Classic Glide Tip
I was out skiing with a pal yesterday who was getting nice uphill
glide by the sounds of it, but still it wasn’t as long as I was getting
and I wasn’t working hard, just having a fine time. It was a technique
difference basically. I could notice when I goofed and when things
would just glide out a long ways on that up. Here’s what I do and it feels fine….
To get max uphill classical glide, shove your glide foot forward a good
long ways, keep your arm long and swing it forward all the way, keep
your back and shoulders long and rounded. At the forwardmost part
of this swinging motion your arm, leg, foot and hips should feel like they
come to a perfect stop in space while the ski is still gliding. The orientation
they stop in is the key to uphill glide!!! Stop motion when the gliding is
best. When your ski is weighted just right and your posture is spot-on for
the next kick. Basically, this is HANG-TIME for uphill glide.
I find that if I try to push my foot any farther forward
that my hips DROP and I’m in a bad position for the next kick. It feels
like my hip is right over that glide foot. So that the kick off it comes
without a bit of posture fiddling. And so that the kick/pole happens
pronto at the start of the cycle, no pausing. All this together makes
uphill glide easy and long. For me. Make any sense?
Skate Speed for your Classic Skiing
I’ve been finding that a neat way to make sure I’m classic
skiing fast enough is to pretend that I’m skating.
In fact, it seems like every phase of classic has a parallel in skating.
I think of the classic kick as the skate push-off. I singlepole
as hard as I powerside pole in a V1/offset skate. I think of the classic glide
as if it were the hang-time in skating. And I make sure that my overall
speed down the track feels as fast as if I were skating.
I make sure I’m really relaxed and breathing deeply, taking only
big easy motions with very fast power-phase and prolonged rest phase.
Since all motions in classic are straight down the track, it even seems
more efficient than skating, so even if I know I can’t pole or kick as
hard at least there’s no sideways component. I mentally appreciate
that ‘straight down the trail’ aspect as much as possible, plus the
‘big bite’ feel.
Most of the time I can pull it off, and it feels great.
I try to even get ‘longer’ than I do in skating. Shorter poles
let me reach out. And I hit the kick with a bigger explosion
than a skate kick. Actually, I try to go faster than skating.
However, if I let my mind wander, it’s VERY easy to suddenly lose
the ‘flying’ feeling of rocketing down the track (with little effort and
tons of glide) and instead find myself simply skiing fast.
‘Fast’ is by no means fast enough. 🙂
For me, the right mindset is worth a couple mph.
And my mindset is that I’m going as fast as skating and that
the classic technique is the same as skating. It works!
I went out last night and ‘worked’ my way around a course behind
another fitness skier. Then he went in and I took another lap and
had a gentle ‘fly’ of it in about half the time. Speed was double,
cadence was half. Nice’n’relaxing. Engine burning freely. That’s the way! 🙂
