Overcoming mindset

[Iwannaski]

I try to be a lifelong learner, y’all, so it’s so great to hear everyone else’s experiences. It’s also a great reminder that life is best lived OUT THERE, right? As a mom, I try to remember this all the time, that people will do stupid stuff, people will get hurt, we will all do our best to get through.

@floatingyardsale … great tip… recalibration is probably in order. One thing I wish I’d done better was figuring out my ski tracks so that I could mentally connect my speed with my speed, if that makes sense. Next year. This and a lesson.

@snoWYmonkey … yowza for your husband, hope he’s rebounding/rebounded nicely, and I would be scared on the bike path too. I’m usually wearing less when biking.

 

[Eera]

Same boat here and following with interest. I remember back in my mountain bike racing days my coach saying "your brain will give out way before your equipment does". I started to put more faith in the bike but still never made it to downhill.

Dunno if it might help - one time a ski instructor pointed out to me I spend too much time looking down and at the trees adjacent to me, he said to concentrate looking further down the hill as everything will then appear slower.

Really love that tip about counting to three before turning, so going to put that into practice this year!

 

[Iwannaski]

Reread this thread as things have started clicking together much better this year (3rd year back to skiing) and @liquidfeet - NOW everything in your technical post makes total sense. LOL.

Today I was making fast turns down to get as far ahead of a bunch of teenage boys as I could, and I realized that that LTE was making allllll the difference in the world and almost NO pivot.

Still weak on the right turns, noticing more of a shoulder pull back that way than the other way, but since I know to look for it, I have also developed some mental triggers to stop it. Focusing on my core muscles and stance do really work, as does keeping that ankle flexed so I can’t flop back as easily. It’s so amazing how much our bodies can do simultaneously when we try to wire and “habit“ the right behaviors.

 

[Iwannaski]

Ok, one more update… these are mostly for learners who might be lurking and reading and maybe even frustrated. ;)

After a January lesson on my issues, particularly that pesky right shoulder pull back to turn right, I have had a lot more confidence due to adjustments from my instructor Loriena.

In my outings since, I figured out some of what was going on in my head/body, or so I think. (And some of this is also some advice I got last spring from @Skier31 ) Where I was struggling was why my normally dominant right foot was having such a hard time when I was turning right. All my problems seemed to come from it - that leg would be flopping, dragging, catching edges, floating, you name it, other than going in line with the other one, it was doing it. Now, Loriena’s instruction definitely helped, but I still wanted to figure out why the asymmetry was so strong.

When switching from the left turn edges (left outside/right inside) to right turn, my super dominant right foot didn’t want to give up its hold. At all. Like, “nah, bro, I got this” … um, no, you don’t. It’s REALLY hard to turn right with the inside edge of your right ski engaged. To overcome this, I was doing all kinds of stuff that Loriena DID NOT LIKE.

I think I’ve read here before that sometimes, even if your dominant foot isn’t in the lead, you have to think in “its” terms, rather than the foot that should be “in charge” …

What I’ve found is that if I focus on the unweighting/flat ski movement (maybe that “pop” that some people talk about?), it’s been a lot smoother turning to the right, and I don’t feel like I’m yanking my shoulder back any more. Turns out, when I do this, my pole plants also make a lot more sense.

Again, I don’t know if this is the “technically correct” explanation, but maybe if someone is lurking and this helps them it will be worthwhile.

 

[Lmk92]

I think I experienced this "pop" once. Only once. And for me it was a different experience. It may have been related to what you are talking about, though. We were heading down the long, wide blue at Belleayre, and I just decided to let the ski do the work, rather than to manhandle it where I wanted it to be. I swear I felt that "pop". Unfortunately after that, we stayed on the blacks/double blacks, and hard as I tried, I haven't been able to repeat that experience. I'm going to try to concentrate more on what you were saying next time I'm out to see if that makes a difference.

 

[Abbi]

Ok, one more update… these are mostly for learners who might be lurking and reading and maybe even frustrated. ;)

After a January lesson on my issues, particularly that pesky right shoulder pull back to turn right, I have had a lot more confidence due to adjustments from my instructor Loriena.

In my outings since, I figured out some of what was going on in my head/body, or so I think. (And some of this is also some advice I got last spring from @Skier31 ) Where I was struggling was why my normally dominant right foot was having such a hard time when I was turning right. All my problems seemed to come from it - that leg would be flopping, dragging, catching edges, floating, you name it, other than going in line with the other one, it was doing it. Now, Loriena’s instruction definitely helped, but I still wanted to figure out why the asymmetry was so strong.

When switching from the left turn edges (left outside/right inside) to right turn, my super dominant right foot didn’t want to give up its hold. At all. Like, “nah, bro, I got this” … um, no, you don’t. It’s REALLY hard to turn right with the inside edge of your right ski engaged. To overcome this, I was doing all kinds of stuff that Loriena DID NOT LIKE.

