how to learn techniques for fun on Classic cross country skis
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Here are some fun things to do on Classic skis
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Gliding feels enjoyable. I think most of us must have
programming on our genetic DNA for feeling the fun of glide -- lots of
other animals enjoy it too.
But it's not enjoyable if it feels out of control, or there's a
significant risk of injury.
So the goal is to learn to get the fun, while managing the control
and risk -- and for more on that, see our page on Downhill
techniques.
It's also fun to get some of that glide enjoyment even on a flat
trail -- and make it part of every stride.
The basic idea on a flat trail is to (1) make your leg-push off one
ski a bit stronger and quicker, (2) step onto your other ski, (3)
hesitate before you make the next leg-push. If all goes well,
that first leg-push generated more energy than was needed to make the
step -- so when you hesitate, the left-over energy is available to
make you glide on the other ski.
- The quickest way to learn it
The quickest way to learn to do this is to use the
"stomp and glide" variation of the classic stride. For
the details on how to do it, so our page on
Learn to Stomp and Glide
You likely will not need any special help like an instructor or
videotaping to learn it.
- The worthwhile alternative
But there's another way to do classic stride called "committed
weight transfer", for more details on what it is, see our page on
Balance and Weight
Commitment "secret"
The only problem with this "committed weight transfer"
approach is that it takes longer to learn it -- lots of practice with
special exercises. The payback is that once you've learned it,
it's more efficient and less tiring. And it is the key
foundation for several other valuable techniques.
- How to learn "committed weight transfer"
It's pretty important to work with a good instructor or
coach on this -- especially in the first couple of practice sessions
-- then again at later points for "check-ups".
The reason is that learning solid balance and weight commitment
depends on a complicated interaction among ski flex, grip wax (or
waxless pattern), body position, pressure distribution, etc. -- so
it's tricky to sort out what's going right and what's going wrong --
and some of those key factors are invisible.
The key secret to learning this balance and weight transfer is lots
of skiing without using poles. For more detail see
Exercises for
Learning Balance and Weight Commitment
Getting videotaped is valuable for this, but it's important to have
an experienced observer or coach to help interpret -- because
there's so much complex interaction to sort out, and the most visible
deficiencies in form are not necessarily the most important ones to
work on improving.
- Skip past the "stomp and glide" phase?
The key learning problem with "stomp and glide" is that
some of the moves in that technique variation are counter-productive
for most other technique variations you might want to learn
later.
So unless you're pretty convinced that "stomp and glide"
is going to be the end of the line for you on technique, or you're in
a big hurry to get to putting glide into your classic stride -- try to
minimize your involvement with it.
Instead, try to do lots of your skiing without poling --
using your legs only. You can start working on the fun of
glide with just your legs.
And you can still keep your poles with you just in
case -- just hold each one with your hand grasping the middle of the
shaft, half-way between the tip and the handle.
There's a problem with jumping into learning into full classic
stride with both arms and legs before you're ready for it: The
coordination is so complex that it's very easy to slip into bad
habits. So instead start working on
Exercises for
Learning Balance and Weight Commitment
If you want your arms to get some exercise too, spend some time
trying this: All poling with no leg push -- see our page
on double poling.
After you've got that working, another technique to try is "kick
double pole" -- since that uses both legs and arms, but keeps
them cleanly separated into different phases of the stroke
cycle.
go faster when you want to
Going faster on flat or gentle terrain soon puts some glide into your
strides. So again . . .
- The quickest way get faster than the basic shuffle
The quickest way to learn to do this is to use the
"stomp and glide" variation of the classic stride. For
the details on how to do it, so our page on
Learn to Stomp and Glide
You likely will not need any special help like an instructor or
videotaping to learn it.
- The basic problem with speed in Classic stride
The basic problem with going faster is that it usually requires
that you to push forward against the ski with more intense
force. But then the ski will slip back.
So you need more down-push force to press the ski into the snow so
it doesn't slip back. It you're trying to go real fast, then lots
more down-push force.
But if you use lots more "stomp" to deliver that
down-push force, that doing the stomp itself requires power from your
leg muscles -- and those muscles only have so much capacity. So
the "stomp and glide" wastes some of your speed capacity --
and often it's a double
waste.
