Ski & Fitness Glossary

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Abdominals or "abs"
The collective name for the muscles on the front of the torso, below the chest. Swimming, rowing and Nordic skiing work these muscles.,/p>

Abductors
Muscles of the hip that pull your legs apart. Gluteus medius and minimus pull your legs outward. Inline skating, skiing and dance work these muscles.

Activity Primers
Activity Primers are active warm-up exercises that take the place of traditional stretching prior to activity. The term "Activity Primers" literally means movements designed to prime the body for activity. Instead of waiting for an injury and the need to rehabilitate, FitSkiing has developed a series of “activity primers” to prehabiitate those areas that are most at risk. Prehabiltation focuses on frequently injured areas such as the shoulder, knees and mid and lower back.

Adaptive Skiing
Adaptive skiing enables skiers with disabilities to participate in alpine skiing by using special equipment.

Adductors
Muscles of the inner thigh that pull your legs together. They attach the pelvis and the femur (or thigh bone). You use these muscles when inline skating, skate skiing or swimming the breaststroke.

Aerobic
Literally, "with oxygen." Aerobic exercise is the body's process of producing energy with oxygen in the bloodstream. Byproducts are carbon dioxide and water (breathing and perspiration). It's great for burning fat and strengthening your heart and lungs.

Alpine skiing
The term used to distinguish downhill from Nordic skiing, and includes the disciplines of Alpine ski-touring, downhill racing, freestyle, giant slalom, special slalom, and recreational skiing (on or off prepared pistes). Alpine skis have bindings that fix both the toe and the heel to the ski.

Anaerobic
Literally, "without oxygen." In anaerobic exercise, energy is produced without oxygen, usually because the exercise intensity is such that the heart and lungs can't get enough oxygen to the muscles. Anaerobic exercise creates a byproduct called lactate, which builds up in the muscles and causes soreness and fatigue.

Anaerobic Threshold
The anaerobic threshold (AT) is the exercise intensity at which lactate starts to accumulate in the blood stream. This happens when it is produced faster than it can be removed (metabolized). This point is sometimes referred to as the lactate threshold (LT), or the onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA). When exercising below the LT intensity any lactate produced by the muscles is removed by the body without it building up. The lactate threshold is a useful measure for deciding exercise intensity for training and racing in endurance sports (e.g. distance running, cycling, rowing, swimming and cross country skiing), and can be increased greatly with training.

Angulation
A body position used to maintain balance whilst edging and skiing downhill, by pushing the knees and hips up into the slope, and tilting the head and upper body to lean out.

Animal skating
See diagonal skating.

Anticipation
A twisting, or pre-rotation of the upper torso into the direction of the intended turn. The movement creates tension of the body, which aids turning of the skis at the start of the turn. Followed with counter-rotation.

Antioxidants
Substances such as Vitamins A, C and E and minerals such as copper, magnesium and zinc. Believed to destroy free radicals, which some scientists think may not only accelerate aging but also contribute to the formation of cancers and cataracts.

Après-Ski
Après-Ski refers to the end of the day when the mountain has closed and the restaurants and bars are open for socializing.

Asana
The term for any of the many poses done in yoga.

Avalanche
Something that will kill you unless you are careful. With the introduction to shorter skis allowing easier off-piste skiing, and the forecast for heavier snowfalls as the world warms up, the danger of avalanches cannot be over stressed. Anyone who skis off-piste should only do so if they know about the avalanche risks at any given time in the area they are skiing in, or is going with someone who does. A public notice stating that the overall avalanche risk in the resort is low does not mean that a particular area is safe and checks should always be made if in doubt.