Sierra Samaritans - National Ski Patrol

BY LLOYD MULLER AND
JILL WILLIAMSON
On Solid Ground
One Hour to
Enhanced Balance
SURE, YOU CAN WALK DOWN THE STREET,
up the stairs, or even through a winding
maze of supermarket aisles without falling
over, but that doesn’t mean you have perfect
balance. Years of making those repetitive
movements have trained your body
(as well as your muscles, your vision, and
your inner ear) to remain in equilibrium
even as you move over uneven ground or
stand on one foot. But strap a board or
two to your feet and amp up your velocity
while careening down a steep, snowy pitch
to an incident scene, and your stability
might falter. It happens to the best of us.
Skiing and riding present challenges
that require more precise dynamic balance
than everyday activities do. Our
muscles have to respond faster and absorb
more energy as we move downhill. The
body’s core muscles, namely the abdominals
and those in the lower back, are certainly
key factors in keeping our bodies
stable, but the glutes, hip muscles, hamstrings
and quads give skiers strength,
speed, and power, without which active
balance is impossible.
A year-round workout regimen that
improves basic endurance as well as
strength, flexibility, and balance will greatly
improve your chances of staying upright
on the hill. Here’s a balanced diet of great
exercises you can do in about an hour to
build stamina and stability. (As with any
workout regimen, consult your doctor or
an exercise professional before starting,
and don’t overdo things.)
These exercises will certainly increase
muscle strength, but more importantly
they’ll enhance overall fitness that helps a
body move in balance.
First, it’s important to increase your
endurance by doing some form of sustained
aerobic activity. This will increase
your lung capacity and your heart health
while also working your leg, abdominal,
and lower back muscles.
At the gym, machines such as the
elliptical runner or the stationary bicycle
are great options. They permit lowimpact
activities that spare your joints
from the jarring effects of jumping rope
or running on a treadmill. Such exercise
also helps strengthen the lower body in
preparation for skiing and ’boarding.
To help increase your cardiovascular
conditioning, aim to work out a minimum
of 30 minutes a day, several days a
week. This does not have to be the same
day you do your strength work. On the
day you plan to do strength work, a fiveminute
cardio workout is good to get the
blood flowing throughout the body. This
will help warm up and stretch your muscles,
making your legs more agile and
quick, which is important when carving
tight turns in the trees or navigating a
toboggan down a tough bump field.
snowboarding, you are working your legs
independently by placing more weight on
one leg and then shifting it onto the other.
The following exercises offer fun ways to
“play” and focus on balance. You may find
that one leg does better than the other, and
that’s okay. We recommend doing strength
You might think you have a great sense of balance
and don’t need to work on it. Well, in reality no matter what
you are training for, paying attention to balance is important.
work with one leg at a time to improve and
equalize the strength of each leg.
Think of this portion of the workout
as “getting in touch with the core.” While
the following exercises appear to be aimed
at your legs, you are actually using your
core stabilizer muscles in the back and
abdomen to improve balance.
Sideways Lunge
Start with a centered stance, and extend
the left foot out to the side while both feet
face mostly forward (photo 1). Keeping
your shoulders squared and your chest
LLOYD MULLER
WARM-UP
Before diving headlong into a balance
and strength workout, it’s a good idea to
warm up the muscles by doing slow, gentle
exercises without weights to help get
the blood flowing throughout the body.
BALANCE EXERCISES
You might think you have a great sense of
balance and don’t need to work on it.
Well, in reality no matter what you are
training for, paying attention to balance is
important. Many times while skiing or
photo 1
Sideways Lunge
30 Ski Patrol Magazine | Winter 2005