Beckman.fit Posts

Alpine sport relies heavily on the management of energy with respect to time. If we move effectively, we ‘gain’ time, consuming less of our own energy, meanwhile utilizing more of the energy provided by our working environment. Movement analysis is not about assessing and copying someone else’s motions or criticizing an athlete because they don’t conform to a particular standard. It’s about understanding where movements come from and how they affect the performance You can learn the…

Third in a multi-part series on skiing/snowboarding on hard snow. In 1959, Volkswagen introduced what might be the most famous ad campaign of all time. They promoted the Beetle with the tagline : Think Small. They emphasized the scale and contrast of the agile VW, and questioned the assumptions of the market, where the majority of manufacturers were turning out massive hulks of steel and glass. The pursuit of enhanced athletic performance often takes the highway toward…

Second in a multi-part series on skiing/snowboarding on hard snow. Speed control while carving is a combination of selective friction and turn shape. Removing a little more snow from the trench consumes energy through work, while extending (hooking) the end of each turn slightly uphill consumes momentum. Given how difficult it is to displace ice, most speed control on ice will have to be done with turn shape. Turn shape can be a challenge if the edge…

What? Depending on who’s speaking, ‘footbed’ can describe the sockliner inside a new set of boots, the insoles found at the corner drugstore, the neatly packaged options on the rack at the local ski shop, the custom molded variant from that same ski shop, and orthotics provided by a pedorthist. Also the highly-tuned products that I make at Beckmann AG. All of these products fall into the category of ‘foot support’.  How they differ is an important…

Elite level alpine ski racers rely on subtle articulation of the ankle joint as a means of affecting lean angle, thereby initiating and exiting turns without compromising the use of their legs as a suspension system. Hardboot snowboarding, a much younger sport, can benefit from the same principle.  The ankle joint, in it’s articulation and relation to the lower leg, is remarkably similar to the steering axis on a motorcycle or bicycle. Learning the principles of countersteering…

Photo: Eric Buck When you spend a lot of time watching other people move about on snow, you begin to notice things. If you are equipment obsessed, you begin to associate patterns of movement, and specific types of footwear. For instance, how the majority of recreational skiers in a particular boot tend to stand and move in roughly the same manner. And how the majority of hard boot snowboarders tend to look alike as well. Then you…

Photo: Guy Laroche. You think you have a problem on snow, and you’re not sure how to proceed. New boots, new board, but there’s still something lurking in the shadows. Perspective matters. When we’re too close to a problem, it can be difficult to see what’s going on. I’ve spent nearly three decades working with countless athletes. This extensive experience has informed both my footbed manufacture, as well as my problem solving process. When I can see…

Photo: Ben Safryn. Footage of effective musculo-skeletal alignment. Posture is often overlooked in favor of style. When posture is neglected, a rider can easily stall in their development, encounter premature fatigue, and court injury. Filmed at Sugarloaf Maine on Sluice, Spillway, and Lower Narrow Gauge. Riding a first-generation metal Donek FC1 171.