how can i get faster

[kt_13]

hey i was just wondering does any1 no any drills or anything that helps u improve your speed/power skating. cos i really need to get faster b4 i can improve my game further. thanx

[almostheroes]

I have notice that skaters will get faster thru running or using a precor machine. Anything that will exercise the lower body to strenghten the legs. A speed skater device would work also and let you develop only the muscles needed.

[showtime89]

Exercise bike with a decent amount of resistance, leg weights, running, but honestly you may only pick up a step or two. Those of us with the wheels have always had them and just tweaked it a bit. Either you have it or you don't. Then you could always make sure your bearings are clean and your wheels are rotated to give you the most grip for pushing off.

[89jettawolfs]

the number one thing is your stride. I went to a Robbie Glantz speed skating clinic when i was in high school. And i found out my stride wasn't really right. Both forwards and backwards. They showed me some things to improve it and i found i gained quite a bit of speed. There are tons of videos and stuff you can buy that will help make sure your stride is getting all the power it can.

[MDE3]

I wholeheartedly agree that proper technique has a lot to do with it.

One thing I notice most about inline skaters, who have never been "taught" to skate properly, is that while they may already have a fast stride, they waste a lot of power through weak technique. Going to an ice hockey power skating clinic like the Robby Glanz school can help because a lot of the pricipals they teach also will apply to inline skating, although there are differences. I do not know too many dedicated inline power skating schools, although I think Mattie Denton may hold some down at the Colliseum.

Two of the biggest things to work on in inline skating is to get your weight over the driving leg for the longest possible time, to insure maximum use of energy without slippage, and also to finish the stride with a toe kick, which involves giving a snap with your ankle at the end of the stride. Your toe finishes pointed out and behind you in an ideal finish of each drive stride.

If your stride is too forward and backwards you will not be able to develop the toe kick, as the wheels will simply roll instead of driving you. You really need to concentrate on bringing your recovered foot (the one which comes back in front of you) back past the centerline of your body to start the stride.

You can do this by moving your hips side to side in a more exagerated motion as you skate, and this will also help get the weight over your skate for an extended period of time. Your "thrust" should not be so much forward and back as more angled to the side...at about 40 degrees from your direction of travel. This is really where the inline skaters stride varies a bit from ice hockey, as the edge of an ice hockey skate lets you use a lesser angle for your thrust. Only by using this larger or "wider" angle along with the exagerated weight shift, will you be able to develop a toe kick in inline skating. The toe kick is responsible for up to 15% of your power, and so skating with a technique that does not allow you to use one, automatically limits your skating speed.

When I coached both ice and inline skating, it used to drive me nuts when inline skaters came over to ice and I could see their trailing foot come up and almost kick themselves in the butt as they finished their stride. No toe kick.

The Robby Glantz scholl was a good one as I recall, because they taught power skating much as described above meaning bringing the recovered foot far forward and across the centerline of your body actually starting the stride (for ice) on the outside "edge" of the skate. They also taught the angled thrust pretty well too. There are other advantages to this type of mechanics as well, as it allows the skater to use the large hip flexor muscles to start the stride, and over all is found to be less tiring, and thus more efficient.

Some schools used to teach ice power skating as almost a pure forward and back motion, with both feet tracking like they were on parellel railroad tracks. This school used an exagerated foot angle rather than thrust angle to achieve the necessary "bite". This technique did not require a "hip shift" either, and so will never allow you to develop as much total thrust, or a proper "toe kick"(when taught for inline skating), as you cannot hold the weight over the driving foot long enough this way.

A last thought.... skating is a rythmic exercize, so practicing to music (headphones) is a great way to help you find your natural body rythm to help swing your hips back and forth as you develop the techniques above.

[kt_13]

hey thanx all for da advice, im gonna try an start working out even though it will probably kill me lol....the technique thing will b harder to sort out cos there is very few clinic/camp things in the UK. but ill try an work on it meself. cheers!

[corkrebels96]

A friend of mine over here in Ireland has killer acceleration and speed but possibly the most horrible technique i've seen. He's not falling all over the place or anything like that but you can literally see the energy being wasted in his strides. Any tips on how to correct someone's skating when they're already set in their ways??

[MDE3]

You have to start from scratch and first work on doing "inside/outside" edges both forward and backward in "S" turns while skating on one foot only. Alternate feet going on one up the length of the floor, and the other coming back. Do it skating both forward and backward. The only way to this is to use the correct amount of knee bend and to learn how to shift your weight properly. You do not use the other foot to push with other than just to get started moving. Your "thrust" must come from bending and straightening(pushing with) your leg at the right point in the "S curve"

Another exercise that helps is doing the duck walk, where you get all the way down as low as you can in a squat and try to skate using maximum extension, touching the trailing knee to the floor with each stride as you recover. This forces you to move your hips properly in order to bring the trailing leg back to the lead position. Remember to finish the stride with a toe push as you attempt this. If your toe push is slipping then push out at a bit wider angle to your body.

Also a very basic learning exercise is to do the "Penguin Walk" which requires you to turn your feet to the outside as close to 90 degrees as possible, and step across the full width of the floor. This will increase your leg flex, and also teach you balance and a bit of the weight shift. Lift your knees up to the level of your waist as you do this last exercise.

Another standard drill to greatly increase your side push and balance as well as your knee bend, is to do the "step across" exercise, but not the quick foot version as you would do with "football" or "soccer" as we call it here, but stepping sideways as wide as possible with each stride across. You will reach across with your left leg in front when moving to the right, and vica versa when moving to the left. This will help develop a scissor step for quick lateral movement while skating backwards, and also teaches more balance, and the "feel" of your inside and outside "edges as you roll across them. Make sure you do these drills in both directions while only moving laterally across the floor. Make sure you "stretch out" the movement as much as possible.

[showtime89]

Then there is the proven way of chasing down the older kids in huge parking lots. Over the course of two years they were chasing me down. Then again, just skating every single day helped too.

[bobbyorio]

I guess you must be talking about Mahony. He's lucky because he hasnt found alcohol yet! I was never that fast but definitely was a lot faster than now at 16 or 17 years of age.

[MDE3]

Skating everyday is great for conditioning and getting comfortable on your skates, and will improve your speed as any increase in strength and conditoning will. However reinforcing bad habits everyday will still not improve your speed as much as reinforcing good habits everyday.

[corkrebels96]

great! I'll get him started on those drills and report back with any improvement or hilarious injuries. Might try them myself aswell refine my own technique to get that extra inch on other players.

[Colby39]

it will help a lot to hit the gym; do stiff legged deadlifts, squats/leg press, inner and outer thigh/hip machines (yes, the stupid looking ones ones...) and try, on your own at home or in the gym, one legged squats; you extend your inactive legs forward while you squat down on one leg, as far as you can, and come back up without rounding your back too much or bouncing. It improves balance, coordination, power, and strength. Also, it may help you a lot to become more flexible by stretching as little as 30 minutes a day, concentrating on your hamstrings, glutes (butt muscles), hips and calves...

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