Stöten Magazine

Improve your cross-country skiing

One of the great things about cross-country skiing is that you can always hone your technique. Whether you prefer classic or skate. In this article, we thought we'd share some helpful tips on how to improve your cross-country skiing technique!

Improve your classical technique

Classic cross-country skiing consists of four elements. These are scissoring, diagonal skiing, stacking and stacking with push-off. To improve these elements, there are a variety of exercises you can do. For example, we recommend you try the following:

Diagonal running without poles

Riding without poles is positive for improving balance and also finding a better flow in the ride. Riding without poles, on the other hand, can cause you to lose focus quickly. Therefore, try to:

  1. Ride with as big steps as possible and slide out. How many steps do you use between two poles? Try to get even more power in your steps and reduce the number of steps.
  2. Go for it and slide on one ski on a slight uphill slope. How far do you get before you lose your balance? Then try to improve your balance and slide even further.
  3. Another good exercise is "one, two, three - glide". It involves taking three steps and then stopping in the middle of the diagnol movement to try to slide on one leg. The advantage of this exercise is that you gain better balance while daring to slide on your skis. Let them do the work for you!

Stacking and stacking with offsets

Staking is perhaps the most important element to master. It is the one that allows you to ride long distances while retaining as much energy as possible. To improve your stacking, we recommend that you:

  1. Think about where you place the rods. Too many people place their poles sideways or behind their feet. Something that means that you get almost zero power in your stacking. Practise placing your poles in front of your body.
  2. Getting up with the hip and then folding over the rods. This way you get maximum power while mainly working your stomach. Something that allows you to retain as much energy as possible and avoid lactic acid in your legs.
  3. Holding on with your hips so that you don't "sit down" when you take a stroke.

There you have it - simple and helpful tips to help you improve your technique. See you in the cross-country track with us at Stöten in Sälen!