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Excessive Leg Strain Carving at High Speeds



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 16th 04, 07:24 AM
Alex Kwan
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Default Excessive Leg Strain Carving at High Speeds

Hi,

I'm an intermediate snowboarder and I've only just begun to go at
highspeeds for entire runs down the mountain. The problem I have is that my
back leg seems to strain alot while carving high speeds, and by the time I
get 1/2 down a run I have to stop and rest my legs before going again... Is
this normal? Is there something wrong with my carving technique or do I
sipmly need to strengthen my legs? I'm riding goofy +15 right -3 left.. Any
suggestions?

Alex
  #2  
Old February 16th 04, 08:36 AM
Dmitry
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Default Excessive Leg Strain Carving at High Speeds


"Alex Kwan" wrote

I'm an intermediate snowboarder and I've only just begun to go at
highspeeds for entire runs down the mountain. The problem I have is that my
back leg seems to strain alot while carving high speeds, and by the time I
get 1/2 down a run I have to stop and rest my legs before going again... Is
this normal? Is there something wrong with my carving technique or do I
sipmly need to strengthen my legs?


I had exact same problem on my first couple of days this season.
Frankly, I still don't know exactly why this was happening. What
helped was changing the back leg binding angle from +3 to +6,
adjusting the highback for easier heel-side angulation, loosening
the back leg binding a bit (I was tightening it so snugly
it didn't allow any movement along the axis of the board, which
is essential for carving), and riding with more weight forward.

Try to ride with your back hand forward, as if you carry something
with both hands in front of you - this will help move some weight
forward.

Also try to pay attention to what your hips are doing. The
hip line should be always parallel to the slope, which means
you have to tilt your hips as you change from heel to toe
side and back.


  #3  
Old February 16th 04, 09:27 AM
copek
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Default Excessive Leg Strain Carving at High Speeds


"Alex Kwan" wrote in message
.250...
Hi,

I'm an intermediate snowboarder and I've only just begun to go at
highspeeds for entire runs down the mountain. The problem I have is that

my
back leg seems to strain alot while carving high speeds, and by the time I
get 1/2 down a run I have to stop and rest my legs before going again...

Is
this normal? Is there something wrong with my carving technique or do I
sipmly need to strengthen my legs? I'm riding goofy +15 right -3 left..

Any
suggestions?

Alex



maybe try easing back the foward lean on your hi-back a bit. last year at
the start of a trip, i set up my high backs with lots of foward lean to
improve carving heelside. after about 10 mins my rear leg was in total
agony due to this fowrd lean combined with my lack of fitness!

i eased it off which stopped the pain and then gradually increased the
foward lean as i got fitter & stronger again.


  #4  
Old February 16th 04, 11:18 AM
Edmunde Lee
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Default Excessive Leg Strain Carving at High Speeds

Alex Kwan wrote in message 5.250...
Hi,

I'm an intermediate snowboarder and I've only just begun to go at
highspeeds for entire runs down the mountain. The problem I have is that my
back leg seems to strain alot while carving high speeds, and by the time I
get 1/2 down a run I have to stop and rest my legs before going again... Is
this normal? Is there something wrong with my carving technique or do I
sipmly need to strengthen my legs? I'm riding goofy +15 right -3 left.. Any
suggestions?

Alex



I made a similar post to this last year.. =)

It's hard to say without actually watching you ride, but for me, it
was an over-exaggerated stance that was killing me. I was ducking
very low, and putting most of my weight on the front leg. Finding a
balanced stance, and distributing the fatigue across all the muscles
in the legs helped me.

I also found that when I was first getting into high speed carving,
that I would tend to hold my breath, believe it or not, which _really_
tired me out quickly... oxygen is a good thing.

Have you tried adjusting your stance/angles? I was riding duck for a
while, but found that +30 right, +10-15 left felt better for
carving... a more forward stance.

Judging by your angles, your in softboots, as am I. Ever consider
going alpine?

On heelside carves, sometimes I stay squatting, and sort of "rest" my
elbows on my knees for a quick rest. I also try to straighten my legs
when toeside. Keeping the muscles moving with premote circulation to
help get the lactic acid out.

I find when I get tired I tend to stiff leg too much.. sometimes it's
best to rest, or call it a day.

