Physiological responses to specific maximal exercise tests for cross-country skiing

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Exercise Physiology
• Biomechanics

Background:

• Cross-country skiing employs various techniques, including pole-striding (PS), double poling (DP), and diagonal striding (DS).
• Understanding the peak physiological demands of these techniques is crucial for training optimization and performance enhancement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify and compare the peak physiological responses during maximal exercise across PS, DP, and DS techniques.
• To determine differences in peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak), heart rate, and blood lactate levels among the three skiing methods.

Main Methods:

• Six elite cross-country ski racers performed maximal exercise tests on a motorized ski treadmill.
• Continuous analysis of expired air for VO2peak, telemetry for heart rate, and arterialized blood lactate measurements were employed.
• Data were collected for pole-striding (PS), double poling (DP), and diagonal striding (DS) techniques.

Main Results:

• Peak heart rate and blood lactate concentrations did not significantly differ among PS, DP, and DS.
• Peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) was significantly higher for PS and DS compared to DP.
• DP resulted in VO2peak values that were 77-81% of those observed for PS and DS.

Conclusions:

• Double poling (DP) elicits a lower peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak) than diagonal striding (DS) and pole-striding (PS) during maximal exertion.
• Despite differences in VO2peak, peak heart rate and blood lactate levels were comparable across the techniques.
• Pole-striding (PS) physiological responses closely mirror those of diagonal striding (DS).