What we commonly acknowledge as “effort” consists of volitional and muscular aspects. The volitional effort is the impulse of our will, i.e., the effort to take a decision. It is willpower we applied in our strength for a given muscle effort. The will is understood, in this case, like the ability to produce a punctual or consistent effort.
Muscular effort is the sum of sensations that result from carried out movements and our sensitivity to regulate force. We can determine that volitional effort is conscious while muscular effort could be conscious or unconscious. In skiing, both types of efforts are intended to confront a single challenge: to defy gravity overcoming our own defense mechanisms.
The idea of the effort required to implement a specific movement could be for us an early image of the sensory effect of this movement. To be conscious of muscular effort is to be conscious of our movements, our muscles that contract and in which sequence, or the sensation of resistance these contractions generate. We take this as a reference to how much effort a particular action requires. The more we concentrate on our movements, the more accurate it will be our perception of effort sensations.
Our expectations influence the effort to accomplish a movement. The greater the expectation of our execution, or the result of that movement, surely our effort will also be. Skiing properly means having expectations of pleasant sensations, then we can say that skiing is effortless. Instead, if our expectations include unpleasant sensations, which will be more uncomfortable even though they are evident and we are fatigued, the effort will be altered automatically.
When we were beginners, we had no reference to the effort needed to overcome the resistance at controlling our skis, so we watched them constantly; therefore, we learned to relate muscular effort with the result of our skis reaction. On the other hand, if we are expert skiers, this is not the case because of our experience, we have a built-in sense of the needed effort, leaving our gaze oriented towards our motions.
When we let ourselves be carried by external forces, it is interpreted that our motion is oriented towards the path of least resistance, or bigger attraction, which presupposes the reference of effortless skiing.
While skiing for some time, our muscles begin to fatigue and it seems that our brain tries to convince us not to go on; otherwise we will not make it to the end of the day. There is actually a cerebral mechanism that reduces performance and increases fatigue signals to protect our body, avoiding muscular overload.
Our muscles are considered motor organs (motor function) and at the same time, sensitivity organs (sensory function) that, through mechanoreceptors, detect changes in the course of our actions, sending information permanently to our brain. It is crucial then that, to improve our performance, we should be conscious of our optimal tension by skiing through controlled muscles’ activation and relaxation.
If we think that skiing is a sport that has two particular characteristics: it takes place on an inclined surface and on a slippery element, then knowing how to control muscle contraction and relaxation is a determining factor for good performances. Often, consciously or unconsciously, we excessively contract our muscles to achieve a proper action or posture, rather than letting them function in an elastic form. Markedly muscle contraction occurs because of executing several movements at the same time, believing that contracting all our muscles will help us achieving our goals, but efficiency comes from applying the optimal contraction and de-contraction for each motor situation.
To achieve a balanced posture, we have deep musclesand superficial muscles. Deep muscles are very close to our bones and are designed for maintaining or recovering our posture with a better supporting effort. Superficial muscles are located mostly near our skin, allowing movements of greater amplitude and speed (dynamic adjustments for recovering posture), being responsible for movement direction.
The conflict resides when we use superficial muscles to maintain an upright posture, but these muscles do not support a permanent activity, so they tend to contract. If we maintain muscle tension for some time, our brain will interpret, generating specific neural networks, that this is a normal attitude assumed in skiing. When we decide to change this habit, the consolidated neural network will have to modify, generating new connections (neural plasticity), which requires a certain period of time depending on our volitional effort.
