After hearing leading bio-mechanist HC Holmberg speak a few times about double poling, and after having his research emphasized by USST coaches, I have tried in earnest to put this “new” poling into practice.

Without going into all of the details, the basic premise is this: the best skiers in the world generate the most power in their double poling very quickly. In other words, the most power is applied right when the poles enter the snow. I think of it as “slamming” the poles into the snow.

Though I have practiced this over the last two seasons, I decided to make a conscious change in my poling during my last two DP (rollerski) sessions.  I get lazy and old habits pop back up.  (Needless to say that I am not training — just exercising — but I want to have a clear picture in my mind of what I am asking our student-athletes to accomplish.)   So, I brought my hands back a little closer to my head, raised them a little higher, and slammed my poles into the asphalt.  I focused on leaning from my ankles, crunching onto the poles with my core, having my head and hands come down together, and not letting my body flop at the waist.  I also let my eyes look down at the pavement for a split second instead of trying to keep my eyes up by straining my neck.

It was tough, but the difference between my typical DP and this new DP was immediately noticeable: I had greater speed over the ground.  This technique also applies to skating, especially V2.

It’s interesting, though not surprising,  how skiing technique evolves over time.  I witnessed this firsthand a few years back.  In the summer of  2003 I was lucky enough to ski at Sognefjell, Norway, with Olympic gold medalist (‘64) and seven-time Vasaloppet champion (‘62, ‘63, ‘64, ‘65, ‘66, ‘68, ‘69) Janne Stefansson of Sweden.  Janne had long since retired from competitive skiing when skating entered the scene in the early 80s.

As I classic skied with Janne I watched his long, powerful double pole with his arms nearly fully extended.  I noticed that his arms stayed almost completely straight while striding, too.  This was the technique — championship technique — of his generation and it was frozen in time right in front of me.

Also during that camp at Sognefjell I was able to jump in behind Ole Einar Bjørndalen and Jørgen Aukland.  I was at a living museum — I was able to ski with a champion from the 1960s and two champions from the 2000s and observe techniques separated by 40 years.  I felt like a dwarf among giants.

As we prepare the snow differently, as we create new events, as we make improvements in equipment, as we learn new approaches to training, racers will continue to develop technique.  We, as coaches, can only hope to keep up with the changes.

I am convinced that the double pole technique as outlined by Holmberg is what we need to be teaching to our young athletes today.  But, what will it be ten years from now?  The evolution continues.

I was fortunate enough to attend a USSA Coaches Clinic and help with an REG Camp in Palmer, Alaska, last week. The USST’s Pete Vordenberg and Pat Casey were the lead coaches/instructors for the camp and clinic.

I learned some new ideas about technique, training, and practical drills as well as reinforced concepts we already put into practice at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. What I found to be the most rewarding part of the week, however, was to witness firsthand the professionalism and accessibility of the USST coaches.

USST coaches Pete Vordenberg and Pat Casey

Pete and Pat have a clear plan for development and articulated this plan extremely well.  It was obvious that they eat, breath and live ski racing.  More to the point, Pete, Pat, and the entire USST cross country staff are committed to long-term results.  They are not waiting for things to happen; they are making things happen.

Pete outlined the goals that he created in 2006 for developing skiing in the US: 1) Fitness; 2) Continuity; and 3) Partnership.

What was most striking is the accessibility that coaches and athletes throughout the country have to the USST staff.  Despite modest budgets and obvious travel disadvantages compared to their European counterparts, the USST coaches have been studying skiing, organising their findings, creating plans, and implementing those plans very effectively.  And these coaches travel around our massive country in the summer to disseminate this information to athletes and coaches.

There were many athletes at the REG who are clearly committed to their skiing.  I was impressed by their professionalism and abilities.  It was also obvious that junior coaches around Alaska are educating their athletes well.

REG athletes Jordan Buetow (l) and Heather Edic (r) with coach FXC coach Pete Leonard

One misconception, however, about training and physiology that I continue to see among young athletes is the length of time lactic acid stays within the body after a hard effort.  Though this is a relatively minor point in the big picture, it is good to understand the basics regarding blood lactate.

There is a notion out there that a recovery training session the day after a hard work-out or race removes lactic acid from the body from the previous day’s session.  There may be value to a recovery work-out session the day after an intense effort, but it does not have to do with lactic acid.

Without getting into too many details, here are the basics.  Lactate is produced and processed by the body continually.  After a hard training session (anaerobic) blood lactate will return to normal levels within a relatively short length of time (well under 60 minutes for most people).  Low-intensity exercise (“cool-down”) will speed the removal of lactate from the blood.  Finally, while lactic acid is certainly a marker of exercise intensity, it is not necessarily a bad thing.  In fact, lactate is eventually converted into fuel for working muscle.

Bottom line: while a training session the day after a race, time trial, or some other intense training session may have benefits, lactate removal from the previous day’s session is not one of them.  Check out “Exercise Physiology: Exercise, Performance, and Clinical Applications” by Robergs and Roberts for more details on blood lactate and its role in exercise.

I digressed a bit, but the lactic acid thing drives me a bit batty.  Again, kudos to the USST coaches for an excellent camp and clinic.  -SJ

Coach Leonard using his Williams study skills at the REG camp

After four years using a Sony Mini-DV digital camcorder (“digital on tape”) for coaching (recording training sessions and races) I want to upgrade to an all-digital (hard drive) camcorder, and I am looking for recommendations from coaches, athletes and parents in the skiing community.

It seems that with no, or very few, moving parts, an all-digital recorder may be more durable in the field.  However, the ease of data transfer to the computer, and subsequent editing and distribution, is probably the biggest draw to all-digital.

If you have any recommendations regarding all-digital camcorders for use in skiing please leave a comment.  Thanks for your help.  -SJ

I just watched the video of the men’s 50 k from US Nationals again.  Though I stood trail-side and witnessed this event first-hand, Noah Hoffman’s gutsy performance inspired me again as I watched it three months later.

I remember the buzz at Birch Hill during the first half of this race.  Was Noah crazy?  Why was he pushing so hard?  Why did he lead it for several kilometers?  Didn’t it make more sense to sit back and just try to hang on?

I don’t know Noah’s strategy.  I don’t know if he had a plan or just went with a good feeling.  Whatever it was, it looked just plain gutsy.  Everyone kept waiting for Babikov to make a move and ski away from the field as he had done so many times before.  But it never came.  And Noah kept on keepin’ on.

Watching that video a few days ago was damn inspiring.  It was great to see a young American pushing the pace, hanging tough, and hammering when he needed to.  Though a fell a few minutes back in the final kilometers, Noah’s performance was simply impressive. 

Kudos to Noah, his team, club, coaches, and wax techs for a solid performance.  I hope we see more of this from Noah and his USST teammates in the coming months and years.  -SJ