X-C Ski Training

With the intention of success at the Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, China has created a transfer program having summer sport athletes train in cross country skiing. Besides the possibility of talent identification, programs such as these highlight the potential to improve athletic capacity overall. While monitoring for overreaching, incorporating an off-season sport (or a different in-season sport if the pandemic has impacted your normal schedule) may provide a refreshing change & stave off monotony. A study evaluating the training effects of this particular program on runners, kayakers and rowers not only underscores the importance of specificity, but also the opportunity for legitimate performance gains worthy of consideration. Six months of XC ski-specific training induced large improvements in skiing efficiency, longer ski stride length, & greater 1RM upper body strength (Talsnes, Hetland & Sandbakk, 2019). Larger sport specific development was found in runners in comparison to the paddlers and rowers. This may be due to XC skiing (classic style) more closely emulating the movement patterns in running. The athletes in this study were already well trained, so unsurprisingly there were no significant changes in VO2peak or VO2max. Improvements in ski-specific tests were likely due to better technique and possibly metabolic factors, e.g., higher lactate thresholds &/or higher fractional utilization of VO2peak. Especially with pool hours being limited, hockey schedules up in the air, etc., how about donning the skinny skis this season?