Ok, so I thought I was doing well with my back crossovers until I started to realize I was still doing a swizzle push (1/2 push) before crossing over. When I watch other skaters, it seems they are underpushing first, and not really moving the front foot at all. Does anyone have any advise on how to do this? I do not have a problem getting speed, it is more aesthetics.

That "swizzle push" has to become a one footed push from that foot to the one that will go inside the circle and then under push. Stand still with your feet apart about shoulder width, then pick up one foot, bring it behind the standing foot as if you were pushing under, and then push yourself from the standing foot sideways onto the foot you picked up (reaching out with it, of course) so that you skid sideways onto it. That is the feeling and movement you want. When you have that one footed push, the crossing foot will no longer swizzle out, but will instead just slide back over the under pushing foot until you are ready for the next one footed push.

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Back crossovers have 2 pushes. As you get more advanced you'll begin to drag your foot across the ice and pull on the edge for more acceleration. But don't make the mistake of missing the first push, "swizzle push", before you drag the foot. On power circles you actually have a very brief pause between strokes in the beginning of the pattern, just to make sure you have 2 pushes. Also the judges want to hear a rip on both.

Push with the back inside edge of the foot that crosses over.
Reach into the circle with the inside foot (the one that crosses under).
Grab and pull the ice (underpush) with the inside foot until that foot crosses under. Lift the crossing-under foot as the crossing-over foot slides across in front of it. Push again with the crossing over foot and repeat.

Keep knees deeply bent and feet far apart during back crossovers and you won't catch your blades.

While doing crossovers--either backward or forward--keep your torso leaning slightly to the outside of the circle, so you keep your weight over the hip of the leg that crosses over. Keep your chest facing the inside of the circle, so that the shoulder on the crossing-under side is pulled way back and the shoulder on the crossing over side is forward.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

To clarify: Yes, the weight must be over the outter side, but the entire body must lean as a unit to the inside of the circle. Think of a pole running thru the body from the feet to the head -- tip that pole into the circle. If you think of leaning the torso out of the circle you will break at the hips and tend to jut the inside hip into the circle - NOT a habit you want to encourage.

See that's exactly what I'm doing, and yet, when I underpush, I start to do the "bouncing" thing where my whole body goes up and down. And though perhaps I expect too much too fast, that habit is starting to make my blood boil.

Where's the weight supposed to be on the underpush? Still on the outside leg? Cuz I think I transfer it to the inside leg for the underpush cuz I tend to almost-fall-into-the-circle just before the point where the legs are widest apart, if anybody knows what I mean? And yet I very much rip into the ice with the outside foot (crossing over foot) and I just don't see how one would do that without weight on it... I'm puzzled...

Sessy, my coach describes the underpush as "a controlled fall into the circle, which generates the push/force" so it sounds like you are on the right track, as long it really is *controlled*.

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3turn
The Great Skate Experiment

My coach says the weight needs to be over the inside hip at all times - something I have serious trouble with when going clockwise, as I have awful trouble getting my weight over my left hip (hey, I carried a child on that hip for 3 years, of course it sticks out!).

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Sessy, I used to "bounce" doing these. What I was told to do was to look at my reflection in the glass and keep myself even and not bounce. All the movement was to come from the legs, not the whole body (although doing alternating back crossovers you do change arm positions). This helped a lot. It did take a lot of work (and more coordination) to stop bouncing.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

"Sitting" more than you think helps with the bounce.

I am working on keeping the weight on the leg that's doing the underpush. I can do it well CCW but CW I tend to rely on leaning on the BI edge because it feels safer. But yes, basically you should be able to lift that outside foot and just glide on the BO edge of your inner foot should the mood strike at any time except right as your pushing with the outer foot (if that makes sense).

Great description of the underpush! That reach into the circle with the inside foot makes a huge difference.

Thanks for all your help. I have been putting all this good advice to use, and my back crossovers are getting better. Going CW, I still have a little problem keeping off the toepick, but I am working on that. I am getting a much better knee bend and my speed has increased quite a bit in only a week. Again, thanks.

I'm putting the bouncy description to use too!

What helps me to stay off my toes is to think that I have a spring right under my heel that I have to compress. This increases the ankle bend, and shifts the weight further back on the blade.

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--renatele

Cool! To get off the toe, try pulling your leading shoulder back more (left shoulder) so that your chest and arms form a line that is tangent to the circle you are skating on. Sit down lower and lean a little outside the circle . Focus on keeping the right blade on the ice and pushing with the middle of the blade. Try to relax.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics