Ski and Train with Purpose
Overview: Elite skiers hone and improve their skills by skiing and training with a purpose. They plan their skiing and training sessions, they practice drills, ski slowly and fast, maintain a positive attitude, and simulate race conditions during training.
Ski and Train with Purpose
Elite athletes ski and train with a clear purpose focusing on honing and improving their skills.
Enhance your skills with these strategies.
Plan, Embrace Drills, Ski Slow then Fast, Train to Race, Be Positive and practise Mental Imagery
Have a plan
Starting with the first turn of the day, select a movement you would like to learn or reinforce. Start skiing slowly and complete your turns. Be Deliberate.
Watch Henrik Krisoffersen of Norway, ski with purpose focusing on the Athletic Stance, ankle flexion, rolling the inside leg so shins are parallel, completing his turns and much more.
Perform a drill or two to focus your mind and body. Increase your speed, change the arc of your turns, vary the steepness of the slope and ski different snow conditions. Practice skiing when visibility is less than optimum including flat light, shade and falling snow.
Drills will Improve your Skiing and Race Results
Drills play a crucial role in skiing, enabling skiers to isolate and focus on specific physical movements.
Mikaela Shiffrin attributes her success to spending years focusing on drills to perfect her technique. Mikaela describes her approach to skiing drills in the following video:
Ski Slowly to Learn Fast
World Cup skiers will often start their day skiing slowly — very slowly — completing each turn while focusing on specific movements as demonstrated in the following video.
Practice Skiing Fast
Skiing fast carving turns will improve your skiing and prepare you for racing. To learn more; Click below.
Train to Race
For the best outcomes from your training sessions, have a plan, simulate race conditions, and practice being in ‘Race Mode’. Click below.
Positive Attitude and the 80/20 Rule
The brain excels and performs at its peak when it’s focused on positive thoughts. When you reflect on a run skiing or training in gates, devote most of your time thinking about the turns you executed well. To learn more; Click below.
Mental Imagery
Discover how you can use Mental Imagery to improve your skiing and racing skills at any time, including during the off-season. Click below to learn more.
Accelerate your learning by Journaling.
Maintain a skiing journal. You are much more likely to remember what you learned from a training session when you describe in writing what helped you improve. To learn more; Click below.
More Drills
The Slovenia Demo Team perform a variety of exercises and drills in the following video. Select a few drills and add them to your skiing.
Key Takeaways
- Effective Practice Strategies:
- Successful skiing improvement involves focused repetition and a deliberate approach. Each skiing and training session should have a plan, with specific movements or skills to work on.
2. The Role of Drills, Slow and Fast Skiing:
- Drills and skiing slow are a vital components of skiing improvement. They allow skiers to break down complex movements into manageable parts, fostering muscle memory and precise technique.
- Skiing fast carving turns will improve your skiing and prepare you for racing.
3. Utilizing the 80/20 Rule and Journaling for Learning:
- Applying the 80/20 Rule helps reinforce learning. Spend 80% of your reflection time on successful turns, building confidence and the balance analyzing what needs improvement.
- You will learn faster when you document your achievements in your journal.
4. Train with Purpose
· Have a plan for each training session, including what aspect of your technique you want to hone, focusing on the optimum ‘line’, rehearsing your warm-up routine, developing your course inspection skills, practicing visualization, and improving your ability to ‘Look Ahead’.
Suggested Learning Modules
Return to Experienced Adult Racers or Learn to Race.
Return to Coaching Masters
Important Note: Skiing and ski racing come with inherent risks. As such, it is imperative to ski responsibly and remain within the boundaries of your skill level and personal comfort zone.
