 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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As an aid to help advanced skiers with fine tuning their balance motor skills while doing various exercises and movements I can see that it might help. They do have quotes from some advanced skiers saying how hard they find it which suggests there might not be much in the way of correlation between the two. i.e. you can probably be a great skier without being good at using the skia balance blocks and you might be great at mastering the skia blocks but still be a crap skier.
I suspect that for most of us, mastering turns with dynamic shifts and pressure changes is more about relatively large and progressive movements than fine tuning a static position and balance.
On the other hand it's only £45 and might work for you so you could always give it a go. A cheaper but less specific option would be a balance board.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I've got one, though haven't used it for a couple of years as it's a bit of a faff, but I can see the point of it from a skiing point of view. What it's particularly good at is developing a sense of how to make the sort of stretch and flex movements that you would for a turn without pushing yourself out of balance. I would recommend it for anyone who finds they struggle to stay in balance during a turn. But that said a balance board as suggested by olderscot would be similar, especially if you can be bothered to put your ski boots on first.
What I did quite like about it is I could put them on, then work on balance while doing something else like watching TV. I think there was another thread about them a year or so ago so you'd probably find more opinions and experience with a quick search.
As I haven't used mine for a while if anyone is interested I'd be happy to sell my set. £30?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Anything that improves balance is potentially helpful...but I'm sceptical about it's ability to transform your skiing.
The body has a natural ability to remain in balance, but there is something about sliding fast on 2 planks, down a steep hill, that seems to throw this out of kilter....imo. that "something" is fear, which initially prevents the correct body positions, by forcing you to pull away from the perceived danger ie. doing the exact opposite of what you should actually do.
The best (only?) way to overcome this, is (of course) to be guided through it by a good instructor.....and no amount of standing on different sized blocks will prepare you for it.
Once you have learned to overrule the body's sense of self preservation, by doing the opposite of what feels safe and sensible, then the balance trainer may make a small, but worthwhile difference.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I've got a set, although as @kieranm says it's a bit of a faff (putting ski boots on too...), so haven't used them much lately.
I bought them because I was constantly being told by instructors that I was very much in the back seat. First lesson after I bought (and used) them the instructor commented how much better my fore-aft balance was - he wasn't aware I'd bought the Skias. I can only put the different down to the Skia trainers as I hadn't done anything else different.
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I tried a set, and I guess whether they are of any use to you depends on how well balanced you are already. I think they come with 3 or 4 different sized balance blocks, and on everything other than the narrowest blocks, it was too easy to stay balanced even when doing squats.
I guess it is something you really need to try before you buy. I found that a round balance board, the type on a ball, was far better.
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