Riding exercises for experiencing twist:


■ While sideslipping on your heelside, flex the ankle and knee and begin to look in the direction of the intended turn. An opposing movement with the rear foot is not necessary for twisting the board.


■ While sideslipping or traversing on your toeside, flex the joints of the front leg and steer only the front leg toward the fall line. As the front edge of the board releases and the back leg is stationary or slightly flexed, the board will twist.


■ While making basic turns, quickly rotate your hips in the direction of the new turn. Tis movement, though inefficient in most situations, will move the legs in the opposing direction and result in twist.


PRESSURE Pressure is the act of managing the degree and location of forces between the snowboard and the snow – along the snowboard’s length (tip to tail) and width (edge to edge). Pressure adjustments, predominantly made through flexion and extension movements, may be applied across the entire snowboard or concentrated on smaller areas.


In a static position with the rider in a stable, neutral stance, the feet are equally weighted, creating a large surface area in contact with the snow. In this position, pressure is constant. Conversely, when a rider shifts his or her CM fore or aft, or when the board tilts, there is a decrease in the surface area, which increases pressure. A rider is also able to increase or decrease pressure by accelerating or decelerating the CM in the vertical plane (up unweighting and down unweighting). Lastly, using rebound, pressure can be achieved by having the snowboard move in the direction of the CM at the finish of a turn (also known as retraction).


Vertical movements that can increase or decrease the board performance of pressure


along the entire length of the snowboard: ■ Ankles: Flex or extend both ankles simultaneously. ■ Knees: Flex or extend both knees simultaneously. ■ Hips: Flex or extend both legs simultaneously, which actually refers to the femoral head flexing and rotating in the pelvis, thereby creating or reducing the space between


■ the thighs and the abdominal muscles. ■ Spine: Flex or extend portions of the spine.


Fore and aft movements that can increase or decrease the board performance of


pressure along the entire length of the snowboard. ■ Ankles: Flex or extend one ankle while doing the opposite with the other ankle. ■ Knees: Flex or extend one knee while doing the opposite with the other knee. ■ Hips: Move one leg in the direction of the centerline of the body (adduction),


or vice versa. Tis moves the other leg away from centerline of the body of the body (abduction).


An accomplished rider can make subtle or forceful changes in the location and timing of pressure to achieve a variety of desired outcomes. Pressure increases, decreases, or remains the same, depending on the phase of the turn and the direction and movement of the CM.


TheSnowPros.org CHAPTER 3: BOARD PERFORMANCE CONCEPTS 53


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