Cross-Country Skiing for Beginners

by Diet Detective Editorial Staff
Thursday, 06 July 2006
Want to burn calories and have fun in the great outdoors? Cross-country skiing is about as good as it gets. Comedian Steven Wright once joked that cross-country skiing would be fun--if you lived in a small country. But seriously, it's one of the most exciting and fastest growing outdoor winter sports. Because you use your arms and legs simultaneously, it's a great full-body aerobic workout. Cross-country ski racers are known to have the fittest cardiovascular systems of all athletes. Unlike an alpine (downhill) skier, a cross-country skier travels over all types of terrain: uphill, downhill, and along the flats. How can they do that? It starts with the skis. In cross-country, only the toe of the boot is attached to the ski, with the heel free. In alpine, the entire foot is attached. The free heel allows a cross-country skier to conquer almost any snow-covered terrain. There are two basic cross-country, or Nordic, styles: classic (aka traditional), which involves a straight-ahead gliding motion, and ski skating (aka freestyle), which involves a V-style glide and edge motion much like ice or inline skating. Classic style is how most people think of cross-country skiing. It resembles a natural walking stride, allowing the skier to tour backcountry trails. Touring is the best way to get a taste for the sport. You can go touring at Nordic ski parks with groomed trails, in ungroomed city parks, along country roads, even on golf courses. It's easy to learn and requires only simple, inexpensive equipment: skis with bindings, poles, and boots. Most beginner skis are waxless, which makes the ski slower and much easier to use. If you have access to a cross-country (Nordic) ski park, then ski skating is a challenging and fun alternative to touring. Anyone who has experience ice or inline skating will easily pick up ski skating, since the basic form is almost identical. It's best to do it on a groomed ski trail, and you might want to take a lesson or two to start. Be careful not to bite off more than you can chew--off-track skiing can be pretty tough work, especially in deep snow and in hilly terrain. Make sure you've mastered the basic techniques and have significant experience before tackling any ambitious tour without a professional guide. Whether you're ski touring or ski skating, you can tone all the body's major muscle groups at once, burn a lot of calories, and get an incredible cardiovascular workout...and the scenery's probably a lot better than at your gym! Bookmark: Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Title Comment
Last Updated ( Thursday, 06 July 2006 )