Mobility - SKIERS

Hey people, I have this exercise as a mobility progression in pistol squat, I am doing it but I my questions are .....

- What this exercise developing ? 

- Why is important for this particular skill ? 

- How does it improve the one leg pistol squat ? 

- Would it be the same progression if we working on normal squats ? 

I am would very grateful for help, 

Cheers 

Build up your joints.

Mats Trane said:

Build up your joints.

 

So it makes the knee joint stronger and more mobile, preparing for the skill  ? Is that right. 

The foundation series is not about developing the 7 end skills, rather it is about exactly what the name implies it to be: developing a foundation.  To that end, if you view the foundation series as trying to get to the 7 skills as fast as possible, you'll never truly appreciate this program.  As such, it is much better to view the "SLS" progressions as not developing the SLS, but as developing the knee joint (in other words, your foundation.)  The Skiers won't necessarily be an absolute in developing the Single Leg Squat, however it will definitely help your knee joint.

- What this exercise developing ? 

This exercise is developing knee medial and lateral rotation (one knee goes into lateral rotation, while the other knee goes into medial rotation, and then it alternates every rep.)  Secondary emphasis on ankle dorsiflexion and hip rotation.  Think of the exercise as a mobility exercise, similar to how scapular pushups has the scapula go through the full ROM from scapula protraction to retraction, but for the knee instead.

- Why is important for this particular skill ? 

Most traditional programs train the knees in a sagittal plane of motion (knee flexion and extension.)  However, kinesiology textbooks will tell you that the knee has 2 degrees of freedom (which is that it can move in 2 different planes of motion).  This 2nd plane of motion is the transverse plane or knee rotation (the caveat being that it can only rotate when the knee is flexed - coincidentally the knee only rotates in the skiers exercise when it's flexed )

- Would it be the same progression if we working on normal squats ?

It doesn't.  As I mentioned, squats is primarily targeting the knees in the sagittal plane of motion, whereas this exercise is primarily targeting knee rotation.  As Coach Sommer always like to say, in many athletic or sporting event, you won't see the knee stay still, but it will definitely rotate too.  So regardless of how much you would like to prevent the knees from rotating, you might as well accept it and train your connective tissue to be strong enoughto hold your knee up when it does rotate in an athletic event

Yes, as well as ankle. It's important to have strong, mobile, healthy joints for a single leg squat and life in general. And I just realized this, but in the bottom of a single leg squat, your bent leg assumes a similar position, where the knee moves to your center line, and the lower leg rotates slightly outward so the toes face forward. At least if you want to sit up straight. Idk about same progression, but it should definitely be included.

You also get some loading of the hip out of a plane we usually dont train.