Nordic Skating Technique

Here are some basic principles of Nordic skating, some of which are at odds with hockey and figure skating.
How to stop: Snowplow, don’t ‘hockey stop’
Don’t get started unless you know how to stop. ‘Hockey stops’ work great on crowded indoor rinks encircled by hard wooden boards. They also take the edge right off your blades. If you want to avoid frequent hand-sharpening of your blades, take the gentle approach and snowplow instead, just like you would on skis. There’s planty of room on a lake, so no need to stop on a dime.
Push to the side, not to the rear.
I often see first-time Nordic skaters kicking back with their feet. Skating isn’t the same as walking; those forward-and-back leg movements gain you nothing and can even throw you off balance. The only way to create forward motion on the ice is to point your toes slightly to the outside, transfer your entire weight onto one skate, and then push sideways, extending your leg as you push. Then, using your upper body like an upside-down pendulum, transfer your weight entirely onto the other leg and push to the outside with that leg. Then repeat. The skate you’re not pushing with should be raised slightly off the ice. (More about that later.)
Keep your weight positioned between your legs
Don’t sway too far to one side or the other. If your weight ends up over the outside edge of your skate, you’ll probably lose your balance and fall. The only exception is sharp cornering when your weight is over the outside edge of one skate and the inside edge of the other to counter the centrifugal force.
Push with your entire foot, especially the heel
Fight the urge to get up on your toes. Push sideways with your entire foot. If you’re not accustomed to pushing with your heels, accentuate the heel push to overcompensate until you can feel yourself pushing with the entire side of your foot.
Keep your foot level, don’t lift your heel
When you unweight one leg and transfer your weight to the other leg, keep your foot level as you lift it off the ice. Your skate only needs to be about an inch off the ice (unless you’re skating through deep snow). Resist the urge to lift your heel. Nordic blades stick out several inches in front of your toe, so it’s important to keep them level. Otherwise, when you set your blade back down on the ice, the tip can get caught on a bump and make you trip and fall.
Resist the urge to do ‘crossover turns’
The extra length of a Nordic blade makes it difficult to cross one foot in front of the other when you’re going around a corner. To make crossovers work you must (a) be an expert Nordic skater and (b) have blades that are too short for you. If you can’t satisfy both these criteria, you could end up with a painful leg injury.
Improve your balance
You can improve your power, speed and endurance by lengthening your stride and balancing on one leg for as long as possible before you transfer your weight to the other skate. Find a smooth, hazard-free patch of ice and practice gliding on one leg until you start to lose your balance. Then try the other leg. Usually you’ll find one leg easier to balance on than the other; if that’s the case, practice balancing on your weaker leg to even the score.
Another useful exercise is to go out with a stronger skater, get behind them and try to match them stride for stride. You’ll sometimes find they’re only taking half as many strides as you are, yet they’re going twice as fast. If that’s the case, try to mimic their body movements, their pace and their rhythm. I learned to skate fast by being a copycat.
Get aerodynamic
If you can’t keep up with a faster skater, look at what clothes they’re wearing and the position of their upper body. The fastest skaters wear tight-fitting clothing and their upper body is nearly horizontal, just like you would see in the Tour de France bicycle race. If you’re wearing a bulky, unzipped parka with a hood that’s flapping in the breeze, it’s like wearing a parachute that’s sapping your strength and slowing you down. If you’re skating into a headwind, bending forward at the waist and ‘drafting’ behind the skater in front of you will help immeasurably. (Just don’t stab anyone with your poles!)
Double-poling technique
You can double-pole either while striding or just gliding along. Do it while striding to boost your speed and stability. Do it while gliding if the ice is too soft or bumpy to allow effective striding.
If you’re a cross-country skate skier, you already know how to double-pole efficiently using standard V1 technique. (V2 also works, but it’s overkill.) The only difference is that ice poles are shorter than ski poles, because you’re not on skis and your pole stroke doesn’t need to be as far behind you.
If you’re not a skate skier, read on!
Step 1. Lock your wrists to keep your pole tips always pointed behind you. Never let them swing forward like a pendulum, because it’s a waste of energy.
Step 2. Swing your arms forward, keeping your poles angled backward.
Step 3. Choose one leg or the other, and as you transfer your weight onto that leg to begin your stride, plant your poles in the ice and push to the rear. Your pole tips should hit the ice about even with the balls of your feet. Carry your pole stroke as far behind you as possible before your pole tips lose contact with the ice.
Step 4. As you transfer your weight onto your other leg, use this ‘recovery period’ to bring your arms forward and prepare for your next pole stroke.
How to skate on bumpy ice
Step 1. Choose the right blades. Ideally, they should be two inches (5cm) longer than the blades you use on smooth ice. And the bindings should be mounted a bit to the rear, so your boot sits closer to the tail than the tip of the blade. If you only have one pair of blades, there isn’t much you can do about that. But if you have trouble skating on bumpy ice, it’s possible that your blades are too short, or your bindings are mounted too far forward. Then again, it could be your technique that’s to blame; in that case, try Steps 2, 3 and 4.
Step 2. Lower your center of gravity by bending your ankles, knees and hips. This increases your stability. Your entire upper body should be leaning slightly forward, but your weight should still be centered over your blades. Follow the ‘knees, nose, toes’ rule and position your kneecap and your nose directly over your toes.
Step 3. Dig in your heels and lift your toes up into the tops of your boots. It’s essential to keep your weight off your toes. Having your weight too far forward will make your blades dig in if you hit a bump. Then you’ll trip and fall. Pressing down on the tails of your blades will allow the tips to bounce up and over the bumps without digging in.
Step 4. Shorten your stride to avoid being thrown off balance if you hit a bump. Take ‘baby steps’. Use your poles more aggressively to make up for the loss of leg power. If you practice this technique you should be able to maintain speed or even accelerate over the bumps.
Step 5. You’ll find that on bumpy ice, the faster you go, the more stable you are. It’s only when you’re going slow that every little imperfection tends to throw you off balance. In that sense, it’s just like riding a bicycle; once you get up to a certain speed, balancing is easy. Gaining the confidence to go fast is key.
Snow-covered ice
When you can’t see the ice, assume it’s bumpy and full of cracks. (More about cracks below.) Follow the rules for skating on bumpy ice; take shorter strides to avoid being thrown off balance when your blade hits an unseen hazard. Snow cover creates more drag on your blades, so double-poling can really help you maintain your cruising speed. And speed is your friend.
Dealing with cracks
A crack only has to be two millimeters wide to swallow a Nordic blade and cause you to fall. Play it safe. Act like you’re crossing railroad tracks on a bicycle. Cross every crack at right angles wherever possible. If you hit an unseen crack and your blade slips in, transfer your weight quickly to the other skate and yank your blade out of the crack before it gets stuck.
The above applies to so-called ‘healed cracks’ that have ice beneath them. When crossing open cracks that have water in them, it’s OK to cross them at right angles if they’re only half as wide as your blade is long. Lean forward as you cross the crack. If the crack is wider than half a blade length, the safe thing to do is come to a complete stop and then sidestep the crack, planting an ice pole on each side of the crack for balance.
Skate safely and have fun!