Adventures in Slacklining – Part 1
Learning to Slackline
My awesome wife recently got me a Slackline kit for Christmas, so this year’s new skill…Slacklining! I’ll be posting my training and progress through the blog here and hopefully it can help others that may be interested. A slackline is basically a two inch wide length of webbing stretched between static points that you walk along. It’s similar to walking a tightrope, but the webbing is dynamic so there is a bit of a stretch so it sags and moves as you walk along. You’ve probably seen videos and pictures of lines strung up in Utah’s Arches National Park, with folks bouncing along and walking back and forth…maybe long term goal… Slacklining is a great addition to any training plan. Athletes in a variety of sports, particularly rock climbing, use slacklining to improve balance, focus and coordination to improve in their sport.
I first strung up the line on a nice day back in January, I got out there in my PJ pants and gave it a go. The first time I placed my foot even lightly on the line it shook uncontrollably back and forth, like my leg was immediately having convulsions, there was no way I could stand on that thing! I lowered the line closer to the ground and gradually focused on placing more and more weight on it, eventually getting to where I could (briefly) lift my other foot off the ground. A quick Google search for tips included “focusing on a fixed point – like the tie off point,” “hold your hands over your head to use for balancing, instead of using your whole body,” and “focusing on balancing on one leg at a time working up to 15 seconds or so before moving on.” Cool, three basic points to get started.
I gradually worked up to balancing for 10-15 seconds and even managed to take a few steps, see the video below of probably my best walk that day! That was probably a good, solid 2-3 hours of effort and I felt great about my progress. Then winter came back and the slackline was put away till late April…progress was not retained, doh!
Trying slacklining again in April was pretty much starting new again, so on a nice Sunday, I crank up my smoker, throw a slab of ribs on for a 6 hr smoke and string up the line to get back to it. Again, I started with just working one foot at a time trying to get up beyond just a few seconds each. Gradually, I started getting more comfortable and worked toward taking a step or two. I kept the three tips from above in mind and gradually I could take a step or two, at least while close to the tie off point near the tree.
Moving from near the end of the line, I positioned myself a few feet closer to the center and started working on balance there. The extra distance increased the sway and movement in the line increasing the difficulty some. My plan will be to work balance all along the line, hopefully building to string the segments together to walk the full length.
One thing that did seem to help was walking away for a few minutes. Your body will tend to learn and figure things out as you rest and let the lessons soak in. So if I got to a point where I couldn’t seem to balance more than a few seconds or struggled with a step, I’d walk away, check the smoker and just relax for a few. After that, getting back on the line seemed a little more steady.
Training
Breaking out the slackline and putting it up takes around 30 min or so (for now at least). Fortunately, I have several good trees around the house so I don’t have to travel, but it’s still nice to have a several hour block of time if you’re going to get some practice in. Since I’m excited to make progress I started looking for a way to get in a similar stimulus with an indoor arrangement that was easy to setup. This would allow me to get in a few short training periods each week so I wouldn’t feel like starting from ground zero each time I setup the line.
Indoor Slackline Trainer Checking around the garage, I came up with a plan, Squat Rack plus Lifting Straps… The lower pins on a squat rack are solid, fixed points that would be great for setting up a mini slackline. Along with that I have an old rigging strap from work that is about an inch or so wide, plus a daisy link of webbing from Ironmind to adjust the length. Combine the pieces and…instant trainer! While it may not have the same amount of bounce or sway, this will start to help with balance on a small line. And it is not tightly strung either though, it does have slack in it to simulate a little sway. Best of all, it’s indoors and takes less than a minute to set up. You can easily get in a short 30 min of practice to continue working those balance skills.
Indoor Slackline Trainer v2 I added a jump stretch band around one of the pins and added a carabiner to give the line a little bounce. This setup seems to work a little better, the added bounce and movement in the setup seems to mimic the actual slickline more and is a little easier on my feet. Both setups will probably be used to add variety.
Training Plan
At least once every two weeks – setup the actual slackline and practice for a few hours
3-4 times a week – Practice on trainer setups, work each foot individually, work both feet on heel-to-toe, work feet perpendicular to line (definitely most difficult for me)
Thanks for checking out this post! Let me know in the comments if you have other training tips and recommendations. Also, be sure to subscribe and sign up for the mailing list for more posts on slacklining, hiking, training and living!
