Balance Boards

[Sparky]

I've been going through some of the old posts concerning off season workouts(as you might have guessed I'm really bored) and I noticed a few references to Balance Boards. I have never used one myself and was wondering if anyone had any experience with them and are they a useful addition to a workout?

 

[gymnast46]

Balance boards

We had an old style one at our ski lodge but it disappeared a few years ago. It did not have turned up ends or a guide channel. Essentially it was a board on a roller but we spent hours on it. I can't say it helped my balance or built up any muscle groups but is was run to do 180 degree jumps on it.

For off season balance and quad building I ride a unicycle. Descending hills is much tougher than climbing and it really gives the legs a workout.

 

[SnowRider]

I have the indo board. Its wicked fun but really wont do anything for skiing.

 

[Geoff]

We had one at the family ski place in Vermont when I was growing up. I don't think it does a thing for skiing and anybody with reasonable motor control skills can master it fairly quickly. It was a useful sobriety test. Once you were drunk enough that you fell off it and spilled your drink, you were shut off.

If you want to work on balance skills on dry land, take up skateboarding.

 

[dl]

a balance board or bosu ball or any balance device can always help your skiing. while it will help your balance it will also do wonders for your core and that's the part of your body (possibly hidden by winter insulation layers) that keeps you from flailing all over the mountain. It will also work your quads. take a look at the gyms used by the US Ski Team and you'll find all sorts of balance (core) stuff there.

Instead of riding the board back and forth, try to see if you can minimize movement - bet you'll feel that. Try doing squats while you're on the board. Pick up a medicine ball and do squats and twists. Put your hands on the board in push up position and balance, try doing push ups on it, try putting your shins/feet on a balance ball and your hands on the balance board and hold yourself off the ground. All of these exercises can have a direct effect on your skiing either by increasing your stamina (quad burn) or by building your core which can help you recover from an almost fall, make stronger turns, hop from bump to bump, etc.

Stand on it and watch the game - see if you can last one inning.

And, as they say, this is only one part of conditioning you can do. biking, skating, running, hiking, etc all need to be part of the plan as well.