With skiing, the name of the game is speed. The question is, how do you go faster? Whether you’re an experienced snow bunny or still making your way to a black diamond trail, here are some tips from the pros to help you get the most out of your slope time. Perfecting Your Tuck In its most basic definition, the tuck is the posture take while skiing. Depending on how deep your tuck is, it can look like anything from a casual stance fairly upright to a full-on squat, with your chest almost flat against your thighs. Most skiers want the latter: it reduces the wind drag that otherwise slows you down. However, this form, whether a high or low tuck, can be difficult to maintain because of how much it physically demands. One thing you might not know or even think about is that you’ll also want to keep your shins parallel to one another. Eating Well Like with any sport, a balanced diet is key to making sure your body can perform at its peak capacity. And, of course, it varies from person to person. Professional skier Mikaela Shiffrin loves eating pasta; Lindsey Vonn tries to avoid carbs altogether. Finding a diet that works for you can be tricky, too, if you’re skiing in multiple places. One thing you could consider to help you focus? Sugar. A dose of sugar right before the start time makes all the difference for Bryce Bennett. Get the Right Fit You’ve seen what professional skiers wear. Puffy jacket? Skip. Big hat with pom poms flying in the wind? Also skip. Literally even a wrinkle on your sleeve can count for a hundredth of a second, and in a professional race, that hundredth of a second can mean the difference between first and second place. Luckily, there are plenty of clothes and clothing lines that cater specifically to the sport, and whether you’re skiing just for fun, wearing the right clothes that will keep you warm and fast are the way to go. Finding Your Mantra Doesn’t matter what you say to yourself, but those last few seconds of the race are the hardest, and you’ll need something to get you through them. That’s why plenty of professional skiers take to making their own mental monologue to keep them motivated through the finish line. For some, that might be a reminder to keep your elbows in. For others, it’s a reminder that you’re almost there. Originally posted at AndrewBarnett.co: http://andrewbarnett.co/2018/12/4-tips-for-increasing-your-speed/