Health And Fitness Benefits Of Cross Country Skiing
Cross country skiing has been shown to be one of the best forms of exercise available. It uses all muscle groups in the body to produce movement.
The legs are primarily used for locomotion, but the arms make a large contribution to the power developed. Even muscles that at first sight do not appear to be involved are actively used in
maintaining balance and core stability. Also because the activity is spread across many muscle groups, without any one being stressed, activity can be maintained for long periods. This leads to
improvement in cardiovascular function and the ability to deal with the lactic acid build-up. The sport has huge calorie burning potential, from 600 calories/hr for recreational skiers, to just
over 1000 calories/hr for the top athletes. Indeed, many research papers have shown that this full body workout has resulted in extremely high VO2 Max figures. Cross country skiers have been recorded as having the highest values of any sportsmen or
women.
External links to detailed articles:
If you are a runner, see how Nordic skiing compares
https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20865676/cross-country-skiing-versus-running/
What benefits does Nordic skiing give me?
http://www.healthfitnessrevolution.com/top-10-health-benefits-cross-country-skiing/
The differences between cross-country skiing and other forms of endurance exercise, like running and cycling
Five ways Nordic skiing can get every inch of your body in shape
https://www.chatelaine.com/health/fitness/health-benefits-of-cross-country-skiing/
The effect Nordic skiing has on a person’s cardiovascular system
http://www.humankinetics.com/excerpts/excerpts/learn-the-benefits-of-cross-country-skiing
Calorie burn against time for Nordic skiing
https://www.fatsecret.com/fitness/skiing-(cross-country)
Measurement of VO2 max in endurance sports
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VO2_max
Worlds best VO2 max scores
https://www.topendsports.com/testing/records/vo2max.htm