Drills without using one foot

A snowHead

A lot of higher performance drills seem to involve one footed stuff (not necessarily one ski). Is there anyway of synthesizing these for someone who is reluctant for injury reasons to expose themselves to the risk of a one legged fall?

A snowHead

fatbob, it's not obvious to me that there is. The point of going to one foot is to a) force you to concentrate on balance skills and b) increase load on the muscles being used, so showing up where you're using muscles when skeleton may be preferable. You could address b) by carrying some extra weights around - but I guess you've found your own solution to that one Wink

. Addressing a) is difficult in a skiing context. We did actually have an interesting session after training last Saturday when our coach brought in his balance toys: bosu ball, balance boards and particularly a Skiers' Edge machine. All of these test balance while still using two feet (until you ket really ambitious). The Skiers' Edge was particularly instructive as it allowed you to push against the footplates as if you were slaloming, but your upper body had to remain pretty much in plane or you ended up pushing yourself off the damn machine Embarassed

. You can run it several modes; e.g. either with the footplates locked flat or allowed to pivot fore aft as well (which then tests fore-aft balance variations). This was the closest to real skiing, but it still can't match the forces that happen in a turn, which is what you're trying to balance against when skiing. Not a cheap solution either from what I understand. (laundryman also has one, IIRC)

There are various exercises (as in the first of FastMan's DVDs) that go part way to one foot stuff, and so start the balance development, but keep both skis in reasonable position for recoveries if it goes awry. Ski round a turn lifting the tail or the tip, while keeping the other end on the ground. Do this at the start or the end of the turn, or all the way around, or start one and finish the other way. Another is to lift the whole ski off the ground for only part of the turn (start, middle or end). Do these gradually and those balance skills will develop - and see once you've got those whether you feel like being a bit more adventurous. You shouldn't really be trying to go the whole hog until these have been mastered anyway.

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fatbob, why is a one legged fall any worse? Puzzled

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fatbob, I did a lot of one-footed skiing drills last season, mainly on the bunny slopes and don't recollect that I had a higher propensity to fall when doing one footed exercises. Indeed it's pretty easy to slam down the spare ski when it's going a bit pete tong. Had done quite a bit of balance drills on the bosu in the gym prior to going (lunges on/off, one footed squats, one footed squats with weights) which definitely generated a noticeable improvement in one foot balance, mainly by tightening the muscles that hadn't really done any work for years

Still can't turn both ways one footed on anything like a blue however - only when it's the outside foot, so have to alternate...would like to solve that then work on one-footed backwards (well if I get another season for sure..)

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

fatbob, Just make sure you start with the easier exercises so you're less likely to fall over (eg picking up the inside ski). Also, don't take the second ski off, then if you lose your balance you can just put it back down - that should be enough to stop you falling.

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fatbob, good shout. I can do 1 footed stuff on my right leg but there is just not the power in the left and it would be liable to give way. Will be interested to folow this thread.

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fatbob, Wot beanie1, said. But ! (IMV) there point of these and other foundation exercises is to let your body learn how to ski. If you find that there are other issues that are inhibit your ability to perform the exercise... try something else.

Easier variants (on two feet) which I like are - skiing without poles - good to ease unrequired tension in the upper body, skiing with boots unbuckled, can-opener turns, shuffling skis back and forward throughout the whole run, skiing backwards, short swings.

It would also be worth having an instructor review or video your one legged skiing - to make sure nothing specific is going wrong.

After all it is free

fatbob, Vaguely recollect you mentioning it was your knees that were operated? that right?

My advice would be to first seperate the two main reasons we use one footed exercises, pressure distribution and balance. While one footed exercises would provide the best solution it should be possible to improve a lot without that extra lift. The first, (pressure) can be addressed if you are honest with yourself and ensure that you are not putting weight on that ski when you shouldn't be (everyone likes to look good and feel comfortable when they ski but it wont help in the long run). Best way to do this is lift it for short periods of time and different points of the run. If you have difficulty lifting it or when you do, your entire body shifts then you are in the wrong position and not doing the exercise right so stop rethink it and have another go.

NOTE TO ALL - in general if you start an exercise wrong you will generally keep doing it wrong until you stop, so dont waste the run, stop, sort it and start again.

Correcting balance is a harder one... in this case if you are having problems on one ski then you need to work a little more on it. Do what you can off the slope, remember that balance depends a lot on you upper body so dont over look your core strength, I love balancing balls they make a big difference, always remember to keep that big torso still, that will make a huge balancing on the ski a million times easier. As for ......

please can someone ask my friend to stop talking to me about call of duty 2... i am trying to concentrate on skiing.............

