WinnPro Hockey

Is your posture killing your skating power?

Posture affects the stride in a magnitude of ways.

Think of a sprinter coming out of the blocks.

They use a forward lean to project mass forward, but they do not stay there forever. As speed builds, they gradually reorganize into a more stacked position so they can apply force more effectively into the ground.

Skating is similar in concept.

Acceleration posture has a purpose, but a lot of skaters never reorganize once they are moving.

They stay too far forward, lose their ability to stack mass over the skates, and limit how efficiently they can load into the ice and apply force.

A strong moving posture creates better access to both vertical and horizontal force.

Vertical force helps load into the ice. It gives the blade pressure, grip, and connection.

Horizontal force creates projection. Once the blade is connected, the skater can direct force backward and outward to move the body forward with power.

When posture breaks down, the body will still find a way to move, but often through compensation.

That may still look fast in a single rep.

But over repeated efforts, poor positions create more wasted energy, less repeatable force, and greater fatigue late in games.

Speed is not just about pushing harder.

It is about finding the positions that allow athletes to load the ice, hold the edge, direct force, and recover efficiently.

Measure. Diagnose. Develop.

Getting lower can actually make you slower.

In our testing, skaters who drop below an 88-degree knee bend angle often struggle to properly sequence their push, extend the stride leg, and release the blade forcefully.

At that point, the body will usually find a way to compensate and keep moving.

Compensation is not the same as efficiency.

If the athlete gets too low and can’t apply force at the right time, they may look powerful, while leaving speed, stride length, and overall performance on the table.

Lower isn’t the goal.

Greater force production and better force application are.

The goal is to find the skating positions that allow each athlete to load, push, extend, and recover with the most force and efficiency that their body is capable of.

A proper assessment can help identify and remove compensation strategies.

Share this with someone obsessed with getting a deeper knee bend.

Measure. Diagnose. Develop.

Improving at exercise doesn’t guarantee improvement on the ice. That’s why we measure a player’s physical abilities and contrast those numbers against on-ice performance.

Getting stronger, jumping higher, or lifting more only matters if it transfers.

Through our process, we can understand what’s driving performance, what’s limiting it, and what actually moves the needle for the athlete.

What works for one athlete may not work for another.

Hoping for skill transfer isn’t a strategy.

We test both on and off the ice because data helps inform where an athlete should budget their training time.

Know the weaknesses. Fix them. Play better.

If your team or organization is interested in in-season testing and performance analysis for your athletes, reach out via DM.

Measure. Diagnose. Develop.

We’re always working to help players understand the how and why behind their skating.
Not just what it looks like, but what’s actually driving it.

The skating treadmill gives us a controlled environment to look under the hood of your stride and fine tune how you move.

We measure.
We diagnose.
Then we build solutions.

Everything is focused on improving the mechanics that are holding back speed and efficiency.

You can try to skate harder and hope you get faster,
or you can actually address the movement issues that limit your speed.

Click the link in bio to book a session and learn where you may be leaving speed and power on the table.

Here is a nugget from a recent session regarding the body position and knee bend angle.

Note: we are analyzing the stride from the side view on an overhead screen.

As mentioned in my last post, the cue of “butt down” or “knee bend” to try and paint a picture of the perfect 90 degree knee bend can often lead to greater compensations or positions that prevent power and speed production.

There are many elements throughout the entire body that contribute to achieving effective knee bend and lower more powerful positions.

Using the skating treadmill and video analysis we can easily identify and begin to correct specific areas of the body that will help us achieve the power positions.

Additionally our Speed Builder Blueprint home exercise program will challenge the body in a way that makes it easier for athletes to achieve the positions and force production timing necessary to optimize speed.

Check out the links in our bio to book a treadmill session or get you hands on the program!

Here is a sneak peak at the start of the journey to better skating mechanics.

So much of what is constantly reinforced when it comes to skating (knee bend), leads to poor positions that do not allow the skater to express their strength and force in meaningful ways to produce efficient speed.

The body will always compensate to keep you moving however it may be suboptimal for performance if the fundamentals are lacking or ignored from the start.

The cause of a mechanical issue is usually rooted somewhere else along the kinetic chain.

We are continuing to book lessons for the first two weeks of March offline. Contact us at [email protected] if you are interested in getting started or learning more!