Some huge lightbulb moments lately! Mostly to do with the extremely close relationship good running technique has with good skiing technique. The two are so close in my mind now its crazy. I hope to post some more info on this soon once I get it clearly mapped out in my head. At the moment Im just too excited to explain it clearly. One important CRUCIAL factor is this idea of the body being a Tensegrity model (bones floating in between muscles, ligaments and soft tissue) as opposed to thinking of it as a continuous compression model where everything is stacked one on top of the next like a house. The video shows a model of a Tensegrity pelvis. Obviously its not truly accurate but it is just a model. The rods would represent the bones, and the elastic the muscles and ligaments. Notice that as I move it laterally certain elastics get put under more tension and others respond by unwinding. The whole system responds to load and movement. Not isolated parts. This is very much the same as how your body self balances itself under load and while changing shape. When you get your head around this and think of your muscles as more like giant strong rubber bands that store potential energy the body becomes more fluid and adaptable to all situations. More efficient too. You also then use your body differently and rather than thinking about contracting muscles you think about loading them with tension and length first so that the respond by rebounding back. Very much like a kangaroo hopping along like a spring. If I was to coach someone at this very point in time on how to ski better, i would firstly look at how they walk and run. From this analysis I would be able to help them correct their alignment, movement and technique in their skiing. I now understand exactly why I find it easier to maintain good alignment skiing in one direction and not as well in the other. This is totally due to understanding my habits and gait pattern while walking. Correcting this gait pattern with every step I take is all the training I need to help change my bodies programming on how it works in all types of movement. Excited!
Posted on: Sat, 08 Nov 2014 03:02:46 +0000