Cantabrigienne
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Just had a minor revelation that I thought merited its own thread: What *wrong* advice have you been given that's taken time to unlearn?
I've been told by many (mostly male) instructors that my back is arched out the wrong way when I'm skiing - that when I flex my knees & ankles I end up with my butt sticking out + have always been told to "tuck my tail" to compensate. (Other variations have been to ski with rounded core/shoulders like I'm hugging a barrel, or when the instructor punches you lightly in the chest to get you to round forward slightly.) Any of this sound familiar to the rest of you?
During the North Face camp we did video analysis on day 1+ I saw my butt was sticking out, so I resolved to be mindful of it and try to round my back etc etc etc. (My instructor said "I don't know what's going on with your butt, let's just work on getting you to poleplant more proactively & assertively.") On day 2 I found my left calf was developing a sore spot on the outside. So I told my pilates instructor about it and she figured out "tuck your tail" and similar advice was totally counter productive for me - when you're standing with knees flexed and you tuck your tail or round your back, your legs swing open from the pelvis and that puts pressure down the outside line of your leg. She had me get into an active stance and then try to zip up between my belly button and pelvic floor (i.e. active core but visualize it originating from under my belly button) and it made all the difference!
I had been so smug during camp, thinking "my quads don't hurt, I'm skiing so much better than before" - because usually when my quads hurt it's due to being in the back seat and then having to use leg power to compensate. Pilates instructor had me work through flexing and showed me that I wasn't getting enough flexion in the hip area relative to ankles/knees - which is a whole other area I've been told to work on!
I've been told by many (mostly male) instructors that my back is arched out the wrong way when I'm skiing - that when I flex my knees & ankles I end up with my butt sticking out + have always been told to "tuck my tail" to compensate. (Other variations have been to ski with rounded core/shoulders like I'm hugging a barrel, or when the instructor punches you lightly in the chest to get you to round forward slightly.) Any of this sound familiar to the rest of you?
During the North Face camp we did video analysis on day 1+ I saw my butt was sticking out, so I resolved to be mindful of it and try to round my back etc etc etc. (My instructor said "I don't know what's going on with your butt, let's just work on getting you to poleplant more proactively & assertively.") On day 2 I found my left calf was developing a sore spot on the outside. So I told my pilates instructor about it and she figured out "tuck your tail" and similar advice was totally counter productive for me - when you're standing with knees flexed and you tuck your tail or round your back, your legs swing open from the pelvis and that puts pressure down the outside line of your leg. She had me get into an active stance and then try to zip up between my belly button and pelvic floor (i.e. active core but visualize it originating from under my belly button) and it made all the difference!
I had been so smug during camp, thinking "my quads don't hurt, I'm skiing so much better than before" - because usually when my quads hurt it's due to being in the back seat and then having to use leg power to compensate. Pilates instructor had me work through flexing and showed me that I wasn't getting enough flexion in the hip area relative to ankles/knees - which is a whole other area I've been told to work on!