- Don't do this exercise if you have any existing
injuries or physical problems.
Begin with your skis off
Out of the way of traffic, plant your poles on either side
of you.
Holding your upper body, pelvis, and shoulders steady, hop
and twist your feet to point toward one pole. Then, hop again and twist the feet
to point to the other pole.
- Keep your upper body stationary and facing straight
ahead throughout the exercise.
After hopping, stand still for a moment and notice the
twist of the legs in relation to the upper body. Feel a pinch on the downhill
side of your body and a stretch in the back on the uphill side of your body.
With poles planted, hop a few times, then try adding a
pole swing with the hop. The pole should touch the snow upon landing. When you
hop up, swing the poles.
- Use the flex in your legs upon landing to absorb some
of the energy and act as a "coiled spring" to get you into the
next hop.
With skis
What you have done without skis is exactly what you will
do with the skis on--start with your skis only slightly out of the flow line, on
shallow terrain. Hop your skis with shallow direction changes.
As you find a bit of rhythm and really get some air,
redirecting your skis becomes easier. Hop your skis further across the hill.
- Try to keep a rhythm from hop-turn to hop-turn.
- Gradually tone down the hopping while maintaining the
energy, so that you are aggressively flexing and extending throughout the
turn.
Tips:
- Keep your upper body facing straight down the flow
line.
- Swing the pole down the flow line.
- Flex in the legs (not the waist) as you make your
landing, in order to propel yourself back up again.
- Allow one movement to flow into the next.
- Don't try too hard.
Once you've got the hang of it, progressively take the hop
turn onto steeper terrain. As you go steeper, notice that you'll have to
compensate as follows:
- Make sure you retract your legs fully--and make sure
that your tails don't get stuck in the steep snow.
- When you initiate a new jump, move your upper body
sharply DOWN the hill. Jumping straight up won't allow room for your tails
to come around.
