Improve Performance And Enjoy The Ride - Part 2

Hi everyone and welcome to the second post in the 'Improve Performance And Enjoy The Ride' series. I write about snow conditions, the magnificent the scenery , the amazing people I get to ski with, and any other little snippets about things that happen during my ski instructing in the 3 Valleys. Occasionally I'll talk about ski technique and the theory behind improving someone's skiing. Last week was one of those times. Some of the theory I mentioned was about the four main 'Performance Threads' that can improve your skiing and also hopefully your enjoyment on holiday. I spoke about two of these threads; tactics and technique, click here for the link if you missed it. This week it's the turn of the other two threads; physical and psychological.

Physical

This can be broken down into several areas. Let's start with physical fitness. Now then, the fitter you are before coming out to resort, the more you will get out of the holiday. I'm certainly not going to lecture any of you about how fit you should be before your holiday, I'll just say that every little helps. I appreciate that busy lifestyles can eat into available training opportunities. And let's face it, our motivation levels can vary as well! Sometimes it's easy to be motivated, other times less so for a variety of reasons.

Skiing is a physical sport, there's no denying it. An ideal mixture would be to train on your endurance, as well as your strength work, in particular legs. Spending six or seven hours a day using heavy skis and wearing ski boots isn't a normal activity outside of a ski holiday, is it? And yet that is what we are asking our bodies to deal with when in the mountains and at altitude.

When I am teaching beginner skiers, I'll be totally honest with them at the start and explain that they will be exhausted in the first few days. Why? Because they will likely be doing all sorts of strange things that will make them tired, including using brute force. But I also make it clear that as their skills improve and as their technique becomes more consistent, the sport will be more enjoyable. If you think about it, this is exactly the same for intermediate and advanced skiers: the better our technique and balance, the more energy efficient we become. How motivating is that?

You'd be stunned at how often I'll start a lesson with a new client, and I hear the words "I must be doing something wrong, I'm knackered after just a couple hours of skiing"!?!

Another thing that can be labelled under the Physical banner is the condition of your body. Illness is an obvious one; if we are healthy, life is great on skis. Likewise if we are carrying an injury, skiing can be hell. Let me give you an example. Last winter I started the ski season with reasonable fitness and health. However soon after starting skiing my lower back was giving me some real gyp, which quickly escalated to much higher levels of discomfort including nerve pain down my leg and regular pins and needles. It was hideous, especially putting on and taking off ski boots. It got so bad. How did I deal with it?

I believed that the main cause of my back pain was my old mattress. This had been on my mind the previous summer visit. Harriet and I popped down to Moutiers and ordered a new one, which arrived just before New Year. What a relief, because I slept much better with my back pain improving straight away. But then the piercing nerve pain came back after a week or so. At that point, I had a few physio sessions, and was given various different exercises and stretches. Thankfully this made all the difference, and eventually skiing was fun again, and I was in a much happier place!?!

This thread is pretty important: fitness levels, energy-efficient skiing, and a healthy body can really help improve a skier's performance, and especially their enjoyment! Oh, and then there are ill-fitting ski boots, let's not go there because it's the worst ever!?!

Psychological

Ooffff, where do I start with this? I'd quickly like to say that I'm not a trained psychologist! This area absolutely fascinates me however. I'm very lucky to have skied with many many people over the years. It's really interesting to listen to people's thoughts. Quite often I'm exposed to those who have a 'glass half full' mentality. And for those people, it's very uplifting that this positive mentality is perfectly natural. Others are aware that this helps, and aim to work hard to achieve the same positive outlook.

However, as Human Beings, quite often those 'glass half fullers' can also slip into a skiing 'vicious circle'. Last week I mentioned the opposite, a 'virtuous circle' where things look after themselves resulting in this sport being an absolute joy. Then at other times, skiing is the very last thing you want to be doing, a form of psychological warfare takes place. Which is very powerful.

