Post by livingproof on Mar 10, 2015 9:33:35 GMT -7
I recently updated my avatar with a photo taken in Jackson Hole by a friend who is a pretty fair photographer. He knew the run where we were skiing and positioned himself just below a small roller and signaled each of us to start the run one at a time. I really like the picture, but, the technician in me tells me I've got a long way to go in my skiing. I remember really trying to get into good angles in that run, so, it's a reality check to observe the limited range of motion getting into what the PMTS folks describe as counterbalance (CB) and counteracting (CA). Check out Helluva's avatar to see the world of difference between his CA & CB and mine (and others who share their avatar).
When I skied with Helluva in Feb., he told me I am using about 10% of my possible range of motion to get into those positions. Since then, I've been doing both stretching and strengthening exercises to learn to relax into these positions, but, any success comes in very small bites. To get more CA, it's amazing how much focus and work are required to turn the hip sockets from one side to the other in the time-frame provided in a short radius turn. I've also been doing drills to flex more during transition, and, many pics from Jackson Hole clearly show me extending.
It seems that the default position of skiers is much more akin to that of pedestrians walking. Perhaps that should be the expectation as that's just how our bodies function on normal basis. I'm somewhat surprised that the need to develop the physical ability to flex in a greater range of motion is not discussed in technique discussions. When someone is not performing up to expectation, it's fair to ask if that's because the person either "won't" or "can't" meet the standard. I'd argue that most bodies just can not achieve the desired angles required to reach our dream positions.
I'll continue to work on range of motion, but, I'm not going to beat myself up over technique glitches in photo's quite as much as I used to.
What do you think?
When I skied with Helluva in Feb., he told me I am using about 10% of my possible range of motion to get into those positions. Since then, I've been doing both stretching and strengthening exercises to learn to relax into these positions, but, any success comes in very small bites. To get more CA, it's amazing how much focus and work are required to turn the hip sockets from one side to the other in the time-frame provided in a short radius turn. I've also been doing drills to flex more during transition, and, many pics from Jackson Hole clearly show me extending.
It seems that the default position of skiers is much more akin to that of pedestrians walking. Perhaps that should be the expectation as that's just how our bodies function on normal basis. I'm somewhat surprised that the need to develop the physical ability to flex in a greater range of motion is not discussed in technique discussions. When someone is not performing up to expectation, it's fair to ask if that's because the person either "won't" or "can't" meet the standard. I'd argue that most bodies just can not achieve the desired angles required to reach our dream positions.
I'll continue to work on range of motion, but, I'm not going to beat myself up over technique glitches in photo's quite as much as I used to.
What do you think?