isn’t failure - it’s strategic. The goal is to get something that moves the needle in and move on.
🥨 Snack on Your Priority
Gains don’t come in exclusively in 60 minute gym sessions. You can sprinkle in mini “training snacks” that match your focus:
5 minutes of mobility before bed
A 10-min session of continuous step-ups for cardio or muscular endurance
A quick core finisher if that’s your weak link.
These little snacks stack up over the season and keep your body tuned for the mountain.
The Bottom Line
A strong ski season starts with clarity. When you know your #1 training priority, you can:
Protect time for the right stuff in your calendar
Scale workouts to fit real life
Sprinkle in the extras that support your focus
That’s how you build a training routine you’ll actually stick to, and enter winter feeling prepared instead of behind.
And if you want more support? That’s exactly what I built Base Camp Athletics for — purposeful programming that reduces overwhelm and gives you a roadmap to a strong, confident winter season.
👉 Ready to ski stronger this year? Our Winter Prep program opens September 15th. You can scope the details here - or hop on my email list for an exclusive discount code.
REMEMBER: This post is for informational purposes only and may not be the best fit for you and your personal situation. It shall not be construed as medical advice. The information and education provided here is not intended or implied to supplement or replace professional medical treatment, advice, and/or diagnosis. Always check with your own physician or medical professional before trying or implementing any information read here.
