Illustration by Tom Martin

Mom was right. Long hours in front of a computer or TV screen can wreck your eyes. The constant two-dimensional diet makes it more difficult to navigate a three-dimensional trail, river or ski run. But here’s something Mom didn’t know: By using special training techniques, you can improve your vision and response time during outdoor sports.

“It’s not about strengthening eye muscles,” says Dr. Sue Lowe, a sports vision specialist based in Laramie, Wyoming, who has worked with the US Freestyle Ski Team as well as other pro athletes. (The techniques are so cutting edge, some athletes asked that we not print their names out of fear their competitors will find out.) “Sports vision trains your eyes and brain to process more information faster.” Practice these simple exercises and you’ll be able to respond to obstacles sooner, allowing you to mountain bike, ski, snowboard, paddle and run more confidently.

Teamwork
Just as most of us are right- or lefthanded, we tend to have one dominant and one weak eye. That imbalance feeds inaccurate information to the brain and skews our perception of where things are—a real disadvantage to a skier sighting a landing or a mountain biker navigating rocky terrain. Test your eye dominance by extending your arm in front of you while making a circle with your thumb and index finger. Use the circle to frame an object 10-12 feet away. Cover one eye, then the other. If the object jumps out of the frame, you’ve found your weak eye. To train your eyes to work as a team, thread four large, different colored beads on an 8-foot piece of string, about 16 inches apart. Tie one end of the string to a doorknob. Then, holding the other end to the tip of your nose, practice focusing on each of the beads and shifting your focus quickly from bead to bead. When that becomes easy, add movement to the mix—try the exercise while standing on a balance board or pillow.

Peripheral Awareness
Outdoor athletes must look ahead to plan their route, but they also have to stay tuned to what’s happening on the periphery. “We call it having soft eyes,” explains US Freestyle Ski Team coach Liz McIntyre, who recommends this exercise: Stand facing a wall and ask a buddy to arrange papers with numbers written on them in a semicircle on the wall, about 6 feet from where you’re standing. Looking straight ahead and without moving your eyes, call out the numbers as your buddy points to them with a ski pole or stick.

Dynamic Acuity
Acuity is clear vision—which can be hard to maintain as you’re running down a rocky trail, skiing bumps, or paddling a wild rapid. To develop the skill of seeing things clearly when they’re moving (or you are), try the exercise Phil Kiner, a world-record trap shooter, devised: With a black magic marker, write numbers all over a softball and hang it from the ceiling. Spin it in wide circles and, keeping your head still, follow the softball with your eyes, calling out the numbers as they appear.

Better Perception
High-speed sports require your brain to process important visual information in a fraction of a second. Skiers on the US freestyle team test this skill by juggling while wearing “strobespecs,” glasses that work like a blindfold, but allow them to see in brief glimpses. “In a split second you need to register all the info you need to plan the ball’s course,” explains McIntyre. To try this workout at home, buy a strobe light and use it as your only light source while bouncing a tennis ball or racquetball against a wall and catching it. “As you slow down the strobe,” Kiner says, “your brain works harder.”

WWW
For more information or a consultation with a sports vision specialist, visit www.aoa.org