|
|
PRE SEASON
ANDREW GARDNER
Contributing Editor for The Master Skier
Andrew Gardner is a member of the Subaru Fischer Salomon team and writes for SkiPost.com.
|
 |
Ski bounding is an activity that involves intense cardiovascular exercise and skiing imitation.
Most vital during the weeks leading up to early snow. Ski bounding incorporates all of the major muscle groups that are involved with classic skiing. It can be done with or without poles.
Ski-imitation is a slightly scaled down version of ski bounding. Think summer-skiing without the hang time. Ski imitation is less cardiovascular, less stressful and can be used for longer workouts.
In an ever technically shifting world, there are as many incarnations of ski-imitation / ski-bounding as there are diet sodas.
From the original flavor I learned from Nikolai Anikin, to the most recent additions, the variety of ski imitation / ski bounding drills can be confusing.
Regardless of the type you choose, these exercises should help to incorporate ski technique into your physiology.
Consider this a Cliff Notes course on your ski imitation / bounding workouts. (Cliffs Notes are no substitute for the real thing, just as you should augment this article with some help from an accomplished friend or coach.)
Look at a tape from Soldier Hollow last year. Try to find something with Bente Skari’s powerfully delicate technique as it seems there isn’t another skier that has so complete a mastery over classic skiing.
Look at her feet (if you can find some footage that looks at them long enough). Each foot swings loosely down the track with each high-frequency kick giving Bente an inch or two of effortless forward movement. It’s as though she’s trying to fling off bits of snow from the top of her boots.
Bente drives with her knees in the early part of release from her powerful kicks, but by the end of her glide, her foot has been flung, it has traveled underneath the knee.
In addition to the inch or two of extension this gives Bente in the direction of the finish line, it also lines up the foot underneath the leg and the body (which has also been traveling forward) so that her skis are in place for the next kick.
To accommodate for the shorter (not short!) more frequent kicks, Bente’s arms do not reach for the logo on the tip of her ski but are placed at an acute, ready bend poised for the next punch into the snow.
This type of skiing is in stark contrast to the skiers of a generation ago, whose classic strides were marked by length and omni-powerful, energy-costing kicks and corresponding long glides.
Shorter wax pockets, pole lengths and softer skis are doing for contemporary Nordic skiing what a higher gear and cadence did recently for Lance Armstrong; in short, it speeds up and lessens the overall load of movement.
Do What Bente Does
Bente’s skiing is strong and efficient. She is nimble and powerful despite weighing less than 60kg.
Bente has strong and efficient muscles from strong and efficient bounding.
Stand looking up the hill you intend to bound up, take the largest step you can comfortably and cut it in half. With Bente-like finesse, try to kick to that spot allowing a maximum flight time (both feet off the ground). The lead foot landing in a position that is under the body and ready to kick again.
Be light but snappy. Play with this. What is the least amount of energy can you exert and still feel as though you are skiing?
Bounding is particularly tough. Ease into a regular routine and check technique often. When bounding becomes too much, switch to basic ski walking.
Keep these workouts under control. I believe these workouts should be relatively short in duration (less than 1 1/2 hours) to avoid a late or lackluster kick.
When do I bound?
This depends on the type of skier you are. Starting in mid-summer, I try to work in one to two imitation/bounding workouts per week. This is reasonable for juniors or masters with similar hourly training (around 450 hours per year).
More racers should do more bounding. Let bounding intensify now that its fall.
More workouts, more frequently, with attention paid to intensity of training will allow the transition from dryland to snow to be made more smoothly.
It is important to combine this type of training with visualization.
Other Bits
· Be mindful of your body position.
· You should be relaxed and forward without bending too far at the waist.
· Keep your shoulders rounded and comfortable.
· Do not look too far forward causing you to hurt your back. Do not look too far down causing you to trip.
· The largest mistakes made by newcomers to bounding involve stiff movements dissimilar to actual technique or too much vertical movement (the body should go forward) and finally, too large a bounding step.
Bounding done well is artful. No skier’s training is complete without technically-clean bounding.
|
For more articles like this one, subscribe today to The Master Skier. |
|