- Solutions to the basic speed problem -- learn these secrets:
- - Committed Weight
Transfer "secret"
- - Exploiting the
Wax Pocket "secret"
- - Smooth Striding
"secret"
- - Pole-Push Power
"secret"
long glide in your stride when you want it
If a little glide in each stride is fun, long glide must be funner.
But the only way to glide longer on a flat trail is to supply more
push in the power part of your stroke. More push requires more
grip.
And again the quick-learning "stomp and glide" can supply
that on an occasional basis, but it gets tiring if you want to keep
doing those "glide long" strokes for a while. And so
again we come to . . .
- the benefit of "committed weight transfer" for
delivering fun skiing feelings at lower cost.
For maximum grip and maximum push, you can use both
"committed weight transfer" and the "stomp"
together.
- But there's another trick: Change your pole-push
timing.
The obvious timing of the pole-push is to synchronize it with your leg-push (like
in walking on dry land). The disadvantage of that is that it
ties your pole-push stroke to the limitations of your
leg-push.
But actually the design of your body and your pole allows the
duration and effective distance your pole-push to be longer than your
leg-push. You can unleash this power by learning to start your
pole-push before you start your leg-push. For more, see
the
Offset Pole-Push
Timing "secret"
The result of this "offset" timing is more power
delivered from your poles, and so more power available to make your
glide longer. (And power from your poles is not subject to the
limitation on the grip of your skis.)
- But you can glide even longer, using another technique
variation.
The trick is to put the finish as well as the start of your
pole-push before your leg-push -- so the pole-push and the leg-push
follow in sequence -- with no overlap.
This is as far as you can get from the synchronized pole timing of
the "walking on snow". Think of using your pole-push
to "extend the glide".
For more on how to do this and how to learn it, see the "linked
kick-single-pole" variation on the Offset
Pole Timing "secret" page.
You likely do not need an instructor to learn this -- in fact you
might have difficulty persuading an instructor to help you with
it. Getting videotaped could help.
Most people think of skis as equipment for gliding down a
hill.
It's still sort of believable that skis can be effectively used on
the flat. And once they see the trick, they can see how skis can
be angled out to the side and dig their edges in to climb up a hill, as
in herringbone.
But to point your skis straight directly up the slope of a small hill
and then make it all the way to the top without slipping is pretty
amazing.
It's one of those intrinsically satisfying
accomplishments.
First you have to pick the right hill in the right snow
conditions.
You look at the hill, you instinctively feel its gravity against you
-- feel that it would be work to get up it even walking in your
boots. You stand at the bottom on your skis, and you can slide
them back and forth -- feel that they're clearly different from hiking
boots. Your feelings right there on the scene verify that the
equipment is not a match for the task.
You know that you could force your way up it with herringbone.
But as an act of free choice, you point your skis straight up the slope,
and start up it -- because you can.
And you've been practicing the special skills you need -- so you make
it to the top.
Now that you're up there, you see and feel the difference.
You turn around and look back down, and you know that going the other
way would be no work at all, and your skis would easily glide down --
just the opposite of what you made them do on the way up.
Key secrets and tricks for this:
Skis that Fit
"secret" -- and if waxable, then Grip
Wax that Grips
Committed Weight Transfer
"secret"
Exploiting the Wax
Pocket "secret"
Climbing up a Steep Hill
"secret" (at least parts of it)
When I first started working on my Classic technique, I literally
could not imagine doing this.
One day I thought of the possibility, but it felt like an act of
courage to actually try it.
I started out by choosing a slope where I couldn't hit anything if I
slipped back or fell sideways. I held my poles with my hands just
below the handles -- so they'd be there to at least slow me down if I
slipped back or fell. I made sure I had lots of wax on my
skis.
And I did slip a few times. But it worked better than I
thought. It was like the "final exam" in grip
technique. It really helped me sort out which tricks just sounded
right and which ones really worked.
Pre-requisites:
- - Balance and Weight
Commitment "secret"
and all its pre-requisites
- - Exploiting the
Wax Pocket "secret"
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