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rollerblading to improve BC Skiing?



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 17th 05, 04:22 AM
H.W. Stockman
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Default rollerblading to improve BC Skiing?

I've considered getting a pair of rollerblades to improve my right-foot
response. I had a brain injury in 2002, and my right foot is partly
paralyzed. I've done some telemark turns since then, but the situation here
is rather odd, in terms of getting practice. I live in Las Vegas; even
though deep snow is only 50 minutes away, I can get out to the woods rather
infrequently, and the choice of ski areas has been limited by the avalanche
danger this season. The terrain here is mainly rather extreme -- very few
places nearby where one can practice.

I CAN get out often and run around my house, however -- I work at home, and
the mild ambient temperatures allow me to go for a 10-mile run twice a week,
which fits into my work schedule nicely. I've never used rollerblades
before, but I guess I could use my running days to blade instead.

So, does rollerblading do anything to improve skiing skills?


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  #2  
Old February 17th 05, 08:58 AM
Peter Clinch
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Default

H.W. Stockman wrote:

So, does rollerblading do anything to improve skiing skills?


It certainly won't hurt your skating technique, though you don't want to
try stepover lead changes on skis! ;-)

As well as being good for skate technique (which can be very handy over
frozen lakes or plateaus covered in corn) it's good to build up your
thighs which means having your quads catching fire doing teles will be
put off for a while longer.

Having said the above, roller skis will give you a better ski-specific
workout than blades, but they cost a /lot/ more, are harder to get hold
of and don't let you do various other things possible on blades (like
stepover lead changes) that are fun while zooming about on good tarmac.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

  #3  
Old February 17th 05, 12:57 PM
VtSkier
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Default

Peter Clinch wrote:
H.W. Stockman wrote:

So, does rollerblading do anything to improve skiing skills?



It certainly won't hurt your skating technique, though you don't want to
try stepover lead changes on skis! ;-)

As well as being good for skate technique (which can be very handy over
frozen lakes or plateaus covered in corn) it's good to build up your
thighs which means having your quads catching fire doing teles will be
put off for a while longer.

Having said the above, roller skis will give you a better ski-specific
workout than blades, but they cost a /lot/ more, are harder to get hold
of and don't let you do various other things possible on blades (like
stepover lead changes) that are fun while zooming about on good tarmac.

Pete.


Since you mention it, I've see several pair of roller skis
for sale on ebay from time to time. I'm not in the market,
but was curious. You'll find them in the cross-country
skiing specific area.

Might be a way to try Pete's suggestion at not too much money.
VtSkier
  #4  
Old February 17th 05, 01:18 PM
Tommy T.
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Default


"H.W. Stockman" wrote So, does
rollerblading do anything to improve skiing skills?

Yes they do. While technically correct, racing style rollerblading is not a
very downhill skier specific motion, it does improve quad and calf strength
and overall cardiovascular fitness.

Moreover, you can easily design for yourself blade based exercises that
improve one-footed dynamic balance, kinetic timing and reaction and the
effectiveness of proprioceptive signalling. All of those will translate
rather directly into better downhill skiing, whether telemark or alpine.

For example, try rolling on a single foot, weaving from side to side by
angulating at the hip.

Loosely tied skates will work your ankle strength and responses more.
Loosen the top laces and practice knee bends while rolling. Do the same
thing one-legged.

A free style skate, rather than a racer or one built for long miles, will
require more fine motor adjustments. Be creative and be aware that most
pavement is harder than most snow.

Tommy T.


  #5  
Old February 17th 05, 01:58 PM
Gary S.
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Default

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 04:22:13 GMT, "H.W. Stockman"
wrote:

I've considered getting a pair of rollerblades to improve my right-foot
response. I had a brain injury in 2002, and my right foot is partly
paralyzed. I've done some telemark turns since then, but the situation here
is rather odd, in terms of getting practice. I live in Las Vegas; even
though deep snow is only 50 minutes away, I can get out to the woods rather
infrequently, and the choice of ski areas has been limited by the avalanche
danger this season. The terrain here is mainly rather extreme -- very few
places nearby where one can practice.

I CAN get out often and run around my house, however -- I work at home, and
the mild ambient temperatures allow me to go for a 10-mile run twice a week,
which fits into my work schedule nicely. I've never used rollerblades
before, but I guess I could use my running days to blade instead.

So, does rollerblading do anything to improve skiing skills?