What can cause these dips - or - meltdowns in performance and enjoyment? A whole number of things..... poor snow conditions is a big one, icy pistes or even thick heavy powdery snow. Bad weather conditions; freezing strong wind, heavy snowfalls, poor visibility, or all of these together are a particularly unpleasant cocktail. How about peer pressure indirectly from someone or a group of skiers? And there's losing confidence after a fall, or even being skied into by another skier/snowboarder; worse still, being injured because of this. Receiving bad news can also be added to the list. In fact it could grow and grow, so let's stop there before we all give up on this sport!

The 'glass half fullers' will be capable of recovering from such adversities. Not all of us can do this. In fact last winter I had several bookings, including a previous client, where their particular holiday was their final attempt of escaping the demons. A make or break situation if you like, and booking me as their ski instructor was the only possible route back again. So how did I approach these bookings?

Firstly, and most importantly, was to listen and be empathetic. Then choose the appropriate terrain to build confidence. Strip down technical confusion or even incorrect knowledge, and build a simplified technical base. Then gradually, slowly, confidence begins to seep back. When that confidence is realised and acknowledged, the priceless 'virtuous circle' blossoms. Et voila, skiing life is wonderful again. It's so nice being able to witness this process. Because you know what, if someone has loved the sport of skiing before losing it, it is possible to return to that joyous level.

I really hope this 'performance thread' hasn't sounded negative? But I reckon many of us can relate to such experiences, and can also hopefully relate to the bouncing back which is the best feeling. After all, skiing on perfect snow, in perfect weather, with happy friends or family, when you are feeling fresh, has got to be the best ever.

Again, I'd like to share some of my skiing experiences over the years, which will relate to this Psychological thread. I first learnt to ski at the age of 18 years old, quite old for someone who ends up being a ski instructor in the French Alps. Like many of you, I caught the bug. I took group lessons for the first few holidays. After that I skied with friends and took at least one if not two private ski lessons each trip. Why? I could see that some of my friends' skiing performance was limiting their ability and improvement. Although I was doing ok, I really wanted to improve through my twenties, plus I was always blown away at how good elite skiers were. It was so inspiring - I loved it - it was a drug.

Then when the time came for a career change, and I wanted to see if I could forge a career in the ski industry by becoming an instructor, my training really started in earnest. Boy oh boy, did I have to improve to such a high level that I didn't even know if it would be possible. In hindsight, had I not had all those ski lessons over the previous years, I'm sure I would never have achieved this lofty goal. Those years of ironing out bad habits and creating a solid foundation to build on in the future, set me up for success, even though I didn't realise it at the time. I just loved skiing, and I loved trying to improve.

At the moment I'm watching a brilliant series on BBC iPlayer, about Tom Brady the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) and his incredibly successful American Football career. He wasn't the most talented of quarterbacks at the time when he rose through the college system. Just like me on skis in my twenties (and thirties). However, during this particular tv series, he comes out with a phrase "Be The Best Version Of Yourself" so many times. Blimey, how strong is that? How motivating? How inspirational? How single-minded? There are so many ways of reflecting on being the best version of yourself. He clearly did this to the absolute extreme, and in terms of winning success and Superbowls, it paid off for him.

And then it came to me. Was I doing the same thing, being the best version of myself? Subconsciously trying to be the best version of a recreational skier. And then I really had to be the best version of myself to achieve the highest qualification of ski instruction; it's a gruelling process. I guess the answer is yes, but in a quiet and calm unassuming manner. Are there are many of you out there reading this blog post aiming to be the best version of yourself? Of course, whether the best with improving your performance. Or, you know what, making the most of your holiday and being the GOAT of enjoying yourself.

So how do I end this blog post? In summary, there are four main performance threads, with a few tiddlers I've decided not mention for now. Tactical, Technical, Physical and Psychological. Firstly, try to differentiate between them. Secondly, try to recognise when these threads creep into your skiing/holiday. Thirdly - if possible, act on these recognitions! That's easier said than done. But if done, you will be in heaven.

Right, that's my 'theory hat' taken off and thrown into the corner of a room for the next few weeks. I hope you found this article interesting. And as ever, I'm going to sign off with my usual mantra....... Live With Passion. Martin.