Increased strength with increasing intensity

Upper body strength and endurance have become increasingly important in cross-country skiing, gender differences between male and female skiers are notable in the development of strength capacity but have been demonstrated in both genders that when increasing the intensity both improve in the capacity to produce force.

On the other hand, the differences between both genders regarding strength are generally greater in the upper body compared to the legs. These findings indicate that the greatest differences between genders can be found in the upper body and that gender differences in upper body exercise may increase with increased energy demand.

Differences between genders

Gender differences in upper-body strength capacity among cross-country skiers increase as intensity work intensifies. Differences in performance between genders cannot be observed taking maximum aerobic capacity as indicative only, differences in performance with respect to strength capacity in the upper body could indicate that maximum strength and anaerobic capacity could not be fully developed and this is an indication of a greater difference between the two sexes. This is supported by the fact that the greater work generated per cycle of arm movements and a greater distribution of lean mass in the upper body among male skiers could make a big difference compared to women. In addition, male skiers tend to train higher volumes of upper body strength than female skiers. Another indication of the difference in strength capacity may be that men versus women use different techniques to increase the pace of work when the intensity increases.

Conclution

Women, on average, have less total muscle mass than men. As a result, the maximum force production capacity is reduced, as well as the maximum power capacity (power = force / time). Upper body strength records suggest an average 40 to 50% difference between the sexes, compared to a 30% difference in lower body strength capacity.

Within the accuracy of the comparative techniques applied in current studies, it appears that there is a difference in strength and power capacity between the sexes, but this can be largely attributed to the amount of muscle in the male sex. Not registering large biomechanical differences, which would probably play an important role in some situations.

Cross-country skiers have great potential to develop upper-body strength capacity and would benefit from incorporating more localized planning in increasing this capacity throughout the season.

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