by Dr. Telemark, PhSki
The Advanced Kick
This lesson focuses on developing a powerful kick for
your diagonal stride technique. The diagonal stride is
the most commonly used method of cross-country skiing.
Begin by making yourself a practice track at least a quarter
mile long, or go to a ski touring center with prepared
tracks. Review the basic exercises covered in last month's
lesson. Then, when thoroughly warmed up try the exercises
described below.
Without using your poles, begin by doing the "speed
shuffle" described in the first lesson for 10 to
20 yards. As you get into the rhythm of the shuffle you
should notice that you start to "coil up" at
the end of the glide in preparation for springing onto
the other foot. What's happening is that you are starting
to bend the knee of the gliding foot slightly more and
you are also shifting your upper body laterally over the
gliding foot. Essentially, you are "loading"
yourself up to increase the force of your "hop"
onto the other ski.
When you actually execute the hop three different things
occur: 1) you stamp down and push back (aka "kick")
on the gliding ski as hard as you can; 2) you shift your
upper body and head laterally and forward over the other
(rear) ski, which is now moving forward; and 3) you begin
to glide as far as you can on the new forward ski. The
timing of the kick is critical. It should begin as the
feet are coming back together after the previous kick
while the gliding foot is still 3-4 inches ahead of the
foot on the trailing ski.
As you get the hang of the advanced kick you will notice
that your rear leg will start to fully extend and be momentarily
carried in this position. This occurs because the body
position of the advanced skier is more dynamic. What happens
is that an advanced skier's body finishes a kick in a
slightly arched, forward leaning position, with the hips
rotated inward at an angle of 45 degrees to the track.
(Failure to rotate the hips is called "blocking"
and will kill your glide.)
When the advanced kick is done properly, only the tip
of the rear "carried" ski remains on the snow,
guided by the track. If you hear a slap as the rear ski
comes down it is because it is coming down too early.
The problem is that you are not beginning your kick early
enough.
Don't forget to swing your arms vigorously, both forward
and backward. Good arm swing is essential for good glide.
In fact, a good exercise you can practice anywhere involves
rhythmically swinging your arms back and forth in a poling
motion, timing each arm swing with a bending of the knees
that simulates the kicking motion. The knee bending should
approximate the motion of doing about half of a deep knee
bend. Don't forget to sing the head slightly from side
to side in time with the arm swing to simulate the weight
swift onto the gliding ski.
Once you get the basic motions down, work on your rhythm.
Try to ski around your practice course as smoothly as
you can, still not using your poles. This is a classic
training exercise for all advanced skiers, even Olympians.
If you have waxable skis, experiment with the timing of
your kick versus the amount of grip your wax offers. Less
grip can be compensated for by an earlier, softer kick.
