I want to lengthen my stride, any tips?

[tsanga 0]

I don't agree with that 80-20 rule. Every video of good skaters I've seen their glide foot is 100% under.

How do you push off if all the weight is on your glide foot? You need some weight on the leg you're pushing off.

[biff44 0]

When I push off, virtually all of my weight is on the push off foot. It is like my glide foot could lift up and I would probably not notice it.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I have spent a lot of time watching the fastest NHL skaters, and I'll tell you, some of them have very poor form. They just somehow learned how to go fast in spite of themselves.

I would like to hear some name with that very poor form who goes fast.

[Patrick67 1]

I would like to hear some name with that very poor form who goes fast.

Me too, having a hard time figuering out whom (if any) has a crappy form and lightning speed, AO is the closest I can come to an answer for some reason.

Otherwise all I can think of, is I'm attracted to Gaborik('s)...... skateing... ;)

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

They might look fast because they are moving their feet incredebly fast, but in fact they are not that fast, it's just an illusion. I don't know if you remember at the All star game, when St Louis was going around the ice, the commentators would say how much of a great time he would do.and for Niedermayer, how much of a slow time he would do. Niedermayer won easily. It's just an illusion, don't worry about it.

[Neo5370 132]

Oddly enough the Niedermayer bro's went to Laura Stamm clinics when younger, or even older, who knows.

I have the book and like Kovy, highly recommend it but it's on DVD as well and for a beginner-ish skater some visual aid would be more helpful I think.

Cav's made a small suggestion that should have HUGE benefits, your posture should be as if you were sittind down in a chair. It's not easy or comfortable if youi're not used to it at first. Muscles you never knew you had will be tired.

Basically try not to bring your pushoff foot back until you've milked just about all the energy from that thrust, remember to flick your toes, and you don't need to lift your leg that high when you "return" it (you're pushoff leg).

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I read 1'' of the ice for the return, in a straight line trajectory.

[thompson77 0]

Stretch your legs out longer to make a longer stride..just common sense

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

I have spent a lot of time watching the fastest NHL skaters, and I'll tell you, some of them have very poor form. They just somehow learned how to go fast in spite of themselves.

But, if you are the average jamoke, a good long stride with a little tip flick at the end, and bringing the skate all the way back to almost touch the other skate--all yield better speed.

So what are the players you are refering to?

[Cavs019 706]

Stretch your legs out longer to make a longer stride..just common sense

If your not in the correct skating posture you cannot "stretch" your legs out to your maximum stride length. Simply "stretching" your legs is a good way to pull something. If it was just common sense there wouldn't be powerskating clinics all over North America and 100+ page books written merely on the science of skating.

[Gongshow11 1]

I have spent a lot of time watching the fastest NHL skaters, and I'll tell you, some of them have very poor form.  They just somehow learned how to go fast in spite of themselves.

But, if you are the average jamoke, a good long stride with a little tip flick at the end, and bringing the skate all the way back to almost touch the other skate--all yield better speed.

So what are the players you are refering to?

pavel bure wasnt full stride, gretzky, recchi, and many others who didnt have the perfect power skating technique. i take power skating 4x a week, and ill tell you, pavel bure did not skate the proper power skating way, but shit he was fast. I hunch over when i skate to, no one has a perfect stride

[Cavs019 706]

Sami Kapanen anyone? He has jets but looks like a wounded duck on acid when he skates. Bure chopped like a mother as well.

Whoever said AO I don't know about that, he is almost technically perfect in his skating, or any other aspect of hockey for that matter. :D He has the most explosive crossover stride I've ever seen.

[Trooper 8]

To be honest with you, I wouldn't lose sleep over stride length. Hockey skating is only full-speed straight out skating a small amount of the time. Mostly it's: accelerate, scoot, stop, start, glide, turn, etc.

[Kovy_Ribs_Fedo 3]

Sami Kapanen anyone? He has jets but looks like a wounded duck on acid when he skates. Bure chopped like a mother as well.

Whoever said AO I don't know about that, he is almost technically perfect in his skating, or any other aspect of hockey for that matter. :D He has the most explosive crossover stride I've ever seen.

yeah, Kapanen is a good example and for Bure I agree he hasn't the greatest stride but he was such a graceful skater. And for Bure, on a 1-Lap contest he isn't there. Twist said in his book he has coach many players faster than Bure but he said where Bure was in a other league was in his first step.

[Allsmokenopancake 0]

To be honest with you, I wouldn't lose sleep over stride length. Hockey skating is only full-speed straight out skating a small amount of the time. Mostly it's: accelerate, scoot, stop, start, glide, turn, etc.

Well, what put it in my mind that I needed to lengthen it was when I was rollerblading round the park, when it came to the uphill sections, I found that I was almost walking up because I didn't have enough in my stride to generate uphill momentum.

So I figured that to generate uphill momentum, I would need to lengthen my stride, get the form proper and what not. And that it would be equally beneficial to the ice too.

It was sort of a reality check on how much work I need to do on form and technique

[Trooper 8]

To be honest with you, I wouldn't lose sleep over stride length.  Hockey skating is only full-speed straight out skating a small amount of the time.  Mostly it's: accelerate, scoot, stop, start, glide, turn, etc.

Well, what put it in my mind that I needed to lengthen it was when I was rollerblading round the park, when it came to the uphill sections, I found that I was almost walking up because I didn't have enough in my stride to generate uphill momentum.

So I figured that to generate uphill momentum, I would need to lengthen my stride, get the form proper and what not. And that it would be equally beneficial to the ice too.

It was sort of a reality check on how much work I need to do on form and technique

Then you need to work on strength/power.

[roostingmx 0]

I want to..to