Cross-country skiing for beginners

If you’re looking for a way to stay in shape in the winter months, or just want to add a new sport to your athletic repertoire, consider cross-country skiing as an option. It is ideal for the development of aerobic capacity as well as for the coordination of the upper part (arms and trunk) of the body with the lower part (legs).

Pushing and sliding on skis is an aerobic challenge that works the muscles of the legs, but also the muscles of the arms and trunk. In addition, we will be doing an outdoor activity in the snow and this can be a stimulating change that will give us the possibility of knowing unique landscapes and provide us with the opportunity to live new experiences.

Classic and skater style are two styles of cross-country skiing. The classic style, it is considered the most traditional form of cross-country skiing, consists of performing a movement very similar to the one we do walking or running alone, also using the impulse of our arms with the poles. The practice of cross-country skiing is done on tracks marked and prepared for the practice of it, but we can also know valleys and places where we can visit new places without stepping on or preparing as a track.

The skating style requires the skier to push each ski as if performing the “V” motion. It is similar to skating or ice skating but using the momentum of the poles. The skating style is usually practiced on tracks prepared for this modality, these must be wide and with enough space to be able to perform this technique.

With both styles you can burn about 400 to 1,000 calories per hour (it will depend on the speed at which we perform the activity, the weight of each one), according to the American College of Sports Medicine. In addition to developing strength capacity and aerobic endurance, we are working on developing bodily perception capabilities to be able to move around in another environment (snow) that is totally different from what we know and use regularly in our sports.

It is true that the classic and skating style can be difficult to master, at first, but like any new sport it generates a great challenge and can be evolved with classes and hours of training. Taking classes for a beginner in a cross-country skiing center, in which there are qualified professionals to teach the classes, can serve to acquire the basic concepts and be an excellent starting point for this sport.

Once you’re ready to go out on your own with your team, there’s plenty of cross-country skiing to improve and work on for years to come.

Some tips for our initiation

  • The posture of the body: It is essential to maintain balance and add a correct flexion of the ankles that will facilitate the projection of the body forward and not be seated. The flexion of the body begins at the ankle joint and not from the hip. From this position, the arms can pivot back and forth freely to be able to propel us. Try to be rhythmic rather than mechanical, with your legs agile and active to load your body weight on a ski and propel and slide.
  • Basic Principles: In skiing, as when we run, we must balance the whole body on one leg, it requires great balance and stabilization. This is generated with technical work that in the initiation is fundamental.
  • Be dynamic and balanced: Cross country muscle movements are full range, try to keep your body dynamic, balanced and active. In other words, don’t get tense – try to relax your muscles.
  • Specifically for the classic style: Keep your hips in a high position (not sitting), leaning slightly forward. As an objective in each step we must push with one leg to launch the other forward and start a new cycle of impulse-leg gliding.

References:

Sochi Olympics: Which Winter Sports Burn the Most Calories? ACSM, 2014.