Training begins for members of the British Ski Team

It may be June but for the last month, the British Ski Team have been training at over 3000m on the glaciers in Austria getting to know their coaches and working on their technique and fitness.

Jai Geyer - PGL Sponsored Athlete and member of the British Ski Team talks us through his day.

'A typical day in the life of a member of the British Ski Team starts early with a hearty breakfast. The team get up around 6am to get the best snow conditions. Sometimes it's even earlier to beat the queues, although you soon get into the rhythm and there's nothing better than skiing as the sun comes up. (Top tip, never leave base without sun cream, lip balm and spare layers ... the alpine environment is full of surprises!).

A full training session at 3000m altitude requires a lot of energy, so a substantial breakfast and plenty of drinks and healthy snacks are a must. Ski runs are relatively short, lasting around 70 seconds, but the race intensity is so high it's enough to send your heart rate through the roof at the end of the each decent.

Once we have completed training on the race course, the session concludes with some slower technical exercises, almost like a 'cool down'. Then it's time to head back down to base camp to recharge the batteries. Lunch and a turbo nap are essential!

Most afternoons involve fitness work, which varies from sprints, team games, coordination and balance exercises, agility, strength and power training, and almost always core stability. Ski racing requires all round conditioning which means the mixture of training can be fun, even if it's often hard work.

Skis have to be prepared every day, so after fitness we must sharpen our edges and wax the bases. Competing in multiple disciplines requires many pairs of skis (up to 8 on one training camp) and all the equipment must be kept in tip top condition to perform. Each day the tuning process takes between one and two hours a time, a lengthy but essential process.

In the evening it's all about recovery. This takes the form of 30 minutes to an hour of stretching, physio work and mobility exercises which help the body to recover from all the strains and forces placed on it during a day of skiing.

Before dinner we analyse the day's training with the coaches. Each run is filmed allowing us to look back at our performance in detail so we can find ways to improve our technique. Finally, a bit of free time at the end of each training day allows us to unwind and switch off from skiing, before hitting the hay early for plenty of rest, ready to attack another day on the glacier.'

by Jai Geyer, member of the British Ski Team and PGL Sponsored Athlete.