Pyramid Peak and The Hypergravity Machine

Well we had about 12hrs of clear, windless skies…too bad they were at night. The short break in the weather wasn’t enough for larger endeavors yesterday, so Dustin and I went for a morning lap on The Pyramid. This is my first time on The Pyramid and only Dustin’s second, and he’s born and bread JH!

We were treated to another sweet JH sunrise as we skied north on Fish Creek Road, looking for the best start to the slopes above. The snow seems to have settled a ton in the last 24-36 hours, mainly due to the warm temps I guess. We really could use some more snow, especially down low, and it is quite evident here with lots of brush still visible.

We ran into another skin track after not too long and I think it was John Patterson, who I know frequently skis this area. We followed the track to the top but never ran into John. A short boot brought us to the ridge and we scoped out the lines into Jensen Canyon. Our plan was to ski the ‘Champagne Chutes’ into Jensen, but it still looked thin down low and we didn’t really get a good vibe, so we decided to just ski the east facing slopes of The Pyramid back to the car.

The snow was very creamy most of the way down, where it then turned to breakable crust on the more southerly aspects. We milked one of the ridges as much as possible trying to stay out of the gullies, dodging bushes and rocks along the way.

After skiing, I wanted to stop by One To One Wellness to check out a new training toy that Mimi Wry talked to me about in the shop the other day…The Hypergravity machine. Hypergravity technology historically has been used on astronauts to reduce bone and muscle degeneration while in space. It works by transferring vibrational energy through out the entire body which causes involuntary contractions of ones muscles. The benefits are:

-Increased muscle strength and bone density,
-Increased flexibility and range of motion,
-Burns fat and increase metabolism,
-Improves circulation and aids in recovery.

Now I hear about all kinds of training tools from many people and One To One owner Scott Smith is always a firm believer in them. Lucky for me, Scott and Mimi have been very generous in giving advice on nutrition, as well as training strategies, including VO2 MAX testing.

After a quick run through on the Hypergravity from Mimi, Dustin and I were both ready to give her (The Hypergravity that is) a go. A control panel allows the user to adjust for both time and strength, and you hold onto some handles while a platform shakes the crap out of you. Sounds fun!!!!

I jumped on the machine and quickly cranked the thing up to max to really see what it could do. It felt really wild and you had to avoid standing totally upright, or else your brain would feel like it was in a blender. I felt like you got the most out of it if you focused your weight on your heels, directing the energy straight though your lower legs. We did squats and played with a medicine ball, all while getting the shakedown. The movement adds to the benefit by helping get the energy to different areas of the body.

Well, I definitely felt something after playing with this thing for only about 10 minutes. Dustin and I both felt like we had just taken a warm bath, or had a massage, or even like we had just stretched a bunch. I can see this as a beneficial tool and I plan on trying it again after a big ski day to really test its recovery potential.