Another angle:

My college outing club had something at our cabin called a Bongo
Board, a skateboard size platform balanced on a roller about 5 inches
in diameter. It was advertised as something to help develop DH skiing
skills

You would stand facing perpendicular to the length of the board, and
balance. This would develop your balance, and ability to quickly shift
weight side-to-side as required for parallel skiing. Some people
learned to do various tricks on it like 360s.

More recently, I have seen something like this with a modified roller
which allows edging like with a snowboard, in a snowboard shop.

A tool like this may be helpful in your recovery, and relearning the
needed reflexes. You should also speak with a PT or OT connected with
a sports medicine practice, to get focused exercises.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom
  #6  
Old February 17th 05, 03:15 PM
Booker C. Bense
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Default

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----

In article ,
VtSkier wrote:
Peter Clinch wrote:
H.W. Stockman wrote:

So, does rollerblading do anything to improve skiing skills?



It certainly won't hurt your skating technique, though you don't want to
try stepover lead changes on skis! ;-)

As well as being good for skate technique (which can be very handy over
frozen lakes or plateaus covered in corn) it's good to build up your
thighs which means having your quads catching fire doing teles will be
put off for a while longer.

Having said the above, roller skis will give you a better ski-specific
workout than blades, but they cost a /lot/ more, are harder to get hold
of and don't let you do various other things possible on blades (like
stepover lead changes) that are fun while zooming about on good tarmac.


Since you mention it, I've see several pair of roller skis
for sale on ebay from time to time. I'm not in the market,
but was curious. You'll find them in the cross-country
skiing specific area.


_ It depends what you define as "ski specific", roller skis are
notorious for messing up your classic striding technique and as
far as turning goes they are no better than roller blades and
many of the older designs are just terrible. Also, there have
been many misteps in design over the years. I would not buy
roller skis unless you are serious about XC racing, and get some
experienced advice about exactly what to use. For just a general
workout they are overkill IMHO.

_ If you put slow wheels and bearings[1] on your roller blades you
can get in a very decent XC skating workout with poles. You can also
get good parallel turning practice by slaloming down hills, however
there are subtle differences in how to initiate the turn that can
lead you astray[2], but the fore/aft balance you gain on roller
blades is very useful.

_ You can even practice something that looks like a telemark
turn, although I'm not sure that it's all that useful other
than as a quad burning exercise.

_ Running is good aerobic training, but on flat ground it
doesn't provide the quad and body core exercise that skiing
requires. Roller blading does a good job with both of these,
I try and skate at least once a week during ski season.

_ Booker C. Bense

[1]- Or just find a long gradual uphill.

[2]- Basically, roller blades don't bend, so they don't respond in
the same way to weighting/unweighting that is central to any
skiing. They are very good at simulating angulation though and
are good practice for the new skis that respond well to "rolling
the knees".

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  #7  
Old February 17th 05, 03:36 PM
H.W. Stockman
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Posts: n/a
Default


"Gary S." Idontwantspam@net wrote in message
...
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 04:22:13 GMT, "H.W. Stockman"
wrote:

[...]
My college outing club had something at our cabin called a Bongo
Board, a skateboard size platform balanced on a roller about 5 inches
in diameter. It was advertised as something to help develop DH skiing
skills

[...]
A tool like this may be helpful in your recovery, and relearning the
needed reflexes. You should also speak with a PT or OT connected with
a sports medicine practice, to get focused exercises.



I built a bongo-board some time ago, and quickly got so I was able to
balance on it much better than most people. I also have a wobble board. I
found that the available OTs and PTs in my area pretty much were clueless
about anything beyond teaching me to walk, or too concerned with a possible
insurance limit (actually there was none) to pay attention much beyond 10
weeks. I had one very good PT, but she was limited by time she was allowed
to spend with me.

My affliction is mainly cerebellar, so I lack fine controls -- mainly
brought on by inhibitory signals -- in my entire right side. All my right
side "fine motions" compete for the remaining strip of cerebellum. I mainly
deal with the problem by training my cerebrum to take over some of the
inhibitory judgement that is normally handled by the cerebellum. For this
method to work, I have to find training motions that are very similar to
those of actual interest.

From what I read in this thread, rollerblading is probably not the way to
go; rather, I should just mimic, in my living room, the motions I expect to
encounter while skiing.


