Cross Country Skiing: Olympic Handbook of Sports Medicine

207 Pages·2002·3.929 MB·English

by  Heikki Rusko

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Handbook of
Sports Medicine
and Science
Cross Country Skiing
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IOC Medical Commission
Sub-Commission on Publications in
the Sport Sciences
Howard G. Knuttgen PhD (Co-ordinator)
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Harm Kuipers MD, PhD
Maastricht, The Netherlands
Per A.F.H. Renström MD, PhD
Stockholm, Sweden
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Handbook of
Sports Medicine
and Science
Cross Country Skiing
EDITED BY
Heikki Rusko
PhD
KIHUaResearch Institute for Olympic Sports
40700 Jyväskylä
Finland
Blackwell
Science
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© 2003 by Blackwell Science Ltd
a Blackwell Publishing Company
Blackwell Science, Inc., 350 Main Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-5018, USA
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in
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the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher.
First published 2003
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cross country skiing / edited by Heikki Rusko.
p. cm. — (Handbook of sports medicine and science)
Includes index.
ISBN 0-632-05571-5
1. Cross country skiing. I. Rusko, Heikki. II. Series.
RC1220.C77 C76 2002
617.1′027′0887969—dc21
2002004862
ISBN 0-632-05571-5
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library
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CCSA01 26/07/2002 11:56 AM Page v
Contents 2 Biomechanics of cross country skiing, 32
Gerald A. Smith
3 Training for cross country skiing, 62
Heikki Rusko
4 Medical aspects of cross country skiing, 101
Ola Ronsen
5 Special and practical issues in cross country
skiing, 141
List of contributors, vi Ola Ronsen and Heikki Rusko
Forewords by the IOC, vii 6 Psychological factors in cross country skiing, 176
Yuri Hanin
Foreword by the FIS, viii
Index, 189
Preface, ix
1 Physiology of cross country skiing, 1
Heikki Rusko
v
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List of contributors
Yuri Hanin PhD KIHUaResearch Institute for Olympic
Sports, Rautpohjankatu 6, 40700 Jyväskylä, Finland
Ola Ronsen MDNorwegian Olympic Sports Center,
PO Box 4004, Ullevaal Stadion, 0806 Oslo, Norway
Heikki Rusko PhD KIHUaResearch Institute for
Olympic Sports, Rautpohjankatu 6, 40700 Jyväskylä,
Finland
Gerald A. Smith PhDNorwegian University of Sport
and Physical Education, PO Box 4014, Ullevaal
Stadion, 0806 Oslo, Norway
vi
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Forewords by the IOC Two cross country skiing events were included in the
inaugural Olympic Winter Games in 1924, held in
Chamonix, France. Thorleif Haug (Norway) won both
of the races included in the programme, the Men’s
18km and the Men’s 50km. An event for women was
not included in the competition until 1952 when
Lydia Wideman (Finland) won the Women’s 10km
in Oslo. This sport challenges men and women
athletes in the areas of nutrition and physiological
conditioning. The longer races represent physical
challenges equal to the endurance events of other
On behalf of the Olympic Movement, I convey my Olympic sports.
best wishes to the Editor and contributing authors I would like to thank Dr Heikki Rusko and his team
of this valuable publication and to its readership, of expert authors for having compiled a Handbook
including fellow medical professionals and coaches that addresses every aspect of the sport: physiology,
working directly with the athletes of the world. nutrition, biomechanics, environment, medical
This Handbook covers all relevant areas of the considerations, psychology, and equipment. Both
historical sport of cross country skiing which saw basic scientific information and practical applications
its first competitions held at the end of the 19th are presented in a clear and readable style.
century and which was included in the programme For knowledgeable competitors, the Handbook will
of the I Olympic Winter Games in Chamonix in 1924. provide a wealth of valuable information to assist in
Since that time, this event has developed both in both conditioning and actual competition.
terms of participation and technical difficulty. This
publication provides up-to-date informative material Prince Alexandre de Merode
as well as serving as an easily comprehensible Chairman, IOC Medical Commission
reference guide.
I wish you all enjoyable reading.
Dr Jacques Rogge
IOC President
vii
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Foreword by the FIS the small danger of injury, and, especially, the health
values, give the quality of ‘a higher pace of life’ in the
context of a sensible use of leisure time.
Internationally recognized experts have taken
great pains to summarize the various medical,
physiological, biomechanical, and practical aspects
of cross country skiing in this Handbook. They have
accomplished this in a highly successful manner.
Not only will sports scientists, medical doctors,
coaches, and athletes benefit from this publication but
also all persons who participate in and enjoy the sport
Few other sports have experienced such an explosive of cross country skiing.
growth in interest and participation in past decades Respect, recognition, and congratulations must go
as has Nordic Skiing. Originating from Scandinavia to the Editor and contributing authors of this Cross
and now enjoyed everywhere where nature brings Country SkiingHandbook and special thanks to the
snow to people, a broad spectrum of the population International Olympic Committee and its Medical
has become fascinated with this sporting activity. Commission for making this publication possible.
Enthusiastically practised by young and old people
of both genders, cross country skiing takes the person Professor Dr Ernst Raas
out into nature and gives adventure, enjoyment, and Chairman, Medical Committee
regeneration. The aesthetic, comprehensive, and International Ski Federation
natural motion together with the ease of learning,
viii
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Preface must be based on a detailed analysis of the determin-
ants of successful skiing performance and, in cross
country skiing, the determinants are more abundant
than in many other sports. The ski tracks are not
