Inline Skating Technique -- Longer Strides and Glides
Jim Safianuk
Sometimes, especially on trails longer than 20 miles, and in high
heat in the middle of the summer, you may start to fatigue due to
dehydration or if your caloric burn has exceeded your caloric
intake for the day. Under these circumstances, it’s good to have
a way to conserve your energy until you reach the end of the
trail.
One approach is to use longer strides and glides. Let me explain!
The Three Forces
There are a number of forces that act on an inline skater while
he or she is in motion including rolling friction, wind
resistance, and the force of gravity. When skating longer distances, we’re
primarily concerned with rolling friction and wind resistance.
Let’s tackle the frictional force that’s developed when your
wheels roll over the pavement, and leave wind resistance for a
future article.
Reduce the Rolling Friction
Rolling friction is defined as a force which opposes the motion
of any body which is rolling over the surface of another. In our
case, the body is the inline skater and the surface is the trail
itself. The frictional force is applied against the skater’s
wheels when they come in contact with the surface of the trail.
In addition, this force is in the opposite direction and hence
opposes the force exerted by the skater to move him- or herself
forward. The greater the rolling friction, the more force the
skater needs to apply to overcome this resistance. What would
happen if the skater were to reduce the rolling friction?
In this case, he or she would need to exert less force to move
forward. Since work is equal to force times distance, it follows
that the skater needs to do less work to travel the same
distance. The skater conserves energy by doing less work. So, how
does one reduce the rolling friction? Good question, let’s find
out!
Enter Longer Strides and Glides
You can employ a technique dubbed, Longer Strides and Glides. The
idea is to minimize the time you spend rolling on both skates, or
conversely, maximize the time you spend rolling on only one
skate, which in turn serves to reduce the rolling friction.
Longer refers to a greater amount of time for the striding part
of the maneuver, as well as a greater distance for the gliding
part of the technique. Let’s see how it all works.
To skate using longer strides and glides:
Make four or five normal strides to pick up speed.
Push outward to your left side as far as possible using the
inside edges of your left skate.
Hold your left skate in the air and out to the side for 2 to 3
seconds.
Balance and glide on the right skate.
Circle your left skate back under your body until it returns to
the home position on the surface of the trail.
Quickly push outward to your right side as far as possible using
the inside edges of your right skate.
Suspend your right skate out to the side for 2 to 3 seconds.
Balance and glide on the left skate.
Circle your right skate back under your body until it returns to
the home position.
Continue to make long strides and glides using steps 2 through 9
above for a mile or so.
Key Benefits of the Maneuver
This technique affords two, key benefits when skating on longer
trails. First, it reduces the rolling resistance since you’re now
spending most of your time on only one skate, either the right or
left skate, but not a lot of time on both skates at the same
time. This means you’re conserving much-needed energy, because
you’re doing less work to travel the same distance. Second,
you’re giving your leg muscles a break by keeping one leg
suspended in the air followed by the other leg. Trust me, even
these short breaks feel good after 20 miles on the trail.
Summing Up
Use the above maneuver when you need to conserve energy and
maintain a fluid style on the return leg of a trail that never
seems to end. Until next time, good luck and get fit on the
trails this summer!
Jim Safianuk is the writer and publisher of the three-part,
inline skating series entitled Skating Lessons, as well as the
two-part, maintenance series named Skate Maintenance. He is also
the developer of the Inline Skating Center, a site which serves
as a hub for the adult, recreational, inline skating community.
To visit their Skate Maintenance department, click here:
http://skatemaintenance.inlineskatingcenter.com/
Copyright 2005, by JKS Publishing. All Rights Reserved
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