Roller Skiing is the primary means of dry-land training for cross-country skiers and biathletes. This time of year, I often drive by folks on roller skis on the highway into Montpelier and it brings back memories of training on the bike trails and back roads of Central New York. It was early in the days of ski skating and there never were brakes on roller skis so hill repeats, with a good climb for the workout, became a little hair-raising on the descents. Of course, no helmets, pads -- just boots and a water bottle.
I was never big on double poling on roller skis even though I knew it was probably the best overall roller ski workout. However, I’ve gathered some ideas on double poling on roller skis from good skiers and want to share a few.
First of all, consider using a helmet and knee pads -- and if on a highway, wear colorful clothing. Use roller-skis not roller blades. (If you use roller-blades and skate like hockey player, you will get nowhere on the snow.) Begin every roller-skiing workout by checking your equipment. Start by double poling to acclimate to the new balance and resistance of the skis. Make sure that you can stop safety before picking up too much speed. Since most roller skis do not have brakes, it is essential to think ahead.
Use skis with a similar rolling resistance to a skis on snow, and poles about the same weight as your normal poles. The poles for roller skiing should be a few cm longer than normal, and you should use a special roller-ski pole tip. And keep the pole tips sharp -- dull pole tips lead to incorrect technique, for they slip during the important later part of the double pole. When this is the case, you learn to rely only on the initial part of the double pole stroke when the poles are more vertical. Gains in technique and strength for the important later part of the double pole are therefore minimized when using dull tips. It is not only very frustrating to have the tips constantly slipping it can also be dangerous -- when the tips slip you can easily pitch forward onto your face.
As is the case for all training, concentration is key. For double poling think about initiating the double pole with the stomach. Instead of bending over at the waist, hunch your shoulders and upper-body over the poles and crunch down with the stomach. Contrary to an older style of double pole, keep your arms bent throughout the first part of the double pole and rapidly straighten your arms back behind you quickly by firing your triceps at the end of the double pole.
The same dangers that come with striding on roller skis are present when double poling with a kick. The kick tends to be long, late and slow - unless you concentrate on being snappy and kicking from on top of the skis. Prior to the initiation of the kick, thrust your hips forward so that they are actually in front of your feet. From this forward position, focus on making the kick dynamic and quick.
Now, take a look at some US Ski Team members on rollers and on snow. Get psyched for skiing on snow with some pre-season workouts.
