Monday 28 December 2020

Developing proper arm action for improving your free skate

By Keith and Heather Nicol

     Coordinating the correct arm action can really help your ability to free skate on cross country skis. As you can see in the photo below I am actively swinging my arms down the track. When I teach free skate I always tell my students that a good arm swing can create more momentum to be able to skate faster on their skis. But it not as easy as it looks...remember that you want coordinate swinging the right arm forward when you move onto your left ski and vice versa. All too often when I teach this I find that students sometimes want to swing their left arm while skating onto their left ski or right arm and right ski.  So instead think about the opposite arm and leg being coordinated together as you can see in the photo to the side. A good arm swing also helps you get up and over your glide ski as you can see with photo to the right. You want to glide with your toe, knee and nose aligned over the glide ski and a good arm swing really helps. Check out this video for more information on how to obtain a proper arm action for free skate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jigg7D929VU&feature=youtu.be

Thanks to our sponsors Auclair gloves and Infinity Ski Poles

 

 A good arm swing will help maintain your momentum down the track


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