Great training technique! There's a particular trail network that I ski that is mostly flat fields that I'll do no pole drilling on. My classic striding has gotten better since last year but one thing I'm still struggling with is striding uphill especially if the tracks are icy. Any tips? The "up tempo" technique you spoke of in previous videos has certainly helped.
Hey Ramblin! Glad to hear that your training is going well :) Uphill striding can always be a challenge depending on quality of snow and angle of terrain. The general approach, however, is to shorten your stride even more than usual and to get lower on your skis. Make sure you're slightly tucking your tailbone (similar to a dog tucking its tail between its legs) to ensure your bodyweight is over your feet so that you can achieve the best grip possible. Depending on angle, you're probably not even going to glide but this is okay so long as you're keeping a quick cadence and, for lack of better terms, "pouncing" or "loping" or hopping from ski to ski. Again, this should enable you to achieve good grip going up the steeper sections of trail so that you can eventually transition to more gliding/striding once the terrain begins to level off. I'll have to put together a video on this subject because it's also a great way to work on timing between skis and poles. Again, in steeper terrain but before you have to actually herringbone you can basically hop from ski to ski while landing your poles opposite of your skis (like normal) which then act as a brake (in addition to propulsion) so that you don't slip backwards. This latter concept is basically the same as doing the herringbone in that the ski poles landing opposite of the ski that you're laying down should keep you from slipping back on the one ski while you start to transfer weight to the next ski. And so on and so forth. Yeah, at some point on a hill you just stop worrying about gliding and focus more on just getting up the hill (without slipping back). Hope that helps! Let me know if you want more clarification. But I'll put the topic on my to-do list because it would make for a great short tutorial. So, thanks again :)
Hey Nick! Haha, no sponsorship, just a really nice xc ski jacket. That said, I did actually win it in a raffle at work a couple of years ago ;) As far as the poles go, I just happened to pull them off the rack in my garage. They are a more backcountry-oriented ski pole with a full basket so they seemed more appropriate with the newer/deeper snow. But at a groomed resort and in firm backcountry terrain, I'll definitely use a fixed length standard classic pole for striding. Thanks for watching, and the question!
Thanks J. Would you describe this as a method to recalibrate your cadence when your hustling to get somewhere and feeling off balance or is it a drill that people should practice as a warm up aactivity?
Hey EC! Great question! And I would say that it could be beneficial to try this in both scenarios. For people new to xc skiing, poles and the proper timing of their use can sometimes add to the chaos (of all the moving parts involved in striding). So pulling the poles out of the snow and letting your arms swing naturally is a good way to reset. I think it's really helpful, too, to just stride for a while without the poles (and then one pole) at the beginning of your ski session. To warm up the engine, so to speak. Again, we should always be developing/refining our lower body stability so every time we stride without poles will aid in this process. Also, by striding without poles or only one pole at a time, it's more likely that we'll take slightly shorter strides. I think this is a natural response to the fact that we'll have fewer points of contact (i.e. mostly just our feet). The idea being that we'd be keeping everything a little closer to home (i.e. feet underneath us rather than extending too far in any direction). Thanks for the question, and for watching!
Great practice idea Jared! I've been putting some focused effort in trying to get full weight transfer from one ski to the next. As part of that, I am consciously trying to have the rear of my back ski come off the ground slightly (What you see really good skiers doing easily). It still seems somewhat unnatural and I often get the slap noise as well when the lifted ski lands again. Would you have any suggestions on what to try for this? Thanks, Brax
Hey Brad! Great to hear that you've been out hitting the trails and training :) As far as getting that trailing ski to come off the snow, don't consciously think about it or try to make it happen. That phenomena should be 100% "exhaust." What I mean is that it should just happen as a natural part of the process of committing all of your weight onto the glide ski (after pushing off and transferring onto it). Think of when you run or even when you walk at a very swift pace. Once you push off from one foot, you never consider what it's doing behind you because you're now focused on safely landing on the next foot. It just trails behind wherever it's most appropriate. For example, if you were leaning way over the trailing leg would most likely be pretty high off of the ground because it's essentially acting like a counterbalance (to your upper body). Less of a forward lean will result in less of a rise off the ground from that trailing leg. Long story short, focus on what's ahead of you and not what's behind you. Develop that single leg balance and stability and the ski will eventually and naturally come off of the snow. That said, I made a video a while back about the ski slapping situation so give it a watch for more details (th-cam.com/video/2HEiuzjOwLA/w-d-xo.html). In essence, though, you're landing the glide ski too soon and it has nowhere else to go other than straight down onto the snow, hence the slap. Let me know if you want additional clarification. But I'd recommend watching that slap video first as I go into some detail about this whole thing :) Thanks for watching. And keep on skiing!
