Let roller skiing get you in top cross country ski form before the snow flies

By Keith and Heather Nicol

   Roller skis are a great training tool and many people use them to maintain their cross country ski skills through the summer and fall. But you can also really improve your cross country skiing using roller skis so that when you start the new ski season you are way ahead of where you left off last winter. Lets look at some problem areas for many classic skiers who are want to improve their diagonal stride. Some of my most popular you tube videos over the past couple of years have been related to correcting the shuffle and the lunge in classic skiers. Both the shuffle and the lunge are very common amongst classic skiers and the majority of classic skiers that I see through the winter do one or the other.  With shuffling the skier keeps both skis on the pavement and it is more of a walking motion than a skiing action. With the lunge  my lead foot gets way out ahead of my body and again I am quite upright.

                 Lunging is very common in many xc skiers       Shuffling (both skis always on the pavement) is also very common

To correct the shuffle and the lunge we need to think about pushing down and back and we can use the bouncy knee and coffee cup drills to begin to get the feeling of striding from ski to ski. The following video shows how roller skis work and how to do the bouncy knee and coffee cup drills-  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BDwJxLFzxc   Other drills shown in this video for developing balance on a single ski are the scooter drill or the scooter drill with both skis on. I really like the scooter drill with both skis on since with these roller skis you can adjust the brake to give you more glide or more grip on each ski so that you keep you speed under control and learn how to develop the 1 footed balance needed to stride. When we stride we want to ski from ski to ski (see photo below) and the bouncy knee, scooter and coffee cup drills are stages in the learning progression.  Once you improve you can leave the shuffle and lunge behind for good.  Thanks to Jenex Roller skis for their help with this video. Also if you would like help with your roller or snow skiing (either on line or in person) you can contact me at k2nicol@gmail.com