Conditioning class prepares skiers for movement awareness

Did you know you have a sixth sense? It’s not ESP. It’s called “proprioception” (PRO-pree-o-SEP-shun). Buffing up this innate ability could be your key to higher-performance, injury-free skiing and boarding.

Proprioception is an awareness of your body in space, as well as controlling the various parts of your body in relation to each other. Your conscious mind doesn’t notice. But without it, you wouldn’t be able to drive a car, or regain your balance after catching an edge.

It’s a fancy word – hard to type, harder to say. So lets call it “movement awareness.”

Strengthening movement awareness is the goal of the ski and snowboard conditioning class conducted by Nick Carlone at the U-District Institute of Sports Performance, 730 N. Hamilton. Carlone also works with athletes and coaches at the Spokane Ski Racing Association and Schweitzer Alpine Racing School.

“With strong movement awareness, you’re able to recover when you’re out of control,” Carlone said. “That mogul you didn’t see won’t blow you up. Your mind has a strong connection with a strong body. Your core engages and your quads fire they way they need to.”

Carlone’s workouts demand balance, coordination, agility and power, plus movements that force the body to recover from awkward positions and that challenge one’s normal range of motion.

“We concentrate on functional fitness,” he said. “Everything we’re doing here translates to activity on the mountain. The exercises get as many muscle groups involved as possible so they will be balanced and work together. Proper form is very important.”

By focusing on form, Carlone conditions his students to avoid injury by maintaining technique when they’re tired. In his class, that doesn’t take long.

Each session starts with “dynamic flexibility” exercises – lunges, hops and extensions wearing rubber manacles on the ankles. After a few minutes, legs and core are burning and the heart rate is high – and that’s just the warm-up.

Core strength is the foundation of movement awareness. Carlone’s workouts hit the back, hip flexors, abdominals, glutes and groin as hard as possible. Exercises push these muscles to their limits, as well as all the little stabilizers surrounding them, firing away like crazy to maintain proper form.

The Quad Mill is part of every workout. It’s a machine developed by the U.S. Ski Team with the sole purpose to increase the lactate threshold in your quads – and it hurts. In opposition, exercise ball movements work the hamstrings more efficiently than any machine.

The upper body gets its fair share, especially the shoulder girdle, to protect against injury when you crash. Agility drills demand concentration to amplify the connection between brain and feet. The Reaction Ball forces eyes and body to adjust to erratic movement while fatigued, which is guaranteed.

U-District’s ski and snowboard conditioning class runs from October through January. The focus is consistent, but the workouts are always changing.

“I have about eight different workout scenarios that I rotate through on a weekly basis,” Carlone said. “The routines are fun and functional. As everybody gets stronger, we keep pushing the envelope.”

My ski preparation is in Carlone’s capable hands. As a test subject for enhanced movement awareness, I’ll report on the results when the game is on.