Thanks so much Jared. I continue to be amazed at the time and effort you take to provide such complete and thoughtful replies to those that comment on your video posts. I watched the older video you referenced on "slapping skis" and definitely plan to watch where my trailing ski is landing relative to my planted ski and try to correct if it is not far enough forward. I do know occasionally I get into a rhythm where I have a bit more bounce or bounding feeling in my diagonal striding (I've commented to my frequent skiing partner that it almost feels like I am hydro-planing down the track!) but will have to check if the slapping noise is perhaps less prevalent then. This winter with our often very icy tracks, one of course gets extreme gliding distances and I'm wondering if that makes it more difficult to land the trailing ski ahead of the planted ski or whether it is still really a matter of proper timing. I'm guessing the latter. Thanks, Brad
@@bradshacker246 You're welcome :) I do feel like I'm running a consulting/coaching operation sometimes. haha! But I like to be able to offer anything I can to get people more interested in xc skiing ;) Yeah, that would be a good experiment or way to evaluate yourself. That is to say compare the different situations when you hear the slap and when you feel like you're cruising along. Just keep at it!
Liking these drill videos ! Today I tried to ski on a frozen lake, which had some bare ice (snow was blown off by wind). My skiing was basically just trying not to fall. Double poling seemed to be the best I could do. Is there a technique for dealing with solid ice areas ?
Excellent! So glad you find that style of video useful. Honestly, I don't really know why I don't produce more of them because they are fun. I'll have to keep adding topics to the list :) As far as dealing with ice, I think your instincts are on the money. That's about as bad as a scenario as I can think of for cross-country skiing, but double poling seems to be the only thing that we can rely on in that condition. It simplifies our movement and keeps our feet right beneath us (decreasing our chances of falling). And it's a really fast way of crossing that terrain! What's even worse when dealing with icy terrain is dealing with icy terrain on really wide skis. They want to slip and slide everywhere, and they're more challenging to find the ski edges compared to a skinnier ski. So, I guess if you knew you were going to be xc skiing across really firm and icy snow, I'd recommend using a skinnier ski. If that ice is just one section of the overall route, then you'll just have to deal with it for that time. But skinny skis do work a little better on hard-packed and icy snow. Hope that helps! And thanks so much for tuning in, and your kind feedback :)
@@WaterTrails I tend to feel that way, too, on ice. But ultimately it's just clumsy and frustrating, so double poling is the best technique for dealing with it :)
Great training technique! There's a particular trail network that I ski that is mostly flat fields that I'll do no pole drilling on. My classic striding has gotten better since last year but one thing I'm still struggling with is striding uphill especially if the tracks are icy. Any tips? The "up tempo" technique you spoke of in previous videos has certainly helped.
Hey Ramblin!
Glad to hear that your training is going well :)
Uphill striding can always be a challenge depending on quality of snow and angle of terrain. The general approach, however, is to shorten your stride even more than usual and to get lower on your skis. Make sure you're slightly tucking your tailbone (similar to a dog tucking its tail between its legs) to ensure your bodyweight is over your feet so that you can achieve the best grip possible. Depending on angle, you're probably not even going to glide but this is okay so long as you're keeping a quick cadence and, for lack of better terms, "pouncing" or "loping" or hopping from ski to ski. Again, this should enable you to achieve good grip going up the steeper sections of trail so that you can eventually transition to more gliding/striding once the terrain begins to level off.
I'll have to put together a video on this subject because it's also a great way to work on timing between skis and poles. Again, in steeper terrain but before you have to actually herringbone you can basically hop from ski to ski while landing your poles opposite of your skis (like normal) which then act as a brake (in addition to propulsion) so that you don't slip backwards. This latter concept is basically the same as doing the herringbone in that the ski poles landing opposite of the ski that you're laying down should keep you from slipping back on the one ski while you start to transfer weight to the next ski. And so on and so forth.
Yeah, at some point on a hill you just stop worrying about gliding and focus more on just getting up the hill (without slipping back).
Hope that helps! Let me know if you want more clarification. But I'll put the topic on my to-do list because it would make for a great short tutorial. So, thanks again :)
Another helpful video. Thank you, Jared.
You're welcome, Howard! I appreciate the feedback :)
Great drill, Jared, thanks!
Thanks, Tom! I appreciate it :)
great content -do you prefer your LEKI trek poles to a standard classic pole ? nice SWIX jacket -hopefully some sponsorship ...
Hey Nick!
Haha, no sponsorship, just a really nice xc ski jacket. That said, I did actually win it in a raffle at work a couple of years ago ;)
As far as the poles go, I just happened to pull them off the rack in my garage. They are a more backcountry-oriented ski pole with a full basket so they seemed more appropriate with the newer/deeper snow. But at a groomed resort and in firm backcountry terrain, I'll definitely use a fixed length standard classic pole for striding.
Thanks for watching, and the question!
Thank you
You're welcome, Anita! Thanks for watching :)
Thanks J. Would you describe this as a method to recalibrate your cadence when your hustling to get somewhere and feeling off balance or is it a drill that people should practice as a warm up aactivity?
Hey EC!
Great question! And I would say that it could be beneficial to try this in both scenarios.
