The Basics of Speedskating

Get Low. The lower, the better. Try for a 90 degree knee bend. Over longer distances, you won't be able to maintain this, but bend 'em as much as you can. Keep your weight centered and off of your toes. Push through the center of the frames. As an exercise, think about pushing through the heels at the end of the stroke. Make your heel-wheel the last wheel to leave the pavement at the end of …

…good, hard conventional power push. Cross-overs are pretty important. Try to push as radially (laterally) as you can with the foot on the inside of the turn. Lean in to the turn. Next you can learn the double push! Eddy Matzger does great camps on this! Another great resource is Barry Publow's book, Speed on Skates. The classic is ice speedskater Dianne Holum's out of print and hard-to-find book, The Complete Handbook of Speed Skating.