Hips up....a little help please

[ghutch]

Watching video this weekend of my skiing its a miracle I can run 32. My hips are dragging... especially out of the turn into the 1st wake. I've read, watched, studied and watched some more. My hope is that someone will have that little nugget that may click with me and get my ass up finally. Thanks

[AdamCord]

@ghutch what kind of boots do you use

[ghutch]

Double Radars. Putting rear Radar on like Caldwell suggests with better results. Tried r style rear several times and it gets worse.

[Horton]

@ghutch have you considered golf?

 

Okay seriously we need video to help

[AdamCord]

Where do you control the ski from? Is the pressure in your front shin, back shin, ball or front foot, heel of front foot, ball of back foot, heel of back foot, etc.?

[Drew_Wright_OBXtoFl]

Let's see the video it might helps a lot of folks on here

[ghutch]

@Horton no kidding I was very dejected and thoughts of quitting ran through my head. I did manage to fight the demons off with some help from some good friends but man it was depressing. Will try and upload video sometime soon.

 

@AdamCord I try and control most everything from my lower body. My achilles heel is pushing on my back foot and leaning away too soon in the turn and coming out. So guessing heel of my back foot is where I feel most pressure. Since being on a Denali I have moved forward (on the ski) quite a bit and have a new PB last year. Just can't believe how it feels so good at times and can ski effortless and other times its like I've never been on a ski.

[AdamCord]

@ghutch there are a few parts to this that I think should be investigated.

 

First is about stack and what you’re trying to do with your body on the ski. I think I and others have probably put too much focus on getting “forward” on the ski without spending enough time talking about the importance of posture first. If you’re trying to get forward with out a stacked posture, you will inevitably become bent at the waist, and you’ll find yourself riding on your back foot. Your first priority needs to be to get TALL and try and get your sternum as far away from your feet as possible. That means using your whole body to drive your sternum high off the ski.

 

Once you are making an effort to do that, we can talk about what’s happening under your feet. You should be controlling the ski with the balls of your feet. Not your shins or your heels. If you are standing tall and driving your sternum tall, but still unable to get off your back heel, then you need to look at your bindings and possibly even ski setup.

 

Are your boots too tight around your ankles and keeping you from actively pressuring the balls of your feet? Is your stance so wide that you can’t get your hips over your front foot?

 

For ski setup- you mentioned you’ve moved forward on the ski. Do you mean you moved the boots forward? If your boots are way forward then you may be forced to lean back to keep the ski in front of you. Or if your setup is very draggy that can force you to the tail.

 

Just some things to look at and think about.

[ghutch]

Adam thank you! Absolutely I have been trying to figure out the whole "forward" deal. What I mean by me getting forward is I have been reading and looking at the GUT principals and trying to emulate them on the water- sometimes with success, sometimes not. I have skied with Caldwell and really learned alot. Planning on another trip there hopefully next month or so.

 

I have read where he stated about trying to stand up the whole time getting your shoulders farther away from your feet, like in dead lifting. I need more water time to feel more of this. What you stated about the sternum also makes sense and I will apply that next time out. I will measure my ski settings again and post them. Pretty sure my bindings are around 31.25" on a 68" c-65.

 

Absolutely talking about posture and where to control the ski would be extremely helpful. No doubt I am trying to get forward without being stacked. And it is damn frustrating. Its like being right on the edge of an OTF but ponying up and trying to learn something.

 

Again I really appreciate everyones help on here. Love BOS.

[chris55]

I have the same problem as many skiers has most certainly. As I ski on open water,I ski a lot on a defensive position and my hips are on my rear foot. The youtube video that Horton made last winter is helping me and IMO this is good material to read with GUT and other stuff. of course.

For the beginning of the season, I decided to free ski a lot more and I have the time to think and feel my position and to correct it because I can make more than 6 turns. Practice will give me memories muscles that I can translate in the slalom....not really have the time to think when slaloming .....

Good luck to you @ghutch

[chris55]

And thank you again for your video @Horton !!! :smile:

[sunvalleylaw]

I have this issue, and also, allowing my hands/forearms to not be very close/in contact with my core after turn completion and across the wakes. Too much space! To me, it is another symptom of the same thing. In snow skiing, I absolutely am controlling my skis with the balls of my feet ( as @AdamCord describes), and the fronts of my boots with shin pressure and active, engaged ankles. Out on the water, I think I can feel some good equal pressure on my feet at times, and can feel tall at times, but in reality get squatty, and end up back on the rear foot a bit. Particularly in my pre-turn, and entering the turn on 2, 4, 6. (LFF guy here).

 

I used to think about pushing my hips up by doing things like pinching up my butt cheeks, forcing the hips forward, or attempting to pinch my shoulder blades back. That tended to make too much lumbar curve for me, which as someone with a formerly blown L4/L5, I cannot do. Also, it misses the mark and goal I think.

 

Now I am just attempting to stand up more at all times, and shift my hips forward over my feet rather than push them. (to me there is a difference). And learn to make sure any lean and leverage is away from the boat, rather than back in terms of fore and aft on the ski at all.

 

So right now, (and I haven't even been on water yet, we still have snow in the yard), that is my approach, and my primary goal this year. Stay taller over the ski with hips over my front foot as best as possible, arms, elbows and handle with contact to the vest, legs, core. Definitely a work in progress for me.

 

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Having just watched @Horton 's vid just now, seems spot on. For me, the internal self coaching cues to accomplish the fundamental of being tall and "stacked" is stay tall, rear leg straight but not locked. Tall and supple. I guess mentally I have shot for being over that front foot, but obviously I have not achieved it. Early season, I plan on seeing if revising my mental cue to be just tall over both feet rather than trying to get over that forward foot helps.

 

I totally agree with Horton from my experience in snow skiing that if a skier tries to think too much about being forward, (in snow skiing, hands forward) rather than just standing over the balls of the feet, the ass goes out the back every time. If they just stand up over so knees are over toes (with the natural flex built into alpine ski boots and contact with the front of the boot) and have the elbows ahead of the rib cage rather than reaching forward, it is a lot more natural and a lot less likely to end up with ass out. Gonna figure out this year how I can get my stance on the water. Obviously, I don't want my elbows out ahead of the vest when I have a handle in my hands. Points out the primary difference between snow and water. On water, you have to deal with the pull of the boat.

 

So, for me, tall and supple, particularly in the rear leg is the starting point.

 

 

[ShererSkier]

That video was really good. This is my problem in the preturn also. The stand tall and straight rear leg cue is what I’m going to try this summer. I also need to stay connected to the handle longer after my edge change. Another thing I may try is move my boots back a little, I moved them forward at end of 2017 and all last summer was having more of a hips back problem than before. After hearing what @AdamCord said I think that may be adding to the issue. I seem to come in and out of the turn on my back leg then yaw the ski to get tip access and get into a better stack, but it’s all after I make the turn.