Anyone who has ever skied will know that injury on the slopes is pretty common. In any one week of skiing you’re likely to see at least a handful of plaster casts and snow stretchers. The group that are most at risk of injury are the de-conditioned recreational skiers taking their annual holiday. So what can you do before you go to minimise injury, maximise your time on the slopes and ensure you come home in one piece?

The answer is simple: complete a pre-holiday ski fitness conditioning program. It doesn’t have to be particularly rigorous but it should be started 4-6 weeks before you go and include the following:

* Squat and lunge combinations which include normal squats, narrow squats, wide squats, squat knee lifts, squat kicks, squat side leg raises, pulsing squats, side travelling squats, squat jumps (more advanced), basic lunges, power lunges, walking lunges and lunge kicks.

* Inner thigh work such as plie squats, forward leg raises with toes pointing out slightly, squeezing a Swiss ball between your legs (these muscles tend to be weaker as we use them less on a day to day basis). Outer thigh muscles should also be exercised with the knee so include side leg raises, leg circles outwards and lateral movements such as squatting sideways or jogging sideways (like a gallop).

* Walking and running (see endurance below) are also good for strengthening the lower body and the knee joints.

Tight muscles mean joints are pulled out of alignment, you have decreased range of movement and limbs are stiff – all of which contribute to hindered skiing and increased risk of injury. To minimise this:

* Stretch 2-3 times a day and include all muscle groups, especially the legs, hips and lower back.

* Alternate between standing stretches and floor stretches for the best results. Never stretch deeply first thing in the morning, muscles need to be warmed up first (a walk or training session beforehand is ideal).

* Hold the stretches for as long as you can – at least 30 seconds – and if you have had a workout, develop the stretch by taking it deeper once the tension has eased. Yoga can also be quite good for this.

* A weak core (and core means hips back and posture as well as abs) means your ability to balance is severely reduced and it also reduces strength. Exercises such as the plank, side planks, or even basic moves such as deep ab pull-ins can help. Doing one-leg exercises such as legged squats, squat kicks, etc. can also help as your body will get used to having a shift of gravity.

* This is also key as you’ll be on the slopes for most of the day. Endurance training is basically doing something at a steady state for a continued period of time – jogging, cross training, power walking, etc – and should be built up to an intensity where you can train comfortably but also stay at for as long as you can. For example, if you start by jogging for 10 minutes then building over a few weeks to 30 or 40 minutes will improve your endurance (increased endurance will also help you recover from your training faster).

* Toe scrunching: You can do this whilst sitting watching TV; it’s great for improving the strength of all the small muscles in your feet. Place a towel on the floor in front of you and use your toes to scrunch the towel up under your toes and release.

* Balancing on one leg: You can do this when you clean you teeth; just two minutes is enough to improve your balance and strengthen your feet and lower legs.

* Toe tipping: You can do this whenever you find yourself standing somewhere; it’s great for strengthening your calf muscles. Simply rise up so that you are standing on your toes, hold for 10 seconds, then lower your heels and repeat as often as you can.

All these exercises are good for skiers and snowboarders alike, although boarders may want to focus on more back, shoulder and arm strengthening.

* Falls are the biggest cause of injuries on the slopes – around 75%, with 20% caused by collisions and a few on the ski lifts.

* Knee injuries are most common (typically MCL ligament sprains) which are caused by the twisting of the knee. This injury is also common when the skier falls back and the leg extends in front.

* Limb fractures tend to happen through more violent falls and collisions – usually happening in poorer snow conditions.

* Upper limb injuries account for about 30% of injuries but thumb joint sprain is the second most common injury after MCL sprain. Upper fractures are rare but dislocated shoulders are the second most common upper body injuries (since the boom of snow boarding broken wrists are the most common).

* Statistically the most common time to be injured is the second afternoon of a week’s holiday – this is because as a deconditioned skier you will have reached peak fatigue before getting any training benefit from the day before.

* There are less knee injuries in snowboarding as both feet are strapped onto one board and face the same way (protecting the knee from twisting). But the upper body is what takes the fall – snow boarders tend to land on their hands, shoulders, bottoms and heads so there are a lot more rotator cuff (shoulder) clavicle and neck injuries on top of broken wrists and dislocations.

* Pace yourself, eat regularly and keep hydrated – fatigue is one of the common causes of injury

* Eat properly – fatigue is often a result of empty glycogen stores so things like oats, rice, bananas, potatoes will fill give you a sustained energy release (take a snack in your pocket such as a dried fruit/nut cereal bar so you don’t get caught out)

* More injuries occur in the afternoon when skiers are tired or first thing when they are cold and stiff so warm up and rest when you need to

* Stretch while you are out there – at least twice a day to avoid stiffness

* Wear a helmet – particularly if boarding, we wear them when riding and cycling around busy London roads, why not on the piste?

Janey Holliday runs ski fitness bootcamps in south west London and sells ski fitness training packs. Visit www.fitforaprincess.co.uk