If you were a little lax during the summer and need to get skiing fit, review these off-season skiing fitness tips which relate the benefits of fall sports such as biking, hiking, strength training, and swimming to skiing.

For starters, I have been advised on a more comprehensive approach to off-season training that focuses on "periodization." As it sounds, periodization is a training term that coaches and trainers use to schedule certain sets of exercises into calendar periods leading up to the first day on the snow.

To maximize the effects of the initial training I have been told to work with a professional Personal Trainer (PT). A Personal Trainer can be very useful for everything from designing a personal exercise program to providing serious motivation.

So, if you want to follow this routine along with me, start asking around the gym, the Y, or ask knowledgeable friends for the names of trainers they can recommend. If all this sounds a little much, don't worry, you'll see that this plan works for professional athletes of all sports, for training PSIA instructors, and for the regular skiers like you and I who just want to be at our best for skiing.

Off-Season Skiing Conditioning

• Off-Season Fitness and Training
• Strength Training for Better Skiing
• Swimming to Keep Ski Muscles Fit
• Hiking Tips

_{Image © Mike Doyle}

Imagine skiing more than 250 resorts in 35 states across America - in one winter with one pass. You can, if you have the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Gold Pass. The Pass is a fund raising program set up through a partnership between the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Team Foundation and the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) and helps support the training, development, and competition needs of America’s future Olympians.

The Pass is fully transferable, and is probably the only pass in the world that lets you loan it to your family or your friends, no questions asked. There are a limited number of these passes available. So, pony up $10,000, part of which is tax-deductible as a charitable donation, gas up the car, ski the country, and send Americans to the Olympics.

To get a Pass contact the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Team Gold Pass hotline toll-free at 1-800-9PICABO or visit the U.S. Ski Team Gold Pass.

_{Image © Mike Doyle}