Expert Inline Speed Skating Advice
QUESTION
I started short track 8 months ago and have been training off ice quite a bit. I’ve been a ballet dancer for years and am quite flexible, but how low should I take my squats? My trainer wants me to go way below 90°, but it pulls on my medial glutes. Is this right?
ANSWER
Coaches often emphasize a deep knee angle of 90° (or lower) as a form of over-exaggeration for teaching skaters to sit low. This is a common and effective method since skaters rarely squat as low as they think they are. For example, a skater may think they are sitting at a 90° angle when in actuality they may be 100 or 110°. However, while it is useful to train at knee angles of 90°, the truth is that you will rarely sit this low when skating. Most skaters will display a knee angle of 100-130° depending in the distance skated.
While it is useful to develop strength at lower angles, you have to be careful when it comes to overloading the knee and quadriceps at very low angles when training the gym. Below 90° the quadriceps tendon (a blending of 4 muscles into the top of the knee cap) is forced into ‘pulling’ from a very biomechanically inefficient and potentially ‘dangerous’ angle. Strain injuries and overuse injuries are the common result of performing squats too low, so you must exercise caution, especially when lifting heavy. Even if you have good flexibility in the hip and thigh area, squatting too low is a big no-no! If you are sensing muscular strain at such low angles, then back off before you injure yourself.
As a general rule, try to squat to (but not below) 90° but only if it feels right. If you feel muscles ‘pulling’, or pain/strain in the knee or anywhere else, bring your squats up 10°. Work with this depth of squat for 3-4 weeks and then try squatting a little lower. But be careful not to overstrain the knee by squatting excessively low. If in doubt, err on the safe side.
QUESTION
I have several friends who regularly compete in (running) marathons. I know if I could get them skating they would all be good! I have tried to subtlety point out speed skating. Since that didn’t work, I was wondering if you can help. Can you give me some hard facts why it might benefit runners to speedskate? I know caloric output is roughly the same (depending on speed). Maybe you know first hand of some people who do both? I would really appreciate the help.
ANSWER
Caloric output running versus inline skating is very similar, but there are other reasons why runners should dabble in skating. Most importantly is the level of impact. Running is a high-impact aerobic activity which can result in both acute and long-term overuse injuries. Common ailments are foot/ankle pain, shin splints, knee and lower back pain. I don’t know a single long-distance runner who hasn’t suffered at least some of these symptoms over the years. In fact, I myself was a marathon runner before buying my first inlines for cross-training back in 1992.
Inline skating is the ideal cross-training activity for runners. Not only does skating provide a low-impact alternative for runners teetering on the brink of injury, but skating will help develop muscular strength in key areas. Running imposes very low contractile forces, and therefore does little to improve strength/muscle mass beyond a certain level. Aside from the obvious benefit of improving strength in the prime mover muscles (quads, hamstrings, glutes), skating will improve strength and muscular endurance in other key ‘support’ areas such as the lower leg, abdominal wall, and lower back. Plus, skating offers a much needed psychological break from the monotony of running, and helps to develop superior levels of balance, coordination, and proprioception (our sensation of our bodies position in space). Every runner has something to gain by incorporating one or two weekly skating sessions into their training program, and hopefully they will catch the bug and switch sports.
QUESTION
For the past 3 days my right knee has been aching around the whole area pretty much continuously even when resting. I can bend it and kneel on it but it just constantly aches. I am not sure how / what I did to irritate it but has anyone else experienced something like this? I can’t get into my doctor until later this week and was just curious maybe its a sprain.
ANSWER
As joints go, the knee is one of the more complex ones with many ligaments, cartilage, and support muscles / tendons crossing the front and back as well as both sides. While it’s impossible for me to even consider diagnosing such an injury, keep in mind that knee ‘pain’ deep in the joint is often ‘referred’ pain from a muscle strain / tear at the distal point of the quadriceps. The four quadriceps muscles which make up the bulk of the skating musculature blend into a common (patellar) tendon which originates just above the knee cap. The musculo-tendon junction (where the muscle belly tapers and blends into a strong, more fibrous tendon) is a structurally weak point in any muscle, and you may simply have overstrained one of more of the quads. The sensation of such an injury is often knee pain deep in the joint. However, there are many other potential causes of the symptoms you describe, so best to see a sports medicine specialist or physiotherapist. In the meantime, warm up and stretch regularly, then ice the area for 10-15 minutes to reduce inflammation/ swelling. Ibuprofen, while generally considered a pain killer, also has anti-inflammatory properties, and can help alleviate some symptoms. But best to check with your health care professional before taking any medication.
QUESTION
In your book explaining the double-push you state the recovery leg is touching down just as the pushing leg is finishing its push. You mention how this differentiates from classic technique’s recovery leg being placed close to the pushing leg. In classic technique you push against the recovery leg, that’s why you want it near the pushing leg, to get the most benefit of the push. What is pushed against in the double-push technique if there’s no recovery leg down until the very end of the push?
ANSWER
This is a bit of an elaborate thread to discuss in the ate column, so I will leave this for discussion in a future article. However, I will make a few comments. First off, with classic technique you don’t push against the recovery leg per se. Whether one skates classic or double-push, the object you ‘push against’ is the same: body weight. In classic technique you begin your push as the weight transfer occurs and body mass moves away from the direction of push. In double-push skating the concept is much the same: using the weight transfer and body mass as a point of leverage, the pushing leg extends in an opposite direction to that of the weight shift. E.g. when you push with the left leg the body weight is moving to the right.
The difference is the set-down! In classic technique the skate sets down early on in the push and provides the base of support for ‘catching’ the weight transfer and subsequent glide. With the double-push the recovery skate sets down much later, with the pushing more than half way extended. Remember, the body weight is always moving away from the pushing leg. In double-push skating, the recovery skate sets down and then ‘pulls’ in the same direction as the pushing leg, always away from the direction of weight transfer.
This is a difficult concept for most to visualize. I have some good photos to illustrate this points but unfortunately they are not high enough resolution to print. I will try to get some high resolution photos taken and discuss this is a future article.
Article © 2003 Barry Publow, Canada
