Strong Core - Freeride and Powder Skiing Lesson

As you progress with your freeskiing and start to develop more speed and dynamics, it is important to focus on riding with ‘Core Strength’. The faster you go when freeskiing the more those pressure shocks you get from the ever changing terrain are amplified. To deal with the shocks you need a strong core or middle body to avoid the body breaking at the waist.



Your core strength comes from your lower stomach muscle region. The area is best identified by simply trying to pull you stomach in away from your belt. If you can train yourself to ski with this middle body strength you’ll be better supported and ready for the absorption. The first thing to give when skiing is always the waist. Putting in longer radius faster turns off piste with really test you because unlike in moguls you can’t always see when you are about to have to absorb a shock. Getting this middle body tension, also known as ‘retained tension’ as we spoke about earlier, to the right degree is best quantified on a numbers scale. If 0 is relaxed and 10 is tense, you’ll find a good core strength tension around a 5. This keeps you flexible enough to move but strong enough to avoid breaking at the waist with the upper body collapsing forwards.