Cheat your way to skiing like a pro

reputations among off-piste ski-eratti, but swanning around Courchevel’s beautifully groomed slopes will make you look SO much better. Those underworked muscles in the stomach area are not only useful for keeping a lunchtime lake of cheese fondue under control. Work on activating them as you ski or snowboard and they’ll help prevent undignified flopping forward at the waist in moguls or at that awful moment when snow texture changes from light fluff to solid glue. now lots of choice, from a mild squeeze for gentle support to an intense grip that should really up your game. Bonus – they also protect muscles from injury and help them recover from exercise more quickly. We know what you want. Fresh croissants and jam for breakfast, big cheesy lunch, hot chocolate with lashings of cream, and maybe a dash of schnapps in the afternoon. And cake at afternoon tea. But for the sake of having more energy to jump turn for longer, it’s porridge for breakfast, folks. The slow-burning carbs will keep energy levels higher for longer than a sugar rush. The good news is that chocolate milk is now widely considered a recovery drink. But (sorry) if all you’ve done is slide in a straight line down an easy green run to the nearest mountain restaurant, you don’t need to recover. It’s all about tactics. If you don’t want to be cowering under a duvet with the hangover from hell when the ultimate ski morning dawns – freshly fallen overnight snow glitteringly set off by blue sky and sunshine – play smart. Start après ski as soon as the slopes close (anyone intent on looking like a pro is banned from starting earlier) and end it at a reasonable hour. Have a stomach-lining dinner, drink plenty of water and go to bed no more than mildly squiffy. You know it makes sense. Now, where’s the Jäger? to become more skilled on the slopes. Choosing comfortable boots and skis, or snowboard, that match your level, is. It does, however, mean you can no longer blame your tools. What’s more, trading up to extra wide and long kit on a powder day will go a long way to making you feel – and look – like a god. Especially in the lift queue. The standard advice for making sure there’s snow on your pistes is holiday in a high-altitude resort. But there is a downside. No matter how solid your skills, if you’ve just arrived at a ski resort perched at a lofty 2,925m (9,600ft) like Breckenridge in Colorado, you’re likely to have to stop halfway down your first run (which started about 900m/3,000ft higher) puffing like an amateur, because there’s less oxygen up in them there hills. Do yourself a favour and try a lower-altitude resort. Insider tip – lesser-known resorts whose slopes get less traffic may hold their snow well, even though they’re lower. Lost your mojo thanks to years of asking your knees to bounce down lumpy snow fields? Happily, you can buy it back for a mere £450. Ski-Mojo (skiimojo.com) is a robo-like shockabsorbing contraption that attaches to the back of ski boots and straps to the legs. It basically helps users do more while working muscles less. Result: better skiing (it works with some