You know how it feels as you’ve been looking forward to your ski holiday all year, you arrive at the resort, the snow’s perfect, the sky is blue. And then you just can’t ski. In your head and your heart you’re hungry for perfect tracks on piste, or skimming through powder, but in reality your body are exhausted as you’re falling over ten times a day. Or simply shying away from more difficult runs because you’re afraid you’ll trip over. After all that anticipation, what a shame.

You could have take lessons, of course – and naturally they’ll help – but there is another way around. Whether you’re a beginner or a master, these insider tips from the savvy skier or snowboarder is the way to give skills a boost and enjoy every minute you spend on the slope, without booking a week long and tiring with an instructor. Though we do confess that some of them may just have been suggested by the instructors themselves.

1. Choose the right resort

If you’re most at home cruising along on blue pistes, don’t pick a famously tough resort famous for its black runs. St Anton, Verbier and Chamonix may have great reputations among the off-piste ski-eratti, but skiing at Courchevel beautifully groomed slopes will make you look SO SO much better.

2. Identify your core strengths

Those underworked group of muscles in the stomach area are not only useful for keeping a lunchtime full of cheese fondue under control. Work on engaging them as you ski or snowboard and they’ll contribute to prevent undignified flopping forward at the waist in moguls or at that awful time when snow texture changes from light fluff to solid glue.

3. Get into the compression zone

Baselayers with compression zones to improve blood flow and to transport oxygen around the body, where it’s most needed. The muscles that are working extra hard to make the perfect turns you could do, if only your legs weren’t so freaking tired. Pioneered by the brand Skins, there’s now lots of options in various guises, from a mild squeeze for gentle assistance to an intense grip that should really enhance your game. Bonus – they also protect muscles from injury and help them recover from exercise faster.