Dry-land Diagonal Stride Tips

Points to remember for dry-land diagonal stride:

Keep hips forward, think of squeezing cheeks together (1 loonie>2 toonies), feel the hip flexors

Lean forward from the ankles until almost falling forward. (Have a short aww moment)

Weighted leg should land with a slightly bent leg (use bone support not so much the muscles)

Land on the ball of the foot

Weight shift, so zipper (belly button) lands over the foot. Push hip over toe.

Keep the head up and look down the track, to keep butt from sticking out

Use a quick knee dip and push off, forward not up(boing)

No bear walking. Arms and legs work in opposites.

Keep elbow bent, swing elbow forward and back with bent elbow

Drive elbow back, rotates from the shoulder. keeping arm at basically at a 90-degree bend

Keep elbows out from your side (chicken wing)

Never plant poles in front of the ankle, always behind

Use the lats/back to power the poling, rather than the triceps 

Poles help us to continue our momentum (on snow this will be pole assisted glide)

Poles are for push not for balance

Practice eating and drinking in class and in training, so when racing it will feel natural

Take your poles with you when you run, even if you do not use them.

GRAVITY, CORE, BODY WEIGHT, and then Muscle.

2019-2020 #Nordic #Skiing Season start

Well another fall season is upon us, as we wait for snow to come and stay. Dry-land training is important for the body and the mind, as most of us switch from summer activities to #Nordic #skiing.
Ski walking without poles was the first step.
Use a gradient to do this exercise


Some of the more important points that were mentioned:
-Using Gravity and falling forward from the ankles, bring your hips past the ankles, with a leaning forward straight back, before a short quick knee dip which would simulate the locking of wax into the snow
-your arms and legs work in opposites which means left leg right arm, and then right leg left arm. Sometimes this is confusing when you are trying to get the motion of the legs. (no bear-walking)
-movement of the arm with elbow flexed 90 degrees forward, is from the shoulder joint, and elbow drives back flexed as well
-each time you take a step you should feel your whole body go from one side to the other. Think about moving your zipper or belly button 15cm(6 inches) from one side over to the other on the forward leg
-your leg should be not bent too much when your mid-foot hits the ground. Bone supported not muscle supported is the key to not fatiguing the leg muscles as much. If your leg is flexed too much there is no ability to compress ski and wax into the snow
-your movement should be flowing with no rigidness
-Always keep your mind thinking about the movement. Do not go on auto-pilot!

Next you used your poles, which for some made your leg movements incorrect. If this happens, you need to go back to ski-walking without poles until the leg movement is mastered.
-a few exercises of just holding the poles in the balance point while ski-walking was the first step.
-then you let your poles drag on the ground with just your thumb and first finger controlling the poles just enough that it was not bouncing around. Each person's poles are a different length, so only you can really tell where the pole should be planted.
- do not swing your pole past your hand
-once again your elbow is flexed at 90 degrees both forward and backwards.
-there is next to no extension of the triceps, normally
-planting of the pole occurs with you thinking of driving the basket into to the ground with your elbow, not your hand, The hand is just there in front of the elbow, but the power will occur when you drive with the elbow.
-hands are shoulder width apart for men and hip width apart for the ladies
-elbows go straight forward and back
-some loading of the pole will also occur with the knee dip timing
-poles are for push not for balance

Keep your head up and look down the trail and watch where you step. This will help with knowing how to read the snow, once it comes.
Try to do your homework of 5 hours of ski specific training, with hopefully at least 10 hours of training a week.
Work on your core as much as possible
THINK THINK THINK!
GRAVITY, CORE, BODY WEIGHT, and then muscle.
There are 113 days left before the Birkie. :)

Mistakes you should NOT make before a Long Distance #Nordic #Ski #Race

-Decide to race long with no preparation

-Forget about your technique (do not think), go back to your old habits and ski on automatic pilot

-Buy new equipment and not test it out several times before a big race

-Not ski long several times every couple of weeks leading up to the race

-Get injured or sick and try to shrug it off and train hard anyway

-Go real long within the last 10 days or so of the race

-Do not be bothered to prepare your skis

-Try to fit too much training too close to the big race

-Not get enough sleep in the 48-72 hours before the race

-Donate blood within 3 months of a big race

-Eat strange foods that disagree with your body in the 48 hours before the race

-Do other activities that you are not used to 

There are many other mistakes that you can make but these are just a few that come to mind right away.

Notes for Monday ATG, Nordic ski class #3, #langrenn

We covered a lot of technique last night in class.

Double poling:

Hands hip/shoulder width apart depending on what is wider

Always gravity, core, butt drop which is a collapse at the knee, and maybe muscle at the end. 

Do not grab the poles, but loosely control the pole and pull down on a proper adjusted pole strap

Hands go down and back but not down to calf muscle. 

We do not bend so much at the back any more but stay in a more crouch position (like being in a tube)

Hands come up close to the face like answering the phone, elbows are bent outward like chicken wings but this will depend on your shoulder strength. 

Elbows should certainly be wider then the hands

The wider the elbows the more you use a strong core and there is a need for higher tempo.

When your hands recover at the highest position try to relax for a second as your center of gravity starts to fall forward.

Single kick double poling:

Timing is kick glide, pole glide

Do not just window dress the kick but try to plant that wax. Sneak the kicking foot ahead just few inches before your kick.

When your hands recover at the highest position try to relax for a second as your gravity starts to fall forward even if you are over just one balanced leg.

