Three Tips for Improving Your Skiing Balance

Wipeout.

Skiing is a sport that requires different physical attributes: you’ve got to have endurance and agility, but you also always have to keep your balance. It doesn’t take rocket science to show that a sport involving two sliding skis down slippery snow will require a lot of balance. But what if you’ve always been a klutz? How can you improve your balance so that you’re less likely to wipeout as you head your way down the slopes? Here are three tips for making sure you stay upright more often.

Tip #1: Do dry runs with roller skates or roller blades. If you’re not used to sliding around on two separate devices, rollerskating or rollerblading can be fun. You can bring out the ice skates during the winter or bring out the roller blades on the pavement when the weather’s warmer and dry. This won’t necessarily make you an expert skier, but it will help you adapt to the challenges of moving around on something other than a car or a bicycle. It also makes great exercise, and should involve some of the same muscles you’ll be using on the slopes.

Tip #2: Challenge your balance. You’re not going to improve your balance if you only practice being upright, so be sure to challenge your balance. You can do this both while doing the “dry runs” mentioned above or attempting various balancing exercises on your own. If you can find a good stretch of pavement for your personal use, you can set up cones that you can skate around, helping you to get the feel of shifting your body weight for turns. Make sure to search online for at-home exercises you can do to improve your balance, and commit to doing these a few times a week.

Tip #3: The best way to learn is through experience. At some point, it will be time to put your balancing skills to the test and actually go skiing. You can’t avoid this, so it’s best to take advantage of the fact that experience is a great teacher and start practicing skiing by…skiing! You won’t always look good, but if you stay persistent, your muscle memory and your body will adapt to the motions of skiing and it will feel more effortless than when you first began.

Just because you’re a klutz doesn’t mean you’re destined to always be one. Instead, actively work on this weakness and develop your balance.

Photo Credits: cynthiacloskey

Originally posted 2009-12-31 03:48:42.

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