I have a question about the double-push. You have used the term ‘pull’ in the past to refer to the inward motion of the active leg during the glide. Shouldn’t it therefore be called the push-pull technique?

You are correct that the term ‘double push’ is a bit of a misnomer. Let’s consider the facts and clarify the meaning of push versus a pull. A push refers to a motion away from the centre (midline) of the body. A pull is the opposite action; moving a limb toward the center of the body.

There is little question that the conventional pushing action of the leg is, in fact, a push. The complication is with the support leg (which is normally motionless, or static, during the glide). With the double push, the support leg/skate is set down outside the midline, full body weight is applied, then it moves towards and then across it before arcing out into the next push. So, the ‘pull’ actually contains two parts: The initial part of what I refer to as the pull is indeed a pull. But in actuality, the pull becomes a push once it crosses the midline under the body. i.e.: This one action begins as a pull then becomes a push while moving in the same direction.

So if you want to be technically accurate, the double push should be called the push, pull-push! But because of the fluidity of the motion it is far simpler to just call the motion a ‘pull’. Are you confused yet? If so, read my double push article in this very issue.

What are the best exercises to train to increase speed. I’ve been told that speed is a result of strength and technique. Is this true? What training should a skater do to increase speed?

In simplified form, speed is a product of force and efficiency. Technique is the conduit through which we can apply this force in a propulsive manner. Our objective as skaters is to transform as much muscular and kinetic energy as possible to the road, and this is where technique comes in. Think of a Formula 1 race car. How fast a car can lap around the track depends on more than horsepower. The engine may be synonymous with your heart, lungs, and muscles, but the tires are just as important. Much like good tires allow the engine to transmit combustible energy into speed and traction, technique allows us to channel maximum force to the road with the highest degree of efficiency. Poor technique decreases efficiency, and I have seem many ‘strong’ skaters impaired by their inability to apply their strength.

When it comes to skating fast, you need to optimize both your engines and your tires. Many skaters work on their engines but neglect the tires, and this is a huge mistake! Training our engines involves interval-training sessions that developed anaerobic capacity and muscular strength. Ensuring that we have the best possible tires is purely a technical element, and involves drills, practice, and progressive repetition.

In general, only skate as fast as you are able while still skating well. There is little point skating hard if you are skating poorly which only leads to the development of bad habits which prove difficult to break. In my weekend speed clinics we emphasize the importance of learning to skate well first. Few skaters are willing to undertake such a strategy, instead opting to burn it up every time they head out on the road. Learn the finer aspects of body position, balance, and edge control, and then worry about the engine. Horsepower will be largely wasted if you aren’t able to transmit this to the road. Skate well, then skate fast!

I’ve read some of your past articles on frame positioning and am frustrated by the inability to adjust my frame foreward and backward. The frame slots go side to side but the boot has only 3 bolt holes side by side. There is no way to make the necessary adjustments. Are there any boot companies that give you the option of front-back slots instead of just holes?

While one has to take personal preference into account, I can tell you that you want the boot more or less centered front to back with an equal amount of wheel protruding from the front and back of the skate. More ‘toe’ (having more wheel in the front) makes the skate track straighter, but limits maneuverability and makes cross overs a little awkward. Less ‘toe’ helps put the emphasis of body weight more on the heel (where it should be) and allows the skate to turn much easier as a result. I am not familiar with the mounting block options for every manufacturer, but I do know that Bont produced a boot with a fore-aft slots rather than side-by-side holes. Visit bont.com for details.

I know that stretching is important, but I find it so awkward and painful that I almost never do it. Are there certain stretches that are particularly important for inline skating?

Stretching is only painful if you overstretch. Muscles have two kinds of receptors inside them: muscle spindles and Golgi organs. Both are sensitive to the rate of stretch as well as the tension developed with an elongated muscle, and serve to protect the muscles from injury. The key to stretching is to fool these receptors to your advantage. When you stretch too far or too quickly the muscle spindles are stimulated. They react by causing the muscle to contract, limiting your range of motion and often resulting in pain. The Golgi organs, on the other hand, do the opposite. They tell the muscle to relax, optimizing flexibility and range of motion. The secret is to stretch slowly and ONLY to the point of mild discomfort (so that the muscle spindles are not activated). After roughly 15-20 seconds the muscle spindles ‘settle down’, allowing the response of the Golgi organs to dominate. This gives you a nice relaxed muscle, and highlights the importance of holding stretches for 20-30 seconds. Relax the limb, and repeat 2-3 times for each muscle or muscle group.

As far as muscles, all the muscles of the lower body are used – to one degree of another – when skating (see the 2-part article called ‘Those Things That Move Us’, in FaSST Winter & Early Summer ‘03). Most skaters focus on the quadriceps and hamstring muscles on the front and rear of the thigh, respectively. But the muscles most often neglected when stretching are the small gluteal muscles on the side of the butt, and the hip flexor group that crosses the hip on the front of the body. There are many good books on the market. Visit Human Kinetics Publishers at hkusa.com and search under ‘stretching’.

What’s the story with these new 84mm wheels? Are they really faster?

Wheel and frame size/design seems to be the latest technological evolution in the inline market place. The premise behind larger wheels is that once up to speed, large wheels roll with less resistance and at lower rpm’s. Because larger wheels have more mass, they are better at conserving rotational momentum. They may take a little longer to accelerate, but the trade-off seems to be in favor of a higher top speed. Also, because there is more urethane between the road and the hub, larger wheels should be better at absorbing shock forces than small wheels. Manufacturers continue to conduct R & D into various frame length and wheel number combinations to utilize 82, 84, and 100mm wheels. The new Bont Sniper frame comes in a 12.8” 4 x 84mm, or 13.5” 5 x 84mm. Mogema and others have frames which hold 100mm wheels.

Like most equipment choices, of primary concern should be personal preference – balance and comfort. But if the top ranks are any indication of what’s ‘fastest’ my sources tell me that virtually every elite skater is now on bigger wheels.

I am 21 years old and an indoor and outdoor inline speedskater from the Midwest. My coach keeps telling me to shave my legs, but to me it just seems weird. He says that at a certain level its just expected that skaters shave down. What’s the deal with this?

To shave or not to shave? I agree with your coach that most skaters above a certain ‘level’ shave their legs. When I was coach of the Ottawa Inline Speedskating Club, my ‘rule of thumb’ was that anyone who could break 20:00 for a 10K (drafting) had to shave their legs. Since breaking the 20 minute barrier was a major challenge / goal for many of my skaters, I would set the pace at the front, taking lap splits (on a 700m outdoor roadway) with an anticipated finish time between 19:50 and 20:00. Several hairy-legged skaters mysteriously dropped off the pace in the last lap, finishing just outside the 20 minute mark. It was almost a bit of a running gag in our club, because we all knew what was happening.

Whether or not you should shave your legs is entirely up to you, and don’t let anyone force you if you’re not interested. But in that same breath, I firmly believe that shaving one’s legs is a right of passage that can be a positive experience for many. It has become ‘the norm’ for most serious skaters, and can have a favorable psychological impact on your training and your performance. If you’re worried about being teased by friends, I can empathize with your feelings of trepidation. There is pride in one’s identity, and my guess is that skaters who shave their legs do so, in part, because they are proud of what they do on wheels, and are proud to carry ‘the mark’ of cleanly-shaved quads everytime they wear shorts.