Published November 6, 2026 03:00AM
Autumn belongs to apple orchards and slow cookers, unless you’re a skier. Then it belongs to gear hunts, fresh wax, and lift ticket research. The excitement lasts from the first turning leaf to about 10 P.M. on opening day. Then day two arrives. Your quads burn, your calves feel tight, and you wonder why you skipped those hip and groin stretches.
To understand why day two hits so hard, I spoke to Milica McDowell, DPT, owner of Clearwater Physical Therapy in Bozeman, Montana. She has 20-plus years of clinical experience, grew up skiing at Alyeska Resort in Alaska, and is married to Paul Herberger, a retired Freeride World Tour skier turned coach. So she knows a thing or two about the day-two body aches.
On day one, McDowell says, most skiers feel “absolutely nothing…except for adrenaline.” On day two, the tables turn and “most of us feel like we’ve been hit by a snowcat overnight.” She links the inevitable discomfort to three causes.
The first is eccentric loading, which happens when a muscle works while it lengthens, like the lowering half of a squat. In one study, 24 fit skiers spent four hours on the slopes. A day later, they still had reduced eccentric strength in their hamstrings and quads. McDowell calls the result “itty-bitty microtraumas in our muscle.” A 2019 research review puts soreness from unfamiliar eccentric work at its worst 24 to 72 hours after.
The second is a gap between gym fitness and ski fitness. Strength training and cardio help, McDowell says, but they’re “not specific to the demands of carving turns for hours on end.” A study of elite racers shows skiing leans on slow lowering and long, steady holds. While physical therapist Matt Hastings points to slow-tempo lifts and wall sits, McDowell notes that it’s “really really hard to prepare for hours in that flexed ankle and flexed knee position.”
The third is altitude. Thin air makes it harder to deliver oxygen to your muscles, so fatigue sets in sooner, and Cleveland Clinic says headache and fatigue can show up within a day or so of arriving.
As McDowell puts it, “it’s harder work to do the work.” Some soreness is normal, but it rarely lasts more than five days. If you wake up feeling hungover “without knocking back too many après PBRs,” McDowell says, thin air might be why.
7 Moves to Bulletproof Your Legs for Back-to-Back Days on the Slopes
None of that is a reason to skip day two. The best time to fix it is before you go. McDowell’s plan starts four to six weeks out, with three strength moves and one cardio drill. Start light, because new eccentric work causes its own soreness.
The last three moves on the list can be used as a five-minute warm-up.
1. Crouched Pulse Squat
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart. Drop as deep as feels comfortable, then rise without locking out your hips and knees. Pulse for 20 to 30 seconds, building to 60 to 75 seconds, for four to six sets. It can “mimic the demands of repeated turns,” McDowell says.
2. Kettlebell Kickstand Deadlift
Pop one heel up and hold the kettlebell on that side. Hinge down with a flat back, then stand tall with glutes fired. Most fit people can use 25 pounds, McDowell says. Do 12 to 20 reps for two to four sets.
3. Bulgarian Split Squat
It’s “just a fancy lunge,” McDowell says, with your back foot on a bench or step and a weight in one hand. Herberger suggested this one. Do eight to 12 reps for two to five sets.
4. The Cardio Drill
McDowell likes short bursts of hard effort, 30 to 60 seconds long, followed by three to four minutes of rest. Aim for your heart rate to climb toward about 75 percent of your max, which the American Heart Association estimates at about 220 minus your age. If you have heart, kidney, or metabolic disease, talk to your doctor first. If you’re new to exercise, start lower and build.
The Five-Minute Warm-Up
McDowell’s warm-up starts with stairs, squats, or burpees until your heart rate climbs 20 to 30 beats per minute above resting. Then run through three moves for your calves, quads, and hips.
5. Knees-Over-Toes Squat
It copies your ski boot position and gives you “a nice stretch into your Achilles area.”
6. Side-Lying Quad Stretch
If you’re sore on day two, three, or four, lie on your side. Pull your heel to your seat and take slow breaths. A review of 99 studies found stretching didn’t reduce soreness, so think comfort, not cure. The same review found light movement and massage eased soreness, so take a walk between ski days.
7. World’s Greatest Stretch
A lunge with a twist toward the ceiling. It’s “a fantastic way to warm up your spine, rotators, core, and lower body all in one.” Herberger suggested this one too.
Day two sends the bill whether you plan for it or not. Joe Puchek, 73, has skied for 71 years, and he told SKI to “make the decisions today to allow you to ski tomorrow.” The wax can wait. The squats can’t.
Want more Outside health stories? Sign up for the Bodywork newsletter. And for tips on how to train, fuel, and recover better, sign up for the Sweat Science 101 newsletter.