Herringbone:

Use your wax not an edge in loose snow if possible

Keep the hands hip/shoulder width apart

Do not let your feet go any wider then necessary and try to recover your legs under your hips somewhere.

Hands stay low around hip height on a steep hill with the power coming with elbows bent. Bent elbows forward  bent elbows back. Try not to use the triceps.

Keep the head looking up the hill

Try not to walk but keep up the run

If you can use the running muscles up, and not the adductor muscles of the leg it will be faster.

Step turns:

Outside ski with an inside edge as you are turning, un-weight the inside ski picking it up and placing it in the new direction before you weight the outside ski again. 

Keep the the hands low around hip height in the ready position unless your are double poling.

Try to take many quick small turns accelerating as you go. If you make it less steps sometimes the ski and or pole may disappear in softer snow.

Always be sure to brake to a speed that feels right for you before going into a series of step turns around the corner

Running Diagonal Side Step:
As demonstrated to you this move needs the tips to be pointed into the middle of the track and to the uphill side. You edge both skis into the hill as needed otherwise diagonal right on up the hill. You use this technique when there are people in the tracks and more people blocking up the herringbone area going up. You can skinny right on past. This movement also gives relief to the upper body and if your wax is a bit unsure the double edging allows you to not re-wax.

A controlled fall is always better then a wipe-out!

Try to get at least a 3 hour ski if doing the 31km, and a 5 hour ski if doing the 55km.

Week 12/13, #Birkie is getting closer, #langrenn!

Last week the major point that was noticed was to use the high tuck even on little downgrades and to double pole more and not use the ds as much. The short tuck will let you relax and drop your heart rate, while maybe saving you a couple of double poles.
Be sure to curve your back muscles a bit, too stretch them while in the high tuck.
The last class also reinforced the idea of switching your skis when the wax is worn off on the inside edge as it normally takes far less then 30 seconds.
Be sure to switch to the inside lane when safe to do so to take the corners.

 Some points to remember this week.

Hands are held hip width apart, not shoulder width apart, dp and ds, in order to have the hands travel a straight path forward and back.

Elbows are wider then hands as in the chicken wing, and only you can decide how strong your rotator cuffs and deltoids are. 

Too a point, the wider the elbows, the easier and faster you can apply gravity, core, body weight and muscle in that order, but you will need a slightly higher tempo, for the core is so strong.

Once again I must remind you that each movement explodes and then relaxes. If there is no relaxation phase then the muscles will not be flushed out in order to receive new blood.

First only you can to decide when to start using the herringbone(hb). Just because you can diagonal stride(ds) up the hill does not necessarily mean that you should. You have to think how much further you have to ski, how strong your arms feel compared to the legs, what kind of terrain still needs to be skied, and how many people will be in your way before you are done. 

If the snow is loose you can lock the wax into the ski and not really use much of edge, which will be faster then hb on an edged ski.

"Increase both the angle between the skis and the edging on the insides of the skis. Move

the legs straight uphill, and increase the “V and edge the skis enough to maintain traction." as you go into the running hb. (CANSI Manual) Only widen your skis enough to not slip and keep your head looking up on the hill.

Do not let the hands get wide but turn hips and shoulders turn just enough that you are still planting the poles within 4-6 inches of you skis. 

The hb movement and timing is the same as the ds, but with the skis a bit wider depending on the steepness of the hill.

Remember to keep your hands at around waist height and plant your baskets  a fair bit further back which will depend on the steepness and your running hb speed.

The other point I wish you to remember is the when and where to use the running diagonal side step(rdss). Check the pole tracks first in case it has all the grip and control you need. Remember to use rdss on the uphill side of the slope and the tip should always be pointed towards the middle. It is used for passing a lot of times, as slower skiers will be hb up the middle of the trail in the #Birkie. You should also use it to save your arms.

Once again be sure to get out and ski for 5+ hours if doing the 55km.

Have FUN, stay healthy and uninjured!!

BRRR!! -25C with windchill, but if you stay out of the wind and raise the heart rate it was easily doable.

Week 11, Nordic Trail Analysis, Part 1, #langrenn

Well it was a beautiful winter day for a ski. Wax was easy and there was just enough snow to cover up the ice.
The first point I need to mentioned that I just assumed everyone knew, is like driving, we always stay on the right hand side of the trail unless passing.
The other exception is when you are going around a sharp corner and you need to control your speed. You must check your shoulder first to make sure there is no passing you.

So let us look at some of the points that you remembered.
In many places a couple of double poles and then go into a high tuck with poles level with the ground, elbows squeezing the poles into the body and hands turned in and high enough to protect the neck, with the fingers turned into each other it will warm the fingers, drop the HR and be relaxing.
Switch your skis left to right and right to left to counter uneven wear of the wax, especially the kick wax, before you actually have to re-wax. That move takes normally no more then 15 seconds and is good for another 5km or so at a guess.
When safe to do so, leave room for your outside turning ski for snow plowing which also means switching tracks where needed.
Trails are much narrower in some places then what you are used to, at say SWC or GB.
When it comes to pacing start much easier then what you want to. Think about being able to maintain that speed or faster in the last 5km. Do not get caught up with all the excitement which is sometimes hard to do.
At the start line dress cooler then what you would think, because soon enough you will be warm.
Use a high tuck as much as possible to conserve energy especially if it is windy.
When gliding pull your toes up to the top of the boot and keep heel down.
If you can draft a skier in front and do 2 double poles (dp) to their 3 dp's then you have saved that amount of energy.

Every track skier is happy when they see the grooming machine in after completing the trails. :)