 Poster: A snowHead
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Enjoy! A good instructor can also be a lot of fun to ski with, not just dreary dumb drills.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| ssh wrote: |
thepistepanther, your first sentence is key!
Have you taken video of yourself? What are your strengths (and weaknesses)? What do you think would improve your sense of skill on steeper terrain? Lots of approaches possible. |
Essentially my skiing starts very well. I feel confident and in control and would go down any slope. Look and feel in control and ski with pace.
By the end of the week or in poor conditions, my technique goes to pot and I ski badly.
I find icy slopes very hard no matter how I take them - I try to dig my edges in and keep moving but never feel in control.
The thing for me is that I don't tend to fall because I hate the feeling of not being in control - this means on harder slopes I slow down.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Have you considered that you may be fatigued by the end of the week? In poor conditions, peoples minds tend to drift away from technique and concentrate on being able to see whats in front of them and in most cases this brings on a bit of anxiety, due to not being able to spot hazards and so on. A good skier skis from feeling when the conditions turn sour, but this comes with a lot of practice.
If your tired your muscles wont respond the way you need them to, causing you to have 'bad technique'.
Both problems are normal.
I can only speak in general terms here, with regards to the average skier.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Just to help a little further with regards to fatigue.
The first few weeks in the ski season I get this quite bad, due to my fitness being lower than it was at the end of the previous season. Some times when I'm tired and feel my technique going to pot, I simply stop, take a moment, review what I just did, find my mistakes, then start again.
The worst thing you can do when you feel like your not skiing well is to continue! Always stop and start again. Then eventually you will learn to rectify this without stopping.
Sorry to keep going on!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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thepistepanther, +++++1
Fitness is one of my big hobby horses . . . partly because mine is deteriorating like frog in a microwave, getting out from behind a steering wheel will help . . . if you want to improve your skiing you have to address you not just your aerobic fitness for the change to higher altitude but also your strength and flexibility. Your movements while skiing are considerably different to those you use in everyday life. While the instructors here are happy to rabbit on about technique and drills, your best start is get your body read to accept those techniques and drills.
Trying to do both in a weeks vacation I don't believe will achieve the best results for either.
Add to that, recognising when your body has reached its limits is better to learn somewhere other than at the top of a mountain.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| bezthespaniard wrote: |
| I find icy slopes very hard no matter how I take them - I try to dig my edges in ... |
That might be part of the problem. If you dig your skis' edges in and don't do anything else to them they will want to travel quickly, which probably isn't want you want to do on a slope you don't feel comfortable on. Try a controlled skid or scrape of the ski as you move around the turn, which will give you more control of your speed.
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Masque, couldn't agree more and I would also add for recreational skiers that anaerobic fitness and core work is really important as well as the flexibility and aerobic work. Any fitness work is good in the run up to a ski holiday but an 8 week or more focussed plan will really make a big difference to enjoying your week. I dont think generic programmes work very well due to the wide levels of base fitness so hard to give good individual advice...
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| skimottaret wrote: |
| for recreational skiers anaerobic fitness and core work is really important |
I reckon that regular endurance exercise and a bit of regular skiing will keep you ski fit. The people I know who ski the weekends and a few Alpine weeks on top never go near a gym but many of them run regularly.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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moffatross, yes there's nothing better for you than running! This works, everything, including core!
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running is fine but for me isnt the best for ski fitness be better to do body weight things like squats lunges planks etc .. food for thought: how long is your typical run before stopping ? You might be surprised at how short the skiing bursts are...
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
There are lots of seasonnaires who clock lots of miles a season who are improving through being stretched by skiing with other better peers
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that was my son's experience - he used to go out with some of the BASS and other instructors on their day off. Said he felt like a complete beginner in comparison (he's actually pretty good) but learnt heaps. e.g. that you can sideslip a terrifyingly long section of sheet ice on a very steep piste in Val D'Isere (non digging in of edges essential  ). That's all very well for someone who already has a decent level of skill and confidence but it wouldn't be any use for me, and maybe not for the OP. I agree you need to think about what you're doing though, and some drills are probably pretty idiot-proof, in that if you can do them, you are probably doing them right. e.g. pivot slips.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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skimottaret, I use the hills above Moffat 3 or 4 times weekly, 45-90 minutes (5-10 miles) per outing. It's all off road, at best forest tracks but mostly open hillside with heather and tussock and comprises 1,000 to 2,000 feet of climbing per run. It's not steady state stuff i.e. the climbing is harder worker than the descending but the uneven ground means you need a light footfall and good balance for decent progress even going down. I sweat like the proverbial pig and get covered in shite too. 
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Plyo is your friend! Alpine skiing presents forces and dynamics that are uncommon in most other sports and certainly in most training regimens. Core work, functional cardio, and plyometrics (explosive movements with resistance) are your best opportunities to build a body suited for excellent on the slopes.
Here's a list of a bunch of plyo: http://www.exrx.net/Lists/PowerExercises.html
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