I first went skiing over 40 years ago. The day was cold, wet and overcast and the thought of slithering down a slippery ski slope did not fill me with joy. We were at Glenshee in Scotland and because I didn’t have any appropriate ski clothes, I had borrowed my boyfriend’s rubberised survival suit that being fluorescent orange kept me visible, and dry.
Even though I looked like a fluoro Teletubby, I discovered skiing was fun, more so when I didn’t fall over quite so often, and a new passion was born.
Fast forward to 2023. The global pandemic had put fun things like skiing on hold for a couple of years, but now it was time to dig out the ski boots and venture out once again.
I expected to be a bit rusty, but never imagined that my ski engine might have seized.
Day One of the ski holiday did not go well. My skis were misbehaving, and my confidence plummeted. I fell over which is not unusual.
What was unusual was, I couldn’t get up.
I pushed and heaved ineffectually, until rescued by my husband who said, “What are you doing, use your arms to help you!” and pulled me back onto my feet.
Day Two was no better. I was all over the shop on the slopes and having great difficulty executing a turn. Something was horribly wrong. I fell over again, and again couldn’t get up. There was much muttering under the breath going on in the car on the way home.
Day Three having skied once more into a snowbank and fallen because my legs weren’t responding to my brain’s ‘Turn now’ instruction, my husband no longer made any attempt to hide his exasperation at my pathetic performance.
Examination of my knees showed they had swollen to the size of a medium Savoy cabbage, (not an attractive look) and were quite squidgy and painful.
Eeek! It seemed that my skiing days were over. Had anno domini caught up with me? I wasn’t ready for this!
Back home I sought advice from a physiotherapist about what to do about my knees. Her first comment being “Goodness, you are weak!”
Me, weak? Surely not. But she was right and my wake-up call of being unable to get up off the snow really shocked me as to how my fitness level had plummeted to such depths without me noticing.
Not wishing to be cast as the little old lady designated as a “falls risk” I decided something had to be done to rectify the situation, not least because I had future plans for hiking, skiing and kayaking holidays and strong knees would be required for all of these.
Besides which my husband had just bought me a ski season ticket for 2024!
“What on earth did you do that for?” I asked, thinking he had just wasted a lot of money for something I wouldn’t be able to use.
I needed a plan.
Jenny’s Knee Rescue Plan was simple. I needed to improve my total body strength and work on building up my leg muscles to better support my knees. I got started with twice weekly gym sessions with my physio for general conditioning and improved muscle strength. I upped my daily walking which had declined significantly following an episode of Covid that had left me short of breath and generally fatigued for months. I went kayaking and swimming, did some cycling and restarted Iyengar Yoga, which is excellent for balance, which I quickly realised was also terrible. The aim was to do something aerobic most days.
Little by little, week by week my stamina and endurance increased.
Driving up the access road to the ski slopes this week, I was extremely apprehensive for what lay ahead. Would I be able to ski and turn competently, without hurting my knees?
The answer was a resounding ‘Yes!’
Helped by the fact it was a warm ‘Bluebird’ day with wonderful snow conditions, it was a joy to be back in the mountains looking out over the valley far below and having so much fun.
I remembered how much I love being in such a beautiful and pristine environment surrounded by fresh air, sunshine and the occasional call of a Kea.
Last year, it would have been easy to say, “That’s it. I’m done with skiing!” And put it down to age. But that wasn’t true. I had gotten into trouble because I had allowed my physical fitness to diminish to the point where I had become incompetent on a ski slope.
My wake-up call led to a number of insights:
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- We are all ageing, that’s a given. But it’s your biological age that matters, not how old you are, and this depends on what you do, and the activities you engage with every day, that keep you fit and healthy.
- The need for maintenance needs to start now. Professor Michael Snyder author of a new Stanford Medicine Study has revealed ageing doesn’t occur in a steady linear fashion. It’s when we hit 44 and 60 that big changes, described as massive biomolecular shifts happen, and this is true for men and women.
Synder makes the comment that the time to take better care of your health, is while you are still healthy.
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- Lifestyle is key. There is no Golden Ticket to healthy ageing. It is earned by ensuring you remain sufficiently physically active and include strength training to avoid potentially embarrassing episodes on ski slopes or when attempting to climb up several steep sets of stairs because the escalator is broken. It includes healthy nutrition, getting enough good quality uninterrupted sleep and managing your stress as best you can. This is all helped by getting outside into nature – every day, for a minimum of 20 minutes.
- Mindset is critical. The old adage of whether you think you can or can’t you’re right is about what you believe to be true. If you believe it’s normal to get weaker as you get older, that may well be your outcome. If you believe it’s a risk, but you can do something to mitigate it – like Jenny’s Knee Rescue Plan, your outcome may be very different.
Right now, it’s time for me to enjoy a long soak in a hot bath, and then to check the weather for what to expect on the ski slopes tomorrow.
Have you had a well-being wakeup call? If so, what did you do to rectify the situation?
