Roller Skiing
For many of you it is that time of year again. The weather is
cooler and the leaves of the trees are beginning to change color.
This is a sign that it is time to get the roller skis out and
wake up those sleepy winter muscles before the snow arrives.
Roller skiing is an essential training activity to help prepare
you for the competition season. The U.S. National Team and other
top-level skiers begin roller skiing as early as June to prepare
for the season. This may seem a bit extreme to the average citizen
racer who races only a few times a year, but to the professional
skier, the more time on roller skis the better.
I try to do an equal amount of both skating and classic
roller skiing in my training. As I get closer to the competition
season I increase the amount of roller skiing in my overall
training. During the early summer I may only roller ski once
or twice a week. In October I will be roller skiing up to
five times a week, sometimes twice a day! With the two different
techniques, classic and skating, I have different goals that
I focus on during training sessions. The most important focus
of my roller ski sessions is always strength.
I like to use fast roller skis, especially for skating.
The higher the elevation, the faster the skis. Slow roller
skis are fine for training at sea level, but if you train
at higher elevations I believe you would be better of with
some faster wheels. It is difficult enough to keep a high
tempo while doing distance training at six thousand feet,
let alone with slow wheels on your roller skis. Most of the
top European skiers that I have trained with use fast skis.
For classic roller skiing I use two different types of roller
skis. Approximately eighty percent of my classic roller skiing
is done on a pair of Marwes. These skis are relatively fast
which allow me to double pole up the steepest hills in the
Tahoe area. I use these skis for strength training. A fairly
common workout for me is to do fifty kilometers of double
poling on a hilly road with a total vertical climb of over
five thousand feet. The remaining twenty percent of my classic
roller skiing is done on a pair of slower Pro-Skis. On these
skis I either double pole or double pole with kick, alternating
legs. I seldom, if ever, diagonal stride on roller skis! In
my opinion, I find that I get very little benefit from striding
on roller skis. It is easy for me to develop bad technique
habits when I rely on the wheel ratchet for grip. I use hill
bounding and ski walking to simulate diagonal striding and
feel that this is much more beneficial to my training.
I enjoy skating on roller skis much more than I used to.
I spend a lot of time doing technique work while skating.
For strength training while on skating roller skis I use two
techniques. First, I try to use the V-2 technique as much
as possible. This strengthens my arms and torso. To improve
leg strength I do a large amount of skating without poles.
The most important thing to remember is keep it fun and
safe. Give those kids in the back seat of a passing car a
big wave as they stare at you, trying to figure out what it
is they are seeing.
Train smart and have fun,
Marcus Nash
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Marcus Nash is a