DITCH your Ski-Poles
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- Hi
Today's video is a coaching video as useful for ski racers as for any recreational skier at any level.
When I teach 4y old's or adult beginners to ski I always have them start without ski poles. You turn by using your legs and core, not windmilling with your arms. That is also causing a serious balancing issue in the fore-aft plane.
So in today's video I will share with you 4 drills that anyone can easily perform out on the slope. Remember to always use easy slopes for drills and watch out for other skiers. As you can see from the video we had the luxury of almost owning the slope that day. A little bit of luck never hurts.
Enjoy,
Tom
Controversial opinion: when skiing for pleasure it's easier to just leave your ski poles at home. Less stuff to carry around and it's fun to feel like a little kid again.
Controversial maybe but great tip. And its all about having fun and being a kid again. I also advice all parents skiing with their small children to leave their ski poles home. You have better use for your arms than quirky looking pole plants :)
Thanks for watching by the way and all the best to you :)
@@Triggerboy62 Yes! When our kids were learning to ski my husband and I would share one pair of poles. Having one pole is good for pulling a kid along on the flat sections, or if you need to help them down a steep section, but being able to go pole-free when helping the younger one into the chair lift is awesome.
you may consider that if a) your resort and the conditions (snow/weather) allow for that and b) if you dont plan any kind of off-piste episodes. No poles is great for carving at optimum conditions (or for drills like in the video) but it is a pain for getting around in a bigger resort.
@@martinkrautter8325 Could you explain more in-depth what you mean by getting around? I don't usually go off pisting, but for getting around on flat sections I think "skating" works well enugh, with or without poles.
I know it has nothing to do with this video, but I was an extremely mediocre ski racer coming out of high school and that never changed going into college thanks to a lazy coach, I was often DFL (deaf f*ing last), but when I was in grad school and stayed on to help my college team, I'd often be skiing without poles because of the need for course maintenance and setup, and I would train slalom without poles or shin guards and OMG I BECAME SO MUCH MORE CONFIDENT AND SO MUCH BETTER IN SLALOM COURSES.
I would just use the same upward motion a lot of skiers use as the pole approaches the gate and push the gate with my palm, specifically the webbing between my thumb and forefinger, and I would just let the gates hit my boots or shins or knees and... honestly it really didn't hurt that much. So I just became much more confident. It got to the point that when freeskiing using my GS poles I would confidently block gates at the base of the handle without hitting my hand. It was amazing.
But to bring it back to your video, Skiing a slalom course without poles forced me to be forward all the time. Having poles just makes recovering so much easier (and I feel like it's only a mental game) so training without them means every turn you need the fundamentals of the turn in check.
Wow, thank you for sharing :)
@@Triggerboy62 of course! If you want a fun couple runs, try getting into a course without poles, it's a totally different experience
Been skiing without them for a few days. Reduce my upperbody movements and really focus on legwork
Great to hear. Yes, it really works. And thank you for watching.
Why do you need ski poles to begin with? Really? No good reason imo.
You dont really need ski poles. Also snow boarders manage without. It is also very handy if you ski with children. When I worked as an instructor at a children's resort for 10 years I learned to ski without as I did not use ski poles for the entire time. And I actually became a better skier. Better balance. And for carving it is great to ski without. And we would not have anybody poke out eyes in lift lines. Or kids hitting each other with them. However, they are useful off piste, in bumps and in various other situations. And the play a great role in aesthetics and style. Not to mention timing. Good for blocking gates in slalom races. Mixed bag. You can ski with or without. Thanks for watching and for the comment. Cheers, Tom
Thank you for posting this. I can't wait to try these drills next season.
Great to hear. Lets hope next season is a great one for both and all of us :)
@Benton Joaquin Thank you so much. I had never heard of that. I will check it out.
It’s for slalom turns, but for gs it’s doesn’t work?
Sure it works for GS as well. Many times at glacier camps at the start of the season we only ski on GS skis. And we perform these same drills. You have to be careful thou since speed is up and falling could be more dangerous.
I have question regarding superman drill: does hand, which is straight ahead, should pointing slope fall line all along the turn? It's mean, does the aim of drill is that skier upper body should be complete still and only lower body should only move left/right. Another question is it possible to ride on steep slopes and keep upper body completely calm (I am beginer so that maybe this question isn't so smart :))
Thanks for watching.
1. Very good question. I guess you can do both. Stick your hand out front or point it a bit down in the fall line. We usually simply stretch it out front.
