by HighAngles » Wed Jan 16, 2019 5:49 pm
I actually read through the entire post from Jay where he references the article that is in the October 2006 Newsletter. Jay actually discusses the information I believe the OP is seeking. From the other thread:
"Since the publication of Essentials further development of materials on counter balancing has continued. In a PMTS Newsletter article (“Energy that Helps Release after the Turn” Harb, 2006b ), there appears a detailed description of how the tension in the stretched side of the torso during counter balancing can be used to help the release and transition in dynamic turns.
If you contract the muscles on the right side of the torso, pulling the right ribs toward the right hip, then the left side will be stretched. In order to release the tension developed in the left side, one must only relax the right side. If you alternate the counter balancing movements rhythmically from side to side, then each time you relax one side, you get the spring effect on the other side of the torso that will start to pull you in the new direction (Harb, 2006b p.4).
However, in order to be able to use the stretch response “the muscle must be stretched beyond its relaxed length” (Harb, 2006b p. 6). “If you are counter balancing, you can’t just tighten the muscles while the torso remains in line with the legs; you have to tilt the torso” and settle the hip into the turn “enough to stretch the muscles on the free-foot side of the torso” (Harb, 2006b p. 6).
At this point, as the old stance leg is relaxed to release the turn, the contracted muscles of the torso can be relaxed in unison. The result is a quicker than usual edge change and movement of the body into a strong counter balance for the high C part of the new turn. However, “in order to derive a benefit from pre-stretching the muscle, you have to release the stretch and contract those muscles right away” (Harb, 2006b p. 7). Just as the engagement and release of the lower body movements must be dynamic and without hesitation, the contraction and release of the counter balance must be dynamic and committed. When done correctly, the lower and upper body movements coordinate and reinforce each other in dynamic rhythm.
More recently, Harald Harb published a short, web article addressing the role of the pelvis in counterbalancing (Harb, 2007). In this article, he states that a consistent issue for many skiers at all levels is how to drop or settle the hips into the turn. Skiing with a ‘high outside hip’ limits the edge angles one can effectively achieve, limits the effects of counter balancing, makes it harder to counter act, and makes it harder to access the stretch response for dynamic counter balancing. Learning to settle the hips into a more level position requires the skier to adjust the muscle tension at the stance foot hip socket that allows the free-foot hip to rise relative to the tipping angle of the leg. If this is not done, the outside stance hip stays ‘high’ and the hips never settle into an effective countering position. However, this movement is not something most of people experience in their daily lives at the level that is needed for skiing. Therefore, for many people, it is something that has to be introduced outside of skiing and systematically practiced as counter balancing is learned. While there are some exercises in Essentials that address this issue (for example, the pole lean exercise), this article offers more focused dry land exercises to build awareness and control of the necessary movements."