For people new to xc skiing, poles and the proper timing of their use can sometimes add to the chaos (of all the moving parts involved in striding). So pulling the poles out of the snow and letting your arms swing naturally is a good way to reset. I think it's really helpful, too, to just stride for a while without the poles (and then one pole) at the beginning of your ski session. To warm up the engine, so to speak.
Again, we should always be developing/refining our lower body stability so every time we stride without poles will aid in this process. Also, by striding without poles or only one pole at a time, it's more likely that we'll take slightly shorter strides. I think this is a natural response to the fact that we'll have fewer points of contact (i.e. mostly just our feet). The idea being that we'd be keeping everything a little closer to home (i.e. feet underneath us rather than extending too far in any direction).
Thanks for the question, and for watching!
Great practice idea Jared! I've been putting some focused effort in trying to get full weight transfer from one ski to the next. As part of that, I am consciously trying to have the rear of my back ski come off the ground slightly (What you see really good skiers doing easily). It still seems somewhat unnatural and I often get the slap noise as well when the lifted ski lands again. Would you have any suggestions on what to try for this? Thanks, Brax
Hey Brad!
Great to hear that you've been out hitting the trails and training :)
As far as getting that trailing ski to come off the snow, don't consciously think about it or try to make it happen. That phenomena should be 100% "exhaust." What I mean is that it should just happen as a natural part of the process of committing all of your weight onto the glide ski (after pushing off and transferring onto it). Think of when you run or even when you walk at a very swift pace. Once you push off from one foot, you never consider what it's doing behind you because you're now focused on safely landing on the next foot. It just trails behind wherever it's most appropriate. For example, if you were leaning way over the trailing leg would most likely be pretty high off of the ground because it's essentially acting like a counterbalance (to your upper body). Less of a forward lean will result in less of a rise off the ground from that trailing leg.
Long story short, focus on what's ahead of you and not what's behind you. Develop that single leg balance and stability and the ski will eventually and naturally come off of the snow.
That said, I made a video a while back about the ski slapping situation so give it a watch for more details (th-cam.com/video/2HEiuzjOwLA/w-d-xo.html). In essence, though, you're landing the glide ski too soon and it has nowhere else to go other than straight down onto the snow, hence the slap.
Let me know if you want additional clarification. But I'd recommend watching that slap video first as I go into some detail about this whole thing :)
Thanks for watching. And keep on skiing!
Thanks so much Jared. I continue to be amazed at the time and effort you take to provide such complete and thoughtful replies to those that comment on your video posts.
I watched the older video you referenced on "slapping skis" and definitely plan to watch where my trailing ski is landing relative to my planted ski and try to correct if it is not far enough forward. I do know occasionally I get into a rhythm where I have a bit more bounce or bounding feeling in my diagonal striding (I've commented to my frequent skiing partner that it almost feels like I am hydro-planing down the track!) but will have to check if the slapping noise is perhaps less prevalent then.
This winter with our often very icy tracks, one of course gets extreme gliding distances and I'm wondering if that makes it more difficult to land the trailing ski ahead of the planted ski or whether it is still really a matter of proper timing. I'm guessing the latter.
Thanks, Brad
@@bradshacker246 You're welcome :) I do feel like I'm running a consulting/coaching operation sometimes. haha! But I like to be able to offer anything I can to get people more interested in xc skiing ;)
Yeah, that would be a good experiment or way to evaluate yourself. That is to say compare the different situations when you hear the slap and when you feel like you're cruising along. Just keep at it!
Liking these drill videos ! Today I tried to ski on a frozen lake, which had some bare ice (snow was blown off by wind). My skiing was basically just trying not to fall. Double poling seemed to be the best I could do. Is there a technique for dealing with solid ice areas ?
Excellent! So glad you find that style of video useful. Honestly, I don't really know why I don't produce more of them because they are fun. I'll have to keep adding topics to the list :)
As far as dealing with ice, I think your instincts are on the money. That's about as bad as a scenario as I can think of for cross-country skiing, but double poling seems to be the only thing that we can rely on in that condition. It simplifies our movement and keeps our feet right beneath us (decreasing our chances of falling). And it's a really fast way of crossing that terrain!
What's even worse when dealing with icy terrain is dealing with icy terrain on really wide skis. They want to slip and slide everywhere, and they're more challenging to find the ski edges compared to a skinnier ski. So, I guess if you knew you were going to be xc skiing across really firm and icy snow, I'd recommend using a skinnier ski. If that ice is just one section of the overall route, then you'll just have to deal with it for that time. But skinny skis do work a little better on hard-packed and icy snow.
Hope that helps! And thanks so much for tuning in, and your kind feedback :)
@@JaredManninen Thanks for the input, I felt like I should be doing something that I didn't know about, other than clumsy crossing ice.
Stuff you don't you normally hear apply....good stuff.
@@WaterTrails I tend to feel that way, too, on ice. But ultimately it's just clumsy and frustrating, so double poling is the best technique for dealing with it :)
@@WaterTrails I'm with you on that ;)