2. Yes. Expert skiers when in control can keep their upper body very calm on steep slopes.
You need to rethink what you are saying at 5:35 in the video; the physiological explanation is incorrect. During a carving turn, the adductor muscles of the outside leg are the prime agonist muscles. In normal day to day usage, we rarely engage the adductors of one leg in isolation from the contralateral adductors of the other leg; there is a tendency to over engage these contralateral adductors of the inside leg when carving which results in weakening the ground force pressure and edging capabilities of the inside leg. Creating isometric pressure with your hand on the lateral aspect of the inside knee triggers the external rotator muscles of that hip facilitating a stronger base of support; instead of having the inside leg just coming along for the ride during a carving turn. Excellent drill none-the-less.
Thank you for your input here. However, not sure I understand what you are saying? I'm not an expert in that field so I'm not trying to give an physiological correct explanation, merely trying to use terminology that would be easier to understand for the average viewer. Placing the hand on the outside of the inside knee triggers the inside leg muscles to tip the inside ski on edge is what I said. Is this not correct? Please explain exactly what I should say. Thanks in advance, T
@@Triggerboy62 PRESSING the hand on the outside of the inside knee triggers the OUTSIDE leg muscles to tip the inside ski on up on its outside edge. If the muscles on the inside of the inside leg are over engaged the force against the ground would become lessened; that would be like squeezing the legs together. As I said above, when walking or running the adductor muscles of the legs are used roughly equally without conscious thought or attention. To train ourselves out of this automaticity we use the hand pressure as both a cuing devise to consciously remind ourselves to dig in the edge of the inside ski and to create something for the inside knee to press against for resistance thus firing up the abductor and external rotator muscles of the inside leg. So what you should say to the people you are training is to "press that knee hard against the hand."
@@kencooper7208 ok thanks. Sounds a bit like semantics thou. Did you see the original video: th-cam.com/video/G_sqvnMABjA/w-d-xo.html
@@Triggerboy62 Not semantics at all sir, physiology. As ski instructors we need to understand the difference between the job of adductor and abductor muscles of the leg, and that muscles can only contract and release; they can never push. Your typed explanation in your original video post is correct, your verbal explanation at 5:35 in the above video is not. The intention in my original post was nether meant to be didactic nor pedantic merely informative. But now I am being pedantic., let the conversation end here.
@@kencooper7208 in my opinion every force has a couterforce. If I place my hand on the outside of my inside knee and apply pressure my muscles will activate to resist. The result will be my leg muscles will push my knee outwards. To resist A-framing. Not saying you are wrong, just saying that I as a coach have been able to activate inside leg tipping to enhase performance.
Would you give me the NAME OF DRILL described below, which will improve outside skill edge pressure
1. Pole (outside ski / downhill side) drag on slope (modern steep) during turning.
2. Other Pole (inside ski / uphill side) leave up, so that the shoulder in line with the slope gradient during the turning.
This will improve counterbalance turning turning (C-shape of upper body).
Thank you for your help
Hi, I don't know the name of the drill you are describing but it resembles my air-plain drill but with ski poles instead of without as I usually do it. We have a drill that we use where we drag both ski poles in the snow to the side of us. Check out my 14 drills for ski racers for more info. Cheers, T
Pushing the inside knee to the inside is such a good advice, I've noticed that compensation on my cat, if i push his body to the outside, he leans on the inside :))
Great tip Vlad! Maybe my next video should be a cat video :)
@@Triggerboy62 i find it interesting, because animals don't have a filter of consciousness, they act natural, and they master the art of balance
Thank you
You're welcome
I like it these videos thank you❤❤
You're welcome 😊
i have learned to ski with no poles at Cataloochee in NC very steep slopes there, I had to go sideways brake a lot, zig zagging. i have not taken a lesson on how to use poles. i dont want to use them yet cause id be afraid of impaling my self tbh 🤣
Oh yes, please do not impale yourself with a ski pole. But there is no hurry for you to start using ski poles. In fact, you could ski all your life without ski poles. However, they are handy in many situations and makes stuff like bumps and powder much easier. Also, you cannot ski race without ski poles. Cheers, Tom
Превосходно подано, ясно, чётко, понятно и полезно!
Thanks :)
I for one never liked the poles.
Snowboarder?
@@Triggerboy62 yes for 10+ years and also inline skater.
I just watched the crab walk video and this was the link afterwards. I’m so excited because I was going to ditch my polls on Saturday! Thanks for this video.
Hi, so nice of you to leave an other comment on one of my videos. And welcome to my channel. If you are not a subscriber, please become one to stay notified on new videos. I dont know how familiar you are with how I work but just in case you are not, I post instructional and inspirational videos and respond to comments and requests. You can also send a link of your skiing to me here or on email for either public or private feedback. And its free of charge. Ditching your ski poles is what almost every skier no matter what level should do when starting to work on their technique. With Chris we continuously work on wedging drills and we try to do them every week or at the start of every training session. Also, as seen on this video we do drills without ski poles and as you can see on other videos we use one or two poles depending on drill. In the 14 Essential drills video there are a variety of drills with explanations for each of them. Have fun this weekend and let me know how it was. Ceers :)
I’m subscribed from the first day I went skiing
@@meeshaloves2ski21 wow, thank you so much for watching my videos and stoked with you doing drills and stuff. Reg Tom
Hi! Great videos and channel!! Please advise: i like carving using my 15 old ski elan magfire 10, and even older heavy boots. I wonder will I enjoy switching to some advanced new skis like s9 and lighter weight boots. Other words, will i feel some advance after spending 1500k? Worth it? Thanks in advance!
