World of Skiing:

Over-Rotation

This is a tendency that all of us are susceptible to, a bad habit... it's the dreaded over-rotation. Using the upper body to turn and getting kind of twisted up, rather than just turning the legs. So today I want to show you a two-pronged approach for combating the deadly and dreaded over-rotation.

So the first part of this approach is with the poles. Have a look at my poles and notice how the uphill pole remains in contact with the snow. See.. as I'm traversing across here I'm dragging both my poles. Now watch my right pole, this one here... this one is in contact with the snow. Same thing here... my left pole is still in contact with the snow.

And the second thing I want to show you is; as I start to turn, as I come up to turn my feet, I'm going to actively advance the inside ski a little. Maybe you can see it as I go across here... the inside leg, the uphill leg. Now watch, as I start to turn I have to move the other foot ahead. It's going to be this one now. Watch; I come up, and that foot goes ahead like so. So here it is again with the feet -- we call this the lead change -- we change the lead from that ski to this ski.

And this should help you to prevent the dreaded over-rotation, as will this one... dragging both poles. Now we'll do both things, drag both poles, and change the leads. If you can maybe use these for the first couple of runs of the day, that's what I like to do, to kinda get my body parts sorted out. Because I have a tendency -- and certain viewers will know that from watching over the years -- a certain tendency to over-rotate, mainly because I push this knee forward, like that, and that tends to bring my hip around. And so there I am, over-rotated. So what always seems to help me is taking a couple of runs where I get that foot ahead, I drag both poles, and then when I start to add the flex and extension I am in that nicely countered position. I haven't allowed myself to over-rotate. Let's show you that again.

So once again; drag both poles, and advance the inside foot at the start of the turn. Drag the outside pole, and change the lead. And maybe that's the way you can think about it, to help yourself prevent the dreaded over-rotation: drag the outside pole, advance the inside foot. Inside foot and outside pole. A kind f a two-pronged approach that I like to use to help me avoid getting over-rotated. Try it! I think it'll really work for you.