constant, environmental conditions can vary con-
siderably, and equipment is employed by both the
legs (skis) and the arms (ski poles).
The purpose of this handbook is to bring both basic
and applied information on cross country skiing to the
coaches, knowledgeable cross country skiers, sports
medicine physicians, physical therapists, and other
Competitive cross country skiing is one of the most interested readers. The main emphasis is to improve
demanding sports. It requires a high maximal oxygen the training and performance of young and adult
uptake, fast force production and ability to resist skiers who want to become elite competitors. In this
fatigue, good skiing techniques, and high-quality skis handbook, probably for the first time, the new models
that are well prepared. In addition, a skier has to be of endurance performance are described and applied
able to cope with the stress of Olympic level ski races to the training for cross country skiing. Similarly, new
and to cooperate with coaches, service staff, sponsors, approaches for successful performance are presented
and mass media. Finally, an elite skier has to maintain regarding other aspects of the sport.
a state of good health, especially before and during I wish to acknowledge the Medical Commission of
the most important races, in order to stand on the the International Olympic Committee for appreciating
medallists’ podium for the international ski races. the need for this kind of new handbook for the cross
The distances of ski races range from 5 to 30 km country ski community and, in particular, Professor
for women and from 10 to 50 km for men. Recently, Howard G. Knuttgen for his unfailing support
sprint skiing races with up to 4 repetitions of throughout this project. I am grateful to each of the
distances 1000–1700 m have been included in the contributing authors for their outstanding efforts,
programme of international ski competitions. The especially to Dr Ola Ronsen, who contributed to the
two different racing techniques, classical and free quality of this publication in a major way by sharing
style, and the new short-distance sprint races have the expertise of the Norwegian scientific and medical
resulted in increased velocities and emphasized community as regards cross country skiing.
the importance of both neuromuscular factors and
Heikki Rusko PhD
skiing technique as determinants of high level skiing
Jyväskylä, Finland
performance. The training for cross country skiing
ix
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Chapter 1 and it has been suggested that functional systems
not related to oxygen transport and aerobic energy
Physiology of cross production may even limit VO2maxand maximum
endurance performance. Therefore, the classical
theories of endurance performance are re-evaluated
country skiing
and discussed with applications to training for cross
country skiing.
The physiological background and significance of
the classical and new determinants of cross country
skiing performance are discussed in the following
sections.
Physiological basis of cross country skiing
Oxygen transport
Regardless of skiing distance, cross country skiing is
an endurance sport requiring very high aerobic power The single most important physiological determinant
and capacity. During prolonged skiing, maximum of cross country skiing performance is maximum
oxygen uptake (VO2max) cannot be sustained and, oxygen uptake, VO2max, which integrates the ability
consequently, the ability to ski at high fractional use of the lungs to transfer oxygen from air to blood, the
of the maximum oxygen uptake and the ability to blood and red blood cells to bind oxygen, the heart
resist fatigue are also important. Fatigue resistance to pump blood (maximum cardiac output), the
has traditionally been connected to energy supply circulation to distribute blood to muscles, and the
and depletion of carbohydrate stores. muscles to use oxygen.
During short uphill skiing, during the finishing
burst and during new sprint skiing the energy demand
Heart and circulation
exceeds maximum oxygen uptake and, consequently,
anaerobic energy production has been thought to have VO2maxis directly proportional to maximal cardiac
an important role in cross country skiing performance. output, which is believed to be the most important
During a ski-race, several different skiing single determinant of VO2max. The maximum heart
techniques have to be used. In addition to mastering rate does not change very much with training; elite
different skiing techniques, the skiers must select the skiers have almost the same maximum heart rate as
‘correct’ skiing technique for each part of the terrain. untrained subjects. Consequently, the heart size and
The economy of skiing should also be good. The stroke volume of the heart are much higher in elite
economy and good skiing techniques are related to cross country skiers as compared to untrained persons
the function of the neuromuscular system. The ability and are responsible for the increase in maximum
of the neuromuscular system to recruit the muscles, cardiac output and VO2maxwith training (Table 1.1).
to produce force and power and to resist fatigue has The increase in stroke volume is reflected as a
also been shown to be important for endurance decreased heart rate during submaximal exercise
performance. (and skiing), and therefore heart rate at constant
Cross country ski-races are held at different alti- submaximal exercise intensity can be used as a rough
tudes, from sea level to 1800 m, and ski-training estimate of stroke volume, heart size and VO2max.
camps are held at 2500–3000 m altitude. Weather During submaximal exercise, oxygen uptake and
conditions may range from – 20 to +10°C during ski cardiac output increase linearly with the increase in
training and racing. exercise intensity (Fig. 1.1). When oxygen uptake is
These factors indicate that even though the tradi- about 50–70% of VO2max(heart rate 120–150 b.p.m.),
tional VO2maxis the most important determinant of the increase in stroke volume with exercise intensity
cross country skiing performance, other determinants levels off in untrained persons but in elite athletes
of endurance performance are also important. The stroke volume may increase slightly up to VO2max. In
determinants of VO2maxhave also been questioned untrained subjects the increase in stroke volume is
1