Kalli Funk starts a stride discussion by emphasizing the importance of the knee bend. By demonstrating the difference of a poorly executed stride with a properly executed one with straight legs and a strong push, Kalli shows how much power can be generated.
She brakes down the best location for the bent knees, trying for a ninety degree bend even if “we’re thinking about it” and not actually getting down to a ninety degree squat. This will generate a good push off the edges.
The next important stride component Kalli covers is the recovery. Demonstrating only bringing the foot back 50% Kalli shows that she’s “not able to push as far” and thus moves quite a bit slower with less power and speed.
Posture is addressed with emphasis on the importance of a straight back and eyes up. To incorporate arms, the skater must keep them going straight back and forth instead of a side to side swinging motion which results in “using more energy than needed.”
Kalli touches upon a subtle but important detail at the end of the video, describing the angle of the stride’s push. It is not straight back or to the side, it’s more of a 45 degree angle. Combining all these elements will allow the skater to move a quickly and efficiently as possible.
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