Quick intro to a long winded question, I ski mostly Blue Mt. in Pennsylvania, about 1000 ft. vertical; for a long time I reffed ice hockey heavily and had legs like tree trunks, even then the first session or two of the season I would leave the mountain with sore quads but never bad and would be fine the rest of the year. Fast forward 10 years and gaining weight and being not exactly at the peak of physical fitness since I stopped reffing. This year I have been skiing with my son who is progressing but to stay with him I am on the brakes a lot. January was a slow month but since mid-December I have mostly been out at least once a week, leaving every time with sore quads and barely making it down a full run without having to take a break to let my quads quiet down. Originally I figured it was just being out of shape and having to skid more to keep my speed with my son, but by this point of the year I should have gotten over that hump.
Started doing a little reading and thought my form should be fine since my weight is on the middle to the ball of my feet and my shins are against the front of my boots. I finally saw something about meeting those criteria but still being too far back because of being in a squat position. That's when it clicked that I've been skiing like I skate, with nose, knees, and toes aligned which creates too much squat and loads up the quads. I've realized I will need a couple lessons to overcome that, but with only a week or two left in the season I am not going to do that right now. But I want to end the year in the right direction.
The other thing I realized is that last year I got new boots but did not ski a lot and was on a smaller mountain with a long run taking 45 seconds, so even bad form was hidden by the short runs. I have noticed thoguh this year that even on the flats where I am just coasting that I can't get my legs as straight, I am always leaning forward some. Just last night I remembered the put risers under my heels so I am going to try taking those out for the next session and see if the lower angle helps.
But to help get my form in the right direction, what is the right sequence to flex into position? I've read to bend at the ankles first. After that, where do I go? What are some signs that I am closer to the right position?
Started doing a little reading and thought my form should be fine since my weight is on the middle to the ball of my feet and my shins are against the front of my boots. I finally saw something about meeting those criteria but still being too far back because of being in a squat position. That's when it clicked that I've been skiing like I skate, with nose, knees, and toes aligned which creates too much squat and loads up the quads. I've realized I will need a couple lessons to overcome that, but with only a week or two left in the season I am not going to do that right now. But I want to end the year in the right direction.
The other thing I realized is that last year I got new boots but did not ski a lot and was on a smaller mountain with a long run taking 45 seconds, so even bad form was hidden by the short runs. I have noticed thoguh this year that even on the flats where I am just coasting that I can't get my legs as straight, I am always leaning forward some. Just last night I remembered the put risers under my heels so I am going to try taking those out for the next session and see if the lower angle helps.
But to help get my form in the right direction, what is the right sequence to flex into position? I've read to bend at the ankles first. After that, where do I go? What are some signs that I am closer to the right position?