The goal of this miniseries on poling is to help readers ski faster with less effort. How? Through more efficient technique using the larger muscles of the body. When that happens, especially when you get a running start from gravity, you can ski significantly faster with less effort.

But first a little review. In my previous column we saw that the most efficient way to pole was to use the strong large muscles first, then transfer to the weaker muscle groups. That meant following this sequence: Abdominal crunch, lat pull (elbows down to side), then in fast conditions tricep extensions, followed, in the very fastest conditions, by wrist extensions.

Two issues ago, in Part I, we saw that powerful and efficient poling required a relatively wide hand position, with the poles closely aligned with the forearms. That means that the hands are positioned outside the shoulders, far enough for the poles to be in line with the forearms.

Once you have achieved the above pole/forearm position, you are in the most effective geometry to apply force to the poles. With the poles in alignment with the forearms, almost all force is usable and pointed in the correct direction.

Exception to the rule

Now to the exception to this rule: The weak-side pole of the V-1 skate. This is the only poling stroke where the arms are not mirror images of each other throughout the poling motion. Because of the nature of the V-1, closely aligning the pole to the forearm of the weak side pole is impossible. Now it’s time to look at the photograph in my accompanying ad. Notice the close alignment of the strong side pole (left in this photo) to the forearm. But the weak side pole is planted farther back, angled out slightly with the arm partially extended.

If you tried to align both arms equally with the poles, you’d trip over your weak side pole for two reasons. First, the weak side ski is farther back, and second, the feet are still quite wide apart at pole plant for the V-1.

Now let’s look at the some of the nuances of the V-1 and some of the misunderstandings because of the asymmetrical nature of the poling stroke. First, it’s obvious that the weak side poling arm is not in any position to apply as much forward power as the strong side pole. In fact, the weak side pole is angled to the side, not directly ahead, hardly pointed properly for the most forward power.

That said, we come to the crux of much misunderstanding of V-1 poling mechanics. While it is impossible to get equal power from both poles, it is disastrous to feel as if that is what you are doing. You should feel as if you are applying equal power to both poles. Then their natural asymmetrical alignment will take care of the rest.

So while poling in the V-1, use the same mental sequence as in all other double-poling strokes. Begin with a forward lean, applying body weight to the poles. Then ab crunch, lat pull at the elbows and finally extend the arms in faster conditions. Make no attempt to apply more power to the strong side pole. Feel as if the upper body is working as one unit.

In other words, let nature take its course. You should feel as if both arms are moving in unison, even though that is not what is happening. Because of the initial position of the arms and poles, you will automatically apply more force to the strong side pole. And without even trying, your body/torso will twist slightly. For a more complete and visual presentation of this phenomenon, refer to my DVD, “The NEW Simple Secrets of Skating.” In this case, a video is worth a couple of thousand words.

Weak vs strong sides

So now let’s look at what each individual pole is doing. The strong side one is easier to see as it is pointed straight back and functioning just as it does in all other double pole motions. It just propels your body straight down the track.

But the skis are angled out to the side and your legs are throwing your weight out as you skate off. Wouldn’t it be nice if your poling motion could also propel the strong side gliding ski in its direction of travel?

That’s the great trade-off for the weak side pole in the V-1. It is pointed in the direction of the strong side ski. So when you apply normal poling pressure, feeling a symmetrical muscular action, the weak side pole’s job is to keep the strong side ski gliding without any conscious thought from you. While it would be great if the weak side pole could be angled to push your body mass directly forward, it does the next best thing: it helps your strong side ski glide.

And then at the end of the stroke, after the natural slight body twist, the strong side pole helps push you over to the weak side ski, again without any intention on your part. All this happens because of the geometry of the asymmetric pole plant.

So the poling forces are slightly different for the V-1 compared to the other faster skate techniques, such as the V-2 and Open Field. The reason? In faster conditions, glide is longer, and the feet have time to swing under the body. With the feet close together, it’s natural to plant your poles symmetrically, pointed back, poised to push you directly down the trail. But if you just apply a smooth torso crunch to all of your skate-offs, the differences between them are not noticeable. The angle of the pole plants takes care of the details.

