In this section we will be going to develop basic aspects of the movements we generate while skiing.
We can say that ski biomechanics is the study and analysis of the different movement patterns. It is the understanding of how our body and its parts are involved and interrelated in our daily skiing such as turning, edging, regulating the pressure on the skis, keeping us balanced and adapting to different conditions. The actions we perform when skiing come from movements we use in everyday life and in other sports, adapted to the context.
When skiing we must maintain balance on the skis that slide thanks to gravity on an unstable element which is the snow. To achieve this, we must keep our balance for which we need to execute movements that make up certain dynamic postures and actions that take advantage of, compensate or resist the forces that we generate when moving. Therefore, to achieve a balanced skiing, we must keep our center of mass as continuous and natural as possible in the frontal, transverse, and sagittal planes.
By analyzing our movements while skiing, biomechanics seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the application of muscular effort to achieve our goals with the least possible effort and maximum efficiency for the skier-ski system. The more we know about these interrelationships, the better we will be able to determine what to focus on while skiing.
Most of the time we use our musculature to keep ourselves balanced, except in some cases such as when we intend to jump defying gravity or when we lose our balance and rely on our muscular strength to react and recover.
The amount of muscular effort we need depends on our technical level, terrain, snow conditions, speed, and our intentions and decisions. According to the situation we are going through, we will require more or less effort.
We refer to skiing tendency as the dominant pattern we follow in our movements over time. Tendencies can be ascending (increase in movement), descending (decrease in movement), or relatively stable (neutral). In terms of direction, the tendency of a movement can be upward, downward, or to one side or the other.
Moving through the snow means changing our physical position in space. The tendencies in our movements refers to how our postures change over time, either gradually or irregularly. Studying these tendencies in our movements helps us understand their nature as well as our speed and acceleration.
So, what is the purpose of learning about skiing biomechanics? It is simply to help us to ski better by differentiating the correct movements as well as to reduce the risk of injuries. Another reason is to collaborate pedagogically in the training of ski instructors and coaches so that, in both recreational and competitive skiing, they can understand and analyze the movements of their students and athletes and thus help them achieve proper technique.
By applying these simple principles, we will achieve effortless skiing and become efficient skiers.
