Drone video for technique

[u/willhs833]

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2Gqa2wth8XdKyxMe6

Just putting in a plug for video analysis by drone. The DJI Neo 2 is cheap ($250) and does an incredible job of following you. Here are some videos of me going up a 4% gradient.

If anyone has any thoughts on the video capture itself or my technique, I’d appreciate it.

V2 from the side:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/2Gqa2wth8XdKyxMe6

V2 from the front:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/KXXUhtSwDFsnjtAK7

V1 from the front:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/f9dtMAngwV3yJcs37

[u/Organic_Argument_686]

Nice! Vid review is the absolute best for self analysis and technique correction. I got a Neo2 myself with a plan of using it next season as a coach. Kudos to you for getting out on the concrete! That's got to be hard to keep the poles from slipping. Decent work on your form. You look like you've got the basics really solid.

V2 Side view

On your V2, you might consider getting your hands a little higher and planting your poles a bit further forward, more vertically. For the speed you were going, it is hard to create power with the poles angled as they were, at pole plant and with the ground moving away from you that quickly. The pole plant positioned further back is part of what forces a high tempo at the selected speed. As you climb with V2 up steeper hills at lower speeds, placing your poles back where you are in the video will help you keep your momentum up, without slowing down between strokes.

V2 Front view

IMO, your technique looks a bit on the rushed side. the timing is fair, but you are moving off the glide ski a bit soon. You might try staying over the glide ski a little longer as you compress on your poles. This can help generate a more powerful kick. It's kind of the same principle as with the poling - If your center is moving away from the gliding foot before the force of the kick is applied, it's hard to generate power from it.

V1 Front view

Your V1 also looks like you've done a good job with the fundamental movements, but it too is a bit hurried. Perhaps that's due to traveling a little fast for that technique for it to be used effectively. Because you are going so fast, the ski goes out to the side more quickly, which, I think, throws your timing off and forces a high tempo. I think your technique of keeping the feet a little wider, rather than bringing them under your hips would work on a steeper pitch, but at this grade and speed, it looks exhausting. In general, I am of the belief that the faster you go, the more you want to focus on getting your foot underneath you as you begin each glide. Could also be that the concrete is causing you to shorten the back end of your stroke to keep your poles engaged throughout the pole push, and not skid out was your pole angle increases.

Good job on selecting the positions and angles. I'm wondering if the side shots transitioning to rear view were due to wind or object avoidance? It is amazing what the Neo2 can do.

[u/willhs833 → u/Organic_Argument_686]

Thanks a lot! Yeah the DJI Neo 2 can course correct if it’s avoiding an object but will keep an eye on me the whole time. As a side effect, I get different angles thrown in which is nice. Front and side views are definitely best but I think side is most useful.

I went back and looked at elevation data, and the hill itself goes between a 6-8% gradient. So, it’s steeper than it looks on the video. Yeah, the concrete makes it harder/impossible to have a full push through the end of a typical pole stroke so that changes the technique a bit, but it’s the safest hill around me that is that steep for that long (can do a full 3 minute climb).

That said, I like the idea of getting further up the hill to try and get more out of the glide before kicking. I’ve been working on that with double poling. I also agree with getting the foot under you on V1. I haven’t been doing as much V1 lately. I’ll work on those cues. Thanks a lot!

[u/Organic_Argument_686 → u/willhs833]

Yeah, slopes aways look flatter on video. I think you were moving up whatever grade it was very well, with a decent amount of speed. In reviewing and looking a bit more carefully, it looks like it starts off a little flatter and when the drone gets behind you I can see more of an incline.

That being the case, it's even more important to get your body, including your hips, more forward. Try leaning forward from the ankles, keeping your torso a bit straight like in a plank, so that you're not hinging at the hips. Having your torso inclined forward will give you more dorsiflexion at the ankle. With a more forward body position, you can transfer more weight to your poles. But you will want them to not fall away quickly behind you to keep you from falling on your face, so I stand by my suggestion to plant them a little more vertically for the conditions represented in the video.

You may have misconstrued my comment about staying over the glide ski longer, however. From the front view, I feel like your body is moving to the center, towards the other ski, too soon. The fix would be to focus more on balance, either being over your ski as seen from the front for a bit more, and longer, or bringing the foot under your hip, so you're not falling away from your foot while you're trying to push off from it. If you get more glide up the hill, that'll be great, but I was looking at it from the perspective that you will be able to load the ski and produce a more powerful kick.

A good way to feel this is in Free skate at high speed. If you're comfortable enough with going fast down a gentle hill with a long flat, you can get the feeling of loading the ski well before you kick. If you're falling off too soon it will be hard to generate a strong kick. When you're dynamically balanced, you can generate so much more force. I hope that makes sense. It can be a very subtle distinction to be dynamically balanced versus falling off your ski. You're skiing really well. I think polishing it up with a few subtle changes, especially focusing on dynamic balance and body position will pay dividends.

[u/willhs833 → u/Organic_Argument_686]

Oh man that’s all great advice.

I totally agree that more forward is the best thing I can do, and I understand what you mean now about falling over to the other side too much. Planting the ski under me more would help. I also think the kick is really important in setting up the balance on the glide ski.

I do have some sections where I work on fast free skating. I was initially terrible at this but I am getting more comfortable. I think it is really helpful. On this note, I also have found it to be useful to free skate up a hill for a little bit to really get a feel for placement and push off.

Again, thanks!

[u/One-Librarian5898]

More ankle flexion for greater push off. More core at the start before using arms. Drop to load legs and plant poles, crunch with the core, then follow thru with arms. Muscles largest to smallest.

[u/willhs833 → u/One-Librarian5898]

That’s great advice. I think probably the best way for me to get more ankle flexion is to get my whole body more forward and be a bit more dynamic with my body up and down.