Birkie tips

Finally, some tips for the Birkie. The V-1 is skating’s most versatile stroke. It can be used up steep hills or on fast flats. When the conditions are faster, the hands reach further forward, the poling stroke is longer and more glide is the result.

On steeper hills the stroke is shorter and glide minimal. Now here is the key for the average Birkie skier: On the tough hills of the Birkie, it’s important to shorten up your V-1. This means planting the strong side pole with your hand very close to your shoulder. In addition, take shorter steps and try for light movements. By light, I mean light enough to stay aerobic, not completely wishy-washy.

One final tip. It helps a lot to feel like you’re skating as equally as possible on both skis. But again, be sure that you maintain forward lean as you ski with control on the steeper hills. Short, light, almost dancing motions are the key to staying aerobic on the steeper hills. When the going gets too tough, there’s always the flying herringbone.

But what about the elite skier? While many World Cup skiers, especially women, have adopted a more upright V-1 with shorter strokes, quite a few have not. Most men and a few women, ski up steep hills with longer pole glide which requires more flexion. That’s a natural adaptation the average citizen racer makes on shorter faster hills. So the real key is to maintain maximum glide while using light motions. I guarantee you that a light motion for a World Cup winner is, while aerobic for him or her, still very powerful.

So the length of your glide is dependent on your aerobic strength. Sooner or later, even the best skier takes short steps. There is a climb up a downhill ski hill on the World Cup circuit, Val di Fiemme, that reduces all of the field to just a virtual flop and plop survival mode.

And of course the reverse is also true. There are some skiers whose aerobic power, technique and balance is so incredible that they can V-2 up the steepest hills. And that’s what last year’s Birkie winner, Matt Liebsch, did. There was a time when I would have thought that to be an impossible feat. It should be noted that he had the help of fast skis, thanks to a Bryan Fish wax job.

So for those of you elite skiers who see the Birkie as a nice rolling course suitable most of the time for the V-2, go for it and God bless you. Most skiers can only dream of skiing like that. It’s as far away from the average citizen racer’s abilities as is dunking over LeBron James.

Final Birkie advice

The two biggest flaws found in the main pack at the Birkie are both caused by incomplete weight transfer. The first is sitting back. When this occurs, forward momentum is lost. Not only that, the force at skate-off is more up than forward. The net result is slower skiing with more effort.

The second flaw caused by incomplete weight transfer is straddling the track. When this happens there is no rest in the stroke. It is important to transfer all of the weight over to the glide ski and let the off-leg swing under the body. This seemingly small amount of rest is incredibly important in a long race like the Birkie.

The final penalty of incomplete weight transfer is very little propulsion from the poles. Applying body weight to your poles takes a little stress off your legs, and that really adds up over a long hilly race. I’d say that sitting back, holding the poles well forward, planting them in a vertical position and only using the poles for balance is the number one flaw of the beginning and intermediate skier.

Finally, I believe it is the rhythm of the torso and the length of the poling stroke that determines the overall glide. So when you find yourself in fatigued survival mode, don’t abandon the rhythmic motion of the torso crunch. On the steepest hills of the Birkie, don’t even try to extend the arms to involve the triceps unless you’re one of the few and fortunate elite.

Good luck. Hope you have your best Birkie ever.

Lee Borowski is a past USSA Nordic Coach of the Year, Badger State Winter Games Athlete of the Year and the coach for several junior, senior and collegiate skiers of the year. He has also coached many master’s skiers who have won both national and world championships. Borowski is the author of several books and articles, and producer of four videos on cross-country skiing technique. He runs the Web site http://thesimplesecrets.com/.

To order Borowski’s “NEW Simple Secrets of Skating” or “The Simple Secrets of Striding,” demonstrated through footage of Olympic and world champions, and available on VHS and DVD, send $25 plus $1.75 shipping (Wisconsin residents add $1.27 tax) to Lee Borowski, 4500 Cherokee Drive, Brookfield, WI 53045.

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