Getting in Shape for Cross-country Skiing

September 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Freestyle skiing jump
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Cross-country skiing is a demanding full-body sport. It exercises numerous muscles all over the body, including the arms, legs, shoulders, thighs, abdomen and waist, and takes good balance and agility. You don’t have to be a body-builder or a pro athlete to enjoy cross-country skiing, but being in good shape and doing some fitness conditioning beforehand will greatly decrease the chances of your ski trip ending in huffing, puffing and sore muscles not long after it has begun.

Getting in shape to ski, as with any other kind of body conditioning, takes some time. If you plan to ski this winter, start your body conditioning during the summer so that you’ll have time to tone, strengthen and sculpt your body into a better skiing machine. Whatever you do, don’t read all about conditioning, plan to condition, and then try to start your conditioning two weeks before you leave for your trip.

Strength training and muscle toning are what you should emphasize in your conditioning routine. Health clubs and gyms often have exercise equipment made to emulate the same movements as skiing; ask the instructors which machines you should use. Such workout classics as sit-ups and crunches can also tone and strengthen your body’s trunk. Good posture is essential for skiing, and having a strong torso makes it much easier to maintain this posture.

Weight-lifting is one of the best ways to tone your arms, legs and shoulders. Lunges, overhead pulls, rowing, bicep curls and bench presses are all greatly beneficial to the muscles you’ll use while skiing. In tone rather than gain bulk, lift small weights at a fairly rapid pace. Slower lifts and heavier weights cause muscles to bulk up, which will work against your agility somewhat.

Remember, you don’t have to be in perfect condition to start skiing. Once you’re in shape enough not to get too worn out doing so, the act of skiing itself will work out all of the muscles your exercise routine does. If skiing strikes your fancy, you’ve got a lifetime of fun winter sports and total fitness ahead of you.

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A Brief History of Cross-country Skiing

September 25, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Pictograms of Olympic sports - Alpine skiing
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Cross-country skiing has a long and rich history. Originating in icy Fennoscandian countries such as Sweden, Finland and Latvia, this sport is often called “Nordic skiing”, even though several Nordic countries do not have much skiing history. Skiing has been a part of human culture for thousands of years, with drawings and actual skis found in Norway and Switzerland dating back as early as 5,000 BC.

Skiing did not start as a sport. Like snowshoes, the first skis were simply another way of traveling more easily over deep snow. Hunters utilized the increased speed and agility skiing provided to more effectively take down deer and elk. Centuries after they had become established as useful hunting travel gear, skis began to be used by soldiers as well. Cross-country skiing was a great help to Finnish soldiers during the Winter War, enabling small numbers of Fins to take on much larger groups of Russian soldiers who did not have such mobility because they had no skis. All Nordic countries with standing armies have trained ski infantry for cold-weather military operations.

Skiing hunters and troops have been armed with crossbows, ski poles with harpoon heads on the ends, guns and more over the years, and there is even a modern biathlon (a combination of two sports) involving skiing while shooting at targets with a rifle.

Skiing did not become a sport until around 1843, when the first known race on skis was held in Norway. The first officially-timed cross-country skiing competition in history, held in Sweden in 1884, required that skiers travel 220 kilometers in two stages. The winner’s finishing time was twenty-two hours and twenty-two minutes.

Cross-country skiing debuted in the Olympic Winter Games in 1924, with only three formats: 18 kilometers, 50 kilometers, and a combination race. In 1952, a 10-meter women’s race was added, and since then numerous other events and skiing methods have been introduced. As of 2010, cross-country skiing has the most events of any sport at the Olympic Winter Games, and is also one of the largest sources of medals there.

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Snowshoeing vs. Skiing

August 13, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Snowshoeing might seem like a slow-paced, trudging way to climb a mountain, especially if you’re used to riding a ski lift. However, there are some definite benefits of snowshoeing that skiing doesn’t have. One obvious advantage of snowshoeing is that you’re getting more exercise. Skiers use their whole bodies to steer their skis, and it’s definitely a workout, but the trip up the slope is as simple as sitting in a ski lift and being carried to the top. Snowshoeing requires that you climb that slope. Walking on snow is more of a strenuous workout than walking on the ground, especially while traveling uphill. It will take longer to reach the top, but if you enjoyed the trip up, why not take your time?
Perhaps the prospect of having to climb back down the hill is what is deterring you from snowshoeing. With skiing, you can slide down speedily and enjoy the air flying past you. You can’t do that on a pair of snowshoes—but you can pull a plastic sled behind you on the way up, and ride it down the hill in a fun, speedy slide if you like! You can put your snowshoes into the sled, too, so everything that you brought up the hill can come back down with you–no need to climb the hill again if you don’t want to. There is something satisfying about climbing a hill and having a picnic at the top while enjoying the view; pull your backpack in the sled on the way up.
If you’ve never tried snowshoeing before, you should try renting a set of snowshoes and walking poles before investing in a set of your own gear. Dress as you would for a regular winter hike: warmly, with a hat, gloves, inner cotton or wool shell, and waterproof outside layer such as rain paints. Waterproof shoes are a must–if you wear wool socks, your can use regular leather hiking boots. Since snowshoeing takes considerably more effort than regular hiking, your body will generate enough heat to keep itself fairly warm so long as you keep moving.
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