Thanks for watching. Checked out your skis on the net and from what I could read I think they would still be ok to carve with. They would have to be tuned correctly to serve you well of course but that goes for a new S9 as well so no need to buy new skis if those are tuned and in shape and you don't have extra money to spare. I also use old GS skis so age is just a number when it comes to good skiing gear I suppose. Remember that since the skis are a bit wider under foot they will not hold as well on ice as newer racing type skis. On the other hand they will be nicer in softer snow. The boots are much more important. But boots need to be comfortable. Not advising you to buy comfortable boots, rather get good 110-130 stiff performance boots and have them fitted for you properly. The outside shell grinded and stretched to fit well. My advice is for you to go to a very good ski shop, preferably a reputed boot fitter, and ask them to find you a good fitting boot that you can mold to your feet. Start with the closest match. Hope these advice helps.
@@Triggerboy62 I appreciate! I will do this way! Buy boots first. Yes, want too feel skis hold on ice. keep you informed about my updates;) thanks a lot! 👍🙏✌️
@@Triggerboy62 Bought these boots with good discount th-cam.com/video/7gVrZ2ff4Dk/w-d-xo.html will try them tomorrow;)
Wow, that looks like a nice boot. How did it perform? I used to ski with the Redster 150 and it was really good. However, never could get them to fit properly so I switched back to my Dalbellos.
@@Triggerboy62 it performs great, and they fit very good!! Even without forming Thinking of slalom skis now) can you advise a length? I am 181, 83-85 kg. Now my length is 168, r13,3. Shall It be 165 or 159 or less? S9 for example) thanks in advance!!
Tom,
I do need those drills ... thanks a lot
Great, thanks for watching and hopefully you can enjoy winter and skiing this season :)
No sticks from childhood😄
Yes, no sticks for kids. Thanks for watching.
Best channel ever!
Thanks :)
Awesome Video again!!!! Love it
Yay! Thank you!
Great explanation
Thanks :)
Thank for your videos. Another one as soon as possible!
Thanks for watching. Following video coming friday I hope :)
Is it easier honestly, and what's the secret to turning and stirring
Hi, thanks for watching and leaving a question. However, Im not totally sure of what you are asking here. If you are asking if skiing with ski poles is easier after you have done drills without ski poles then the answer is yes, it is easier. It is easier to ski. Because you are forced to fix issues that you compensate for by using your ski poles. For extra support or for momentum or whatever. Also, what do you mean by "stirring"? Are you referring to "steering"?
@@Triggerboy62 Yes Steering that's why I ment to say lol
Good stuff!
Thanks!
i think the skier is not the same guy..
Thank you for watching. Correct. In this video I am the coach and Chris is the skier. Not the same person.
Hello from New Zealand, looking forward to adding the Crab Walk drill
Hello New Zealand! Drills are not only super useful, they are also super fun. Have fun with the Crab Walk drill :)
Very good video.
Thanks :)
Excellent video, like most of this channel, thanks indeed.
Much appreciated!
Outstanding
Thank You for watching :)
tks Tom good drills for all age and level skiers . Dan from France
Yes, these drills anyone can perform and they will give good results. Cheers, Tom
Tom thks:) super)
Thank U for watching :)
Very nice :) I noticed you always associate for-aft with balance. In modern ski I think balance in the for-aft axis is not a problem anymore. Goal of for-aft is something else...
IMO the fore-aft balance is important since we flex and sit back at transition and extend and push our hips forwards during turning. A common mistake is to not extend quick enough and get caught in the back seat. Makes sense?
@@Triggerboy62 of course it makes sense ! The thing is most people link automaticaly "fore-aft" with "balance". I just wanted to point out that the main goal of fore-aft is something else.
@@Triggerboy62 may I ask you some question? When do you start pushing your hips forward?
Good drills. Will try it next time. Thank you
Thanks for watching pleas let me know how the drills worked out. Cheers T
Now how to ski without mountains with a ban on travelling abroad
Times are tough on us alpine skiers at the moment. I am lucky enough to live in a location where I can ski but I feel for you guys and gals that cant. But even I cant trawl to the Alps to ski as I usually do many times a year. Just have to hope for better times. In the mean time, lets watch ski videos on TH-cam. There are so many good videos and I also follow the WC on TV. Also nordic and ski jumping.