My Favorite Skiing Tips

Skiing is a dynamic sport of constant motion.  Per trainer Chuck Creen - skiing is about he "ingings".  Flexing, Extending, Edging, Countering, Rotating...constant change and not a position.

Like catching a football - you follow the ball into your hands.  Same with skiing - we look up and out in the desired direction and the path of the next turn.  The body is like a giant wrench - turning in that direction.

We use small muscles to create the turn, generally using our legs with a quiet upper body.  The turn starts close to the snow -  with the ankles flexed in unison and the femurs turning in the hip socket.    The quiet upper body starts with engaging the core muschles and some functional tenision in the hands and arms.  Setting up for success our femur's functionality is maximized when we are in the athletic postion - ankles bent, knees & hips bent.  So we are operating from the mid range - spine and shins paraellel angles.    Proper skiing does not need to be jarring and rough on the knees and back.

The goal for good skiing is upper and lower body separation.  We desire a stable upper body which allows our legs to create the turns via leg rotation and edging.   As skiers elevate their skills, higher end movement patterns include both lateral & rotational seperation allowing the skis and body to be aligned to accept the pressure and redirection from the snow.  

The radius aka diameter of your turn, a turn that is consistent in shape and duration controls our speed.  Turns can be short in radius, medium and large radius.

Good Skiers direct the pressure towards their outside ski before they start to tip their skis and before they start to turn their legs.  This allows the ski to camber against the snow, and the legs to steer the ski while the forces of the snow redirect and turn the skis.

Any excercises that strengthens  muscles in the core, back, ankles and around knee joints
1. use time on the phone or while sitting to do leg lifts, ankle rolls, abductors
2. chair pose and squats
3. lunges a great multi joint exercise
4. walk or hike, mix it up - walk backwards, on your toes, side steps
5. core exercises - crunches, setups, planks
6. yoga for body awareness, toning and balance

7. exercise bands

8. equipment & programs: Skiers Edge, Bosun Ball, ACL Strong

1. Head on a swivel - use your peripheral vision always!
2. Groomers are our friends particularly early season.  a good guide - trees and glades after 50-60" base.
3. I ski without poles to focus on edging skills while skiing and in lift lines etc.  I then add ski poles in for rhythm and timing mechanism a few days later.

A game especially helpful for little kiddos, "not that they can't they just haven't,  yet!" (quote courtesy of one of my examiner mentors Guy Sedillo)

To facilitate leg rotation for the "pizza" (aka emergency ski brake) and parallel skiing movement patterns to turn

2 pieces of paper under sock feet

Then help them move their feet in and out, triangle front, triangle back.  This rotates and stretches the femur in the hip socket and all muscles related.

Pls guide and monitor leg width....we ski with legs @ hip width apart...the braking wedge is wider, so guide legs closer to mimic actual skiing.

This is good practice and fun!

Also with the paper, try windshield wipers aka parallel skiing

All we are doing is building muscle memory and a range of movements so when the kids hit the snow they can play with the range of motion.

Have Fun!