If you're just beginning to carve, then you're no doubt going to
improve over time. Unless this trend continues, I'd say rest when you
feel you need it.
  #5  
Old February 16th 04, 12:51 PM
phil
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Default Excessive Leg Strain Carving at High Speeds

It's hard to say without seeing you do it. At risk of flame-throwers,
you might try dumping the duck stance. I haven't seen many duck people
carve at all, so that might be making it harder than it should be.
  #7  
Old February 16th 04, 10:05 PM
Mike T
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Default Excessive Leg Strain Carving at High Speeds

It's hard to say without seeing you do it. At risk of
flame-throwers,
you might try dumping the duck stance. I haven't seen many duck

people
carve at all, so that might be making it harder than it should be.


No, no, no, no, and no. Did I say no?

Duck stance is EXCELLENT stance for carving. I can't say how much
my carving improved since I switched from +30/+5 to +15/-15.
Both regular and switch for that matter. And I've seen several
people switch to duck and their carving improved as well.


Sharkie, I'd like to hear some details on how you are doing this!

When I see people carve in a duck stance, they are bending deep at the
knees and hips... using the angles in the joints to generate edge angle.
I see it work very well in halfpipes and terrain parks, and on trails
that are pitched about the same as your typical pipe or park -
generally, greens and gentle blues.

But on steeper terrain, I usually see them skidding every few turns to
scrub speed, or even carving toeside, skidding heel. They also seem to
have trouble carving different radius turns... they pretty much carve
all one radius.

A more forward stance allows one to drop the hip into the turn which
puts a lot of power into the turn, flexing the board harder, and making
a tighter turn. I can see how a duck stance lets you simply bend
deeply at the knees, creating the edge angle, but I'm having trouble
seeing how you make a really powerful turn. Please educate me!

Mike T


  #8  
Old February 18th 04, 11:01 AM
phil
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Default Excessive Leg Strain Carving at High Speeds

No, no, no, no, and no. Did I say no?

The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

To say that any experimentation with stance is verboten seems to be to
be a little blinkered to say the least. Saying it multiple times makes
me wonder what you're so excited about. Relax and try to explain
yourself: shouting and repetition don't help.

Your personal set-up is unlikely to be ideal for everyone. That is why
bindings are adjustable.

Many people I see trying to ride duck "at high speeds" clearly sorely
need the benefit of your advice... perhaps you'd like to explain a bit
more about how you achieve this with your stance?
  #9  
Old February 18th 04, 12:24 PM
copek
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Default Excessive Leg Strain Carving at High Speeds


"phil" wrote in message
om...
No, no, no, no, and no. Did I say no?


The lady doth protest too much, methinks.

To say that any experimentation with stance is verboten seems to be to
be a little blinkered to say the least. Saying it multiple times makes
me wonder what you're so excited about. Relax and try to explain
yourself: shouting and repetition don't help.

Your personal set-up is unlikely to be ideal for everyone. That is why
bindings are adjustable.

Many people I see trying to ride duck "at high speeds" clearly sorely
need the benefit of your advice... perhaps you'd like to explain a bit
more about how you achieve this with your stance?


this works for me ....

http://www.bomberonline.com/VBulleti... threadid=1135


  #10  
Old February 27th 04, 07:31 AM
Sharkie
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Default Excessive Leg Strain Carving at High Speeds

(phil) wrote in message . com...
To say that any experimentation with stance is verboten seems to be to
be a little blinkered to say the least. Saying it multiple times makes
me wonder what you're so excited about. Relax and try to explain
yourself: shouting and repetition don't help.


You're right. The repetition was unnecessary. But I didn't mean to imply
that I'm against stance experimentation. Quite the opposite!
There is no universal "one stance fit all". What I was (repetitively)
saying no to, was the idea that duck stance might be a hindrance to
carving. Based on my own, and several others people I know experiences,
this is not the case.

The idea that duck stance is bad for carving is a myth that does
not hold true.

Many people I see trying to ride duck "at high speeds" clearly sorely
need the benefit of your advice... perhaps you'd like to explain a bit
more about how you achieve this with your stance?


See my other post in this thread. Also, from a symmetric duck stance
I'm able to shift my weight forward or back easily (depending on where
in the turn I am), I'm able to flex more or less (literally)
to increase or lessen pressure, and edge by rolling feet between
toes and heels. All these movements are enough for powerful carves,
and can be done very effectively from a duck stance.

Riding switch is just a nice bonus.

And as for "high speeds" it requires practice. There is a certain
combination between pressure, weight distribution and edging which is
optimal for certain speeds, and to find it, you need to ride a lot
on steeper slopes. After a while you will develop a feeling where
you simply will know which combination is optimal.

I guess similar applies to car racers, they have to know (feel)
how fast they can take a turn w/o slipping out of it.
 




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