....balance on the slopes, lifting the inside ski is easier, you can pick up that ski and still feel safe (javelin turns are a great example, i would suggest moving part of the weight of the ski over the other, this will stop you needing to compensate for the big weight hanging off the inside of your hip).

The inside edge is a different story.... here is where we may need to compromise a little (unless others have some little tricks) first practice traversing on the uphill ski, then try soft hockey stops on it, this is great for for/aft balance on the inside ski especially, lifting the outside ski into the new turn then out of it, this should be done on a nice easy slope and with long soft turns if you want to save your knee. This will at least give you a nice grounding and improve your balance and confidence without pushing the boat out too far

Could go on for ages but i need a cup of tea. ....

do em in traverse to start with and dont even think about one foot turns until you are very confident doing whatever exercise you are attempting in a straight line.

ski makes a good point taking away a balance aid ( no poles, hands on head, boots unclipped ) can do a lot for you balance with less risk of straining a knee

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fatbob, simple solution to that is just to keep the other ski on - I share the same fear as you. If you do take the second ski off then you must try to train yourself to let yourself fall rather than try to "save" yourself with the free leg. That is easier said than done, which is why I never let my kids at race training take the second ski off until they're pretty competent at the drill.

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Some good stuff here thanks.

Perhaps the best summary is "man up!"

One excuse down. Maybe I'll try - oh I don't want to do anything too adventurous in new boots or I'd love to but my delta angle needs sorting first.

You know it makes sense.

I like side-slipping on the uphill leg only. A good drill for balancing on the inside ski, but you also have to work the edge to control your descent.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

fatbob,

A snowHead

fatbob, On the disability course I did recently we used a ski \ blade combination. That way if you have to put a foot down it's not the end of the world. If it's a case of building balance skills, then maybe some cross training in a different sport would help, maybe climbing ?

A snowHead

fatbob, the obvious question that no one seems to have asked is what are you trying to learn? Drills shouldn't be done willy nilly without a focus in mind. Some thought should be given to choosing the appropriate drill or variation thereof for the right purpose. Also, are you intending on doing them on dry, on a hill, at Hemel?

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slikedges, Good point - the answer is I don't really know. All I know is that if I'm going to take some coaching to build skills then its highly likely one footed stuff is included so bit of a waste if I bottle it. Ultimately its ski faster more fluidly everywhere on the mountain, hold a bomber edge & turn in sketchy conditions etc.

I guess technically, even though I'm not on a badge chasing path put myself where ISIA tech wouldn't be too big a stretch.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

david@mediacopy, one footed stuff would be an absolute requirement for ISIA but I'd agree isn't for someone just looking to improve their own skiing. It helps though as it uniquely isolates and focuses attention on inside or outside ski balance and steering.

fatbob, ISIA is a mighty high standard for a recreational skier (who hasn't trained or lived out there), I think you should stop doing drills and give me a chance to catch up wink

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fatbob, I'm finding this quite interesting as after two knee surgeries I find myself like Frosty the Snowman
with not much stability in the dodgy knee. I'm hoping the gym work I've been doing sort that out for this winter. I certainly didn't feel comfortable one legged skiing on the bad leg even after skiing most days for the entire season. So I came to the conclusion that its probably a muscular thing and I need to spend more time doing stability work in the gym i.e. single leg squats, lunges, bosu/swiss ball stuff. Will be interested to see if my theory is proved right. I'm guessing these drills are developing a similar stability/muscle memory anyway.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

funny enough i tweaked a knee a few months ago, nothing too severe but did do some damage to the tendons and quad muscle and found that one legged stuff on that damaged leg (my normally stronger one) was still better than my weak side.

fatbob, regular training would help, either in a group or pick some drills for the fridge that would address your weak points. you probably would need to spend some time with someone with a decent eye to determine where you should be focussing your efforts. you could then work on things independently. Just doing 15 minutes of drills each time you go to hemel would help IMO.

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pam w, try doing that one without poles Toofy Grin

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skimottaret, wot, the one-footed 360s? Shocked

I could watch it without poles.

I find any side slipping exercises a pain at Hemel due to angle of the slope and grip of the snow without power sliding into them.

You know it makes sense.

fatbob,

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

pam w, no i meant the side slipping, one footed 360 are quite hard even with poles...

fatbob, you just need to get your skis flatter to the snow, even at my size i can get moving from a static start, it isnt that grippy... wink

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Drills without using one foot

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