Ski Muscle of the Week #11: The Wrist Flexors and Extensors.

Do we ski with our wrists?  You bet—well trained wrist muscles will keep your body steady by improving your ability to control your ski poles.   This is also a case of addressing our muscular asymmetry—one wrist probably functions better than the other.   I know my right wrist is stronger than my left.   The exercise is simple enough and the payoff will be in steadier hands, more stable arms, and a more efficient pole plant.

Here it is:

One hundred pole plants:   Grip a pen in each hand so that both ends of the pen are visible from your fist.  Wrap your thumb around your fist.  Hold each fist vertically so that the pen points toward the ceiling and floor.  Tuck your elbows at your sides, and be sure your arms are parallel to the floor.  Slowly, bend one wrist down so that the pen points at the wall ahead of you. Recover the pen so that it points down at the floor, then bend your wrist up so that the pen points toward the wall behind you.  Do this 100 times for each wrist.  You can bump up this exercise by alternating wrists.   When you are ready, you can do this with actual ski poles.  Your wrist should bend without twisting.

And I'll have another post about wrists and arms soon.

Ski Muscle of the Week #10: The Semispinalis, Multifidus, and Rotatores

More spaghetti muscles in this group, but they are shorter than those muscles described in Week #9.  Did you have a turkey for the holidays?   Did you cook the turkey neck?   I usually boil it to make the gravy base, then take the meat off for the cats.  If you use the neck meat, then you know that these muscles are very short and thin.   Not surprising--they anchor the vertebrae to the hips or head, and also anchor the vertebrae to each other in small groups, a few vertebrae at a time.

They also flex and extend the trunk in small segments, plus rotate the trunk and neck at the spine.   (Next time you have a raw turkey neck in your hands take a closer look.)   So they help us stand tall when we ski.  But most importantly, they help us rotate our trunk and neck at the spine. They help us turn our head to the left or right to look for traffic on a busy slope without turning our shoulders—or we can activate these muscles to help us keep our shoulders facing down the slope while our feet turn under us.  Therefore, they are essential to that counter-rotation that is the mark of advanced skiers.

How to get them in shape:

Same exercises as mentioned in Ski Muscle of theWeek #9, with one very important addition:

Prone side bends: Lay on your back on the floor.  Move both legs about ten degrees to the right. Press your shoulders in the same direction, so that your body tries to form a crescent to the right, and hold for a few seconds.  Release and repeat on the left.

Ski Muscle of the Week #9: The Iliocostalis, Longissimus, and Spinalis

How can a bundle of cooked spaghetti help stabilize your core?  Well, these three muscles line both sides of your spinal column to help stabilize it.  They are fairly long and thin, and as a group, attach to your pelvis, rib cage, head, and vertebrae, so I think spaghetti is a great analogy for these muscles.

We all know that abdominal muscles help stabilize our core, which is why they are the focus of many workout routines.  But the fact is that these spinal muscles, which are on the opposite side of our body from the abdominals, do exactly the same thing.  The neat difference between these muscles and real spaghetti is that spaghetti can't be exercised into shape, but these muscles can be.

The payoff is a stronger core that creates a healthier spine, because these exercised muscles provide a fixed base for our arms, legs, and head.  When they are strong, they will help counter the movements of these body parts by lessening unwanted movement and subsequent strain.

So let's do it:

Dorsal raises. Lay on your stomach with your arms bent and hands gently alongside your head. Lift your chest and stomach off the floor, keeping your hips and legs still. Hold for 2-3 seconds then slowly lower your upper body back to the floor. Movement comes from your lower back.

Back extension. Similar to above but done on a large exercise ball. Lay with your stomach and chest in contact with the ball, with the toes on the floor. Raise your chest off the ball. Slowly lower back down.

Opposite arm/leg lift. Start in a tabletop position. Align knees under hips, and hands under shoulders. Lift right arm and left leg so that they are parallel to the floor. Hold for a few seconds, then lower. Repeat on opposite side.

Cat and cow. Start in a tabletop position as described above. Cat: As you exhale, round your spine toward the ceiling, making sure to keep your shoulders and knees in position. Release your head toward the floor, but don't force your chin to Ski Muscle of the Week #9: The Iliocostalis, Longissimus, and Spinalisyour chest. Cow: As you inhale, allow your belly to sink to the floor. Keep your head raised.