Balance is the Key to Efficient Sliding

A Senior Moment by Ed Kane

It is well documented in skiing and snowboarding literature that balance is an important element of skiing and riding skills that we try to improve as we work with our students. In my mind, the importance is clearly indicated by the fact that the Skills Venn diagram that depicts the relationship of each skill is surrounded by the circle that represents Balancing Movements. When we are younger we tend not to notice the fact that, as the day goes along, we tend to feel a bit tired.

However, as we age, this becomes more noticeable and we tend to go out only in the morning and retire to the hot tub in the afternoon rather than trying to achieve the “vertical feet skied goal” that we used to be able to accomplish. Over the years, I have found that it is still possible to ski 20,000+ vertical feet in the day, stay on the mountain until the lifts close and not need the hot tub to relax my stressed muscles at the end of the day so I can really enjoy the mountain environment the next day. The secret is that as we age, we become cleverer in what we do to compensate for deterioration in our former stamina and capabilities. In my own case, I have found that honing my balancing movement skills has led to much more enjoyment on the mountain.

So really, why are improved balancing movements important to our ultimate enjoyment? Bottom line is that when we support our weight using our skeletal structure we fatigue much more slowly. On the other hand when we have to use both the skeleton and our muscles to maintain balance the latter fatigue, burn more calories and create lots of lactic acid all of which leaves us feeling uncomfortable both during our day on the hill and afterwards. To avoid stressing our muscles we must develop the ability to use efficient balancing movements both statically and dynamically while moving down the hill. Less stress on the muscles during each run results in more runs and vertical feet each day.

There are many ways to improve our balancing movement skills. One of the most popular in the sports community is to engage in a regular Yoga regimen. The easiest way to start is to enroll in a class and get some coaching before going off on your own. However, that usually takes a commitment of time which a lot of us don’t have considering our busy lives. There are some alternatives however that we can integrate into our daily activities with a minimum of additional time commitment.

Here are some ideas:

• When drying your feet after showering stand on one foot without supporting yourself on the shower walls then step out of the shower with the dry foot and do the other.
• Stand in the middle of the room on one foot when putting on your socks in the morning.
• When standing in the fast food line, lift one foot off the ground and balance on the other for 30 seconds to a minute. Repeat on the other foot, etc. for as long as you’re in the line.

There are three relatively simple exercises and Yoga poses that are quite helpful and easy to do. I generally do them in the morning prior before putting on my shoes. Figure 1 is the Tree pose, Figure 2 is Single Leg Extension, a variation of the Warrior pose that is designed to increase leg strength as well as balance, and Figure 3 is Standing Knee pose.

The Tree Pose (Fig. 1 above)

1. Raise arms over head, inhale and shift balance to one foot.
2. Lift other foot and lightly place alongside the thigh just above the knee.
3. Hold pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute while inhaling and exhaling deeply.
4. Place raised foot on the floor, exhale and repeat on the other side.
5. Work toward 10 repetitions.

Single Leg Extension: Warrior III (Fig.2)

1. Place arms at shoulder height in front of body, inhale and shift weight to one foot.
2. Lift other foot so that thigh is parallel to ground and hold for 1-2 seconds.
3. Move foot behind body, exhale and hold for 1-2 seconds.
4. Move foot forward to starting position, inhale and repeat 10 to 20 times.
5. Repeat while balancing on the other foot.

Standing Knee (Fig.3)

1. Stand with arms at side and shift weight to one leg.
2. Inhale, lift other leg so that thigh is parallel to ground and grasp knee with hands.
3. Hold pose for 30 seconds to 1 minute while inhaling and exhaling deeply.
4. Put leg down, shift weight and repeat with other leg.
5. Work toward 10 repetitions.

Special thanks to Candi McIvor and Nanci Peterson-Vivian on their impromptu demonstrations of these poses “on-snow” at Ullr Ski School.

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