Bad habit - too much weight on back foot
Hey guys - hit the hill for the first time in a year last weekend and found myself falling into a bad habit of putting too much weight on my back leg when riding, especially towards the end of the day.
any ideas?
Is this happening only on steeper runs? Are you confident on blue and blacks?
Make sure your front leg is bent and not straight - you can’t really have weight on your back foot if both legs are equally bent.
Another one of analogies is this - Imagine there is a button under your front foot and you need to press this button by putting your weight onto it. I usually use this for pressure control skills and initiating turns.
As a beginner rider with this habit you are not alone.
It happens a lot and what is good is that you know you are doing it! a great first step!
You will find that putting a little more weight on the front foot will make the board easier to turn.
If you have ever skied this comparison might help. Skis are easier to turn when you are pushing your leg to the front of the boot - this is the same effect. The result is that more weight is on the downhill part of the board (or ski) and the back end can turn.
As your riding gets more advanced you will want a much more centered stance and you will use both feet to turn rather than just the back leg.
Simple beginner turns can be accomplished with putting a lot of weight on the front foot and having he back leg do all of the steering of the board - this works, but is not a very effective and controlling way to ride. But first turns are first turns and we all know how great snowboarding is!
It might help to recall that you are standing on a hill, not on flat ground. So to be standing up right and straight (in relation to the hill) you will be leaning down the hill. Try to keep your spine perpendicular to the hill you are on. This means that the steeper the hill the more you will be leaning down it.
Once you commit to putting extra weight on that front foot and see that it works - that you get the desired response of being able to control the board. it will build confidence that it works.
Of course start small and work your way up. experiment on mellow green runs. and try it out with purposefully placing a lot of weight on the back foot and try to turn - then change to the front foot and try to turn and see the difference.
Develop some muscle strength by putting on your board at home while on carpet or a rug. Practice moving your body so that extra weight is on the front foot and see what that feels like.
The body movements necessary to make this change in body weight should be in your legs not in your upper body.
bend your front knee more than the back knee - but dont straighten the bag knee all the way, you always want some bend in both knees. as you bend the front knee more you will notice that your hips will move toward the nose of the board, this is good. Try to avoid bending your upper body above the hips to lean toward the nose, this can get you off balance.
Let us know how your next day goes.
How soon until you get to snowboard again?
Always have this thought running through your head… even weight on both feet.
It doesn’t matter how mellow or steep the terrain in, you should always have your body perpendicular to the slope. If the terrain is steep, dip your front shoulder down the slope so your body is perpendicular to the snowboard. It might take a bit of practise to get used to the feeling of dipping your upper body downhill, but it will give you ultimate board control and stability.
A few things to try…
Shift your hips forward towards your front foot. You want your hips centred between your feet, not back towards your rear foot. even pressure distribution on both feet.
A good exercise to try… as you ride, pretend you are bouncing a basketball with your front hand. As you ride, keep bouncing the basketball. It will force you to dip your upper body down the hill, always reminding you to keep your upper body perpendicular to the slope.
It’s great your recognised this problem in your riding. Taking the time to work on it will no doubt improve your riding significantly. Let us know how it goes.
thanks guys all good tips - i never used to do it, but for some reason it started happening a little here and there last weekend. Mainly later in the day and on toe side turns. Can usually tackle blues and blacks with no trouble at all - but for some reason every now and then i would do it.
Would my hip position on the toe side turn have anything to do with it? i was feeling like i wasn’t quite in the right position sometimes, that my knees my not have been bent enough on my toe side. Felt like maybe i had only swung my hips through like you would in a deadlift/kettlebell training but not knelt into the board enough.
going riding next weekend - so we will see how we go!
I’m pretty newbie so this could just be mumbo jumbo but is it possible that you’re just tired? I am guessing this because you say you sometimes do it (and esp so at end of the day…) and you sound like you’re able to ride well (blacks = scary haha). Weaker leading leg? :/
Always have this thought running through your head… even weight on both feet.
A good exercise to try… as you ride, pretend you are bouncing a basketball with your front hand. As you ride, keep bouncing the basketball. It will force you to dip your upper body down the hill, always reminding you to keep your upper body perpendicular to the slope.
quote]i really like the idea of this drill - will give it a crack next weekend!