I think I’ve read here before that sometimes, even if your dominant foot isn’t in the lead, you have to think in “its” terms, rather than the foot that should be “in charge” …

What I’ve found is that if I focus on the unweighting/flat ski movement (maybe that “pop” that some people talk about?), it’s been a lot smoother turning to the right, and I don’t feel like I’m yanking my shoulder back any more. Turns out, when I do this, my pole plants also make a lot more sense.

Again, I don’t know if this is the “technically correct” explanation, but maybe if someone is lurking and this helps them it will be worthwhile.

You could be talking about me! And what an interesting thought on the dominant foot not wanting to let go. Actually makes sense to me! I have often felt it is harder to turn to the right. Something to play with, and think about when I can finally get back on my skis. Thank you for this post!

 

[Iwannaski]

YAY!!! @Abbi and @Lmk92 … you have to let me know if it helps!!! I overthink a lot, but if my overthinking can help, at least it’s adding value!!!

I even left the ground by about an inch a few times this weekend going over some rollers at speed and I didn’t freak out … it was kind of fun!

 

[shadoj]

YAY!!! @Abbi and @Lmk92 … you have to let me know if it helps!!! I overthink a lot, but if my overthinking can help, at least it’s adding value!!!

Overthinking: extra thinking for the rest of us! Thanks for alleviating me of the mental effort!

I even left the ground by about an inch a few times this weekend going over some rollers at speed and I didn’t freak out … it was kind of fun!

Way to go! Flying just above the surface of the snow is one of my favorite ways to get an adrenaline rush without too much safety risk!

 

[CoachDeb]

Great thread! Trying to take in so much.

 

[Iwannaski]

As a once-and-sometimes-lurker who gets value from so many of the threads, a reminder that this thread started with a complaint that I felt too fast, but was going too slow … especially at bigger hills when skiing more with the kids.

Lots of skiing and one lesson in between.

Today, I raced my daughter down a blue (early, very empty slope, really only pass holders on the hill at that point)… And I almost beat her.

I was beating her, but I eased up on my speed because I figured I had her by so much, and then she flew by me - DANCING, y’all. (which, if you’ve followed any of my DD stories and her start at skiing, is REALLY something).

But I was willing to race, I just let the skis ski.

And to me, being willing to race them and have fun with them is the win.

The answer: keep doing it, keep having fun with it, and lessons make a world of difference.

 

[groomer groover]

Switching from the left turn edges (left outside/right inside) to right turn, my super dominant right foot didn’t want to give up its hold. At all. Like, “nah, bro, I got this” … um, no, you don’t. It’s REALLY hard to turn right with the inside edge of your right ski engaged. To overcome this, I was doing all kinds of stuff that Loriena DID NOT LIKE.

I think I’ve read here before that sometimes, even if your dominant foot isn’t in the lead, you have to think in “its” terms, rather than the foot that should be “in charge” …

What I’ve found is that if I focus on the unweighting/flat ski movement (maybe that “pop” that some people talk about?), it’s been a lot smoother turning to the right, and I don’t feel like I’m yanking my shoulder back any more. Turns out, when I do this, my pole plants also make a lot more sense.

Again, I don’t know if this is the “technically correct” explanation, but maybe if someone is lurking and this helps them it will be worthwhile.

Thank you so much for this possibly not technically correct explanation. I think it really helped me better understand some of what my instructor was getting at during my last lesson.

I also appreciated the highly technical explanation of LTE earlier in the thread. Very much looking forward to taking both explanations out with me the next time I go to the mountain!

 

[skinnyfootskis]

@liquidfeet… I always love the technical!!! Also, it’s funny, because in the Deb Armstrong videos, I remembered her talking about driving the inside knee and I found that when I did that my little toe did engage much better than I’d been able to get it to do before. It was really a revelation this week.

On the “perfect” conditions, that was my focus and I felt SOOOOO good. I could generally feel when I was skiing the way I should be and the way I didn’t want to be - so I feel like that is at least a step in the right direction to not locking in the bad habits!?!?

It is definitely a work in process… I’m not devastated with the season’s progress, I’m just (in life and when turning on skis) not as patient as I should be…

Ditto

 

[skinnyfootskis]

Following along because, once again, @Iwannaski you and I seem to have very similar paths!

I did in fact do a lesson this year and worked on the issue you describe-- rushing turns and then skidding to scrub speed. Part of what the instructor worked with me on was focusing on letting the downhill ski lead the turn just a little more (I might me describing that terribly -- like, just flattening that ski a little first) because, as he described in physics terms, I was building up a lot of potential energy by not letting that ski ride more freely, which the turned into kinetic energy that I felt I had to scrub at the end of the turn. He introduced me to pivot slips as an exercise.

Me too….my Taos drills and lessons were great but it’s super easy to go back to what “feels” right or safe even though it is not.