  #8  
Old February 17th 05, 03:52 PM
Ken Roberts
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Default

Some great advice from Tommy T. That exercise on a single skate, but
changing back and forth between inside and outside edges, is tremendous for
balance. I'm lucky to live in a great region for inline-skating out on the
roads:
http://roberts-1.com/sk8hv
and for me a road-skating tour is the closest off-snow equivalent to a
backcountry ski tour -- requires a combination of endurance, technique,
navigation, and risk management.

Recently I've started to make tightly linked christie/parallel-turn moves on
my inline skates. I've found that if I stem and push on the outside skate, I
can actually generate forward propulsion on flat ground. This amazes the
girls at my local indoor roller rink (a fun place to work on techniques and
tricks).

I've also made some 250-turn downhill runs on smooth pavement down a very
long moderate hill, grinding the wheels a little for speed-reduction on each
parallel-christie turn that I link.

To get a good leg-muscle workout on inline skates, you need to go rather
fast, to get enough resistance force from pushing your body thru the air. To
go that fast somewhat safely you need to be able to _stop_ quickly. It
takes good technique to stop quickly on inline skates. This is learnable for
lots of skaters, but most American skaters don't put in the practice needed
to get it. But stopping techniques are for a different discussion group like
news:rec.sport.skating.inline

Ken


  #9  
Old February 17th 05, 03:52 PM
Ken Roberts
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Default

Peter Clinch wrote
roller skis will give you a better ski-specific workout than blades


Why? How?
What is it about the physics or biomechanics of rollerskis that makes them
more "specific" for backcountry skiing than inline skates?

After spending lots of hours over a couple of years skating on both, I don't
see the advantage of rollerskis. I've pretty much abandoned rollerskis
except for occasionaly poling workouts for my upper body, but not for my
legs or balance.

How many rollerskiers can make linked christie/parallel turns down a hill
like a good inline skater?

How many rollerskiers can make a long glide on a single ski and change
between the inside and outside edges 8 times like I can on inline skates (or
on a single backcountry snow ski going down a firm-snow slope).

Ken



  #10  
Old February 17th 05, 04:03 PM
Gary S.
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Posts: n/a
Default

On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 15:36:15 GMT, "H.W. Stockman"
wrote:

"Gary S." Idontwantspam@net wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 17 Feb 2005 04:22:13 GMT, "H.W. Stockman"
wrote:

[...]
My college outing club had something at our cabin called a Bongo
Board, a skateboard size platform balanced on a roller about 5 inches
in diameter. It was advertised as something to help develop DH skiing
skills

[...]
A tool like this may be helpful in your recovery, and relearning the
needed reflexes. You should also speak with a PT or OT connected with
a sports medicine practice, to get focused exercises.


I built a bongo-board some time ago, and quickly got so I was able to
balance on it much better than most people. I also have a wobble board.


I
found that the available OTs and PTs in my area pretty much were clueless
about anything beyond teaching me to walk, or too concerned with a possible
insurance limit (actually there was none) to pay attention much beyond 10
weeks. I had one very good PT, but she was limited by time she was allowed
to spend with me.

That makes sense, and is the reason why I specified the sports
medicine angle. Insurance limits have really cut back on people making
a full recovery by restricting the number of PT and OT visits to about
half of what professionals in those fields consider adequate.

One reason why pro athletes seem to recover so much faster is that
they receive intensive specialized PT. I think nearly everyone would
recover as well as these athletes if they received the same care.

My affliction is mainly cerebellar, so I lack fine controls -- mainly
brought on by inhibitory signals -- in my entire right side. All my right
side "fine motions" compete for the remaining strip of cerebellum. I mainly
deal with the problem by training my cerebrum to take over some of the
inhibitory judgement that is normally handled by the cerebellum. For this
method to work, I have to find training motions that are very similar to
those of actual interest.

I am familiar with this sort of thing, as a family member had gone
through something a bit similar.

From what I read in this thread, rollerblading is probably not the way to
go; rather, I should just mimic, in my living room, the motions I expect to
encounter while skiing.

You might work with a PT to develop a specific set of exercises for
your condition and your requirements. If you are good and diligent,
you can do them yourself.

There are books on the theory of skiing and body mechanics which may
help. A ski coach might also be helpful.

Happy trails,
Gary (net.yogi.bear)
------------------------------------------------
at the 51st percentile of ursine intelligence

Gary D. Schwartz, Needham, MA, USA
Please reply to: garyDOTschwartzATpoboxDOTcom
 




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