Insofar as static balance exercises strengthen the muscles used in
x-c skiing, I think they help the process along. Eyes closed makes it
more 'dynamic.' In general, I'm not a fan of spending much time on
balance drills as a teaching method, especially with beginning and
intermediate skiers, because it reverses the order of skill development
and creates a no-win situation. Leaving aside genetics - and some are
more blessed than others - the best path to improved balance is
learning good technique and getting a lot of time on snow and
rollerskis. I tell my students that if an instructor tells them their
problem is balance, to take off in the other direction.



wrote:

I'm teaching a group of intermediate skiers and a question that comes
up repeatedly is what balance drills can be done to help their
skiing. Many of the students have seen pictures in magazines of
people standing on one leg with their eyes closed and related "ski
specific" balance drills.

I've always that these types of drills are essentially worthless. The
thinking is that balance is very motion specific so there's little to
no carry over from learning to balance on 1 static leg, to learning to
balance on a moving platform, like a ski.

But, I'm curious about what the counter-arguments are. Anybody?