Winter has come here to Anchorage, and although I didn't think I'd feel like skiing much this year, the snow has arrived. It's amazing how a nice clean blanket of snow will lift the spirits and make you feel like skiing till you drop.
I remember quite a while ago reading that some top TdF riders were turning to cross country skiing in the winter as an excellent cross training activity: Greg Lemond and Davis Phinney, for example.
I know cross country skiing's best have the highest energy consumption: up to 1,500 calories an hour. I suspect you may be able to increase your VO2 Max by skiing in the winter.
One problem with cross country skiing for elite riders is that it might lead to muscle development in the upper body. While this is beneficial for the average guy on the street, an elite cyclist won't want even one pound more on the upper body, even if it's muscle. Greg Lemond had a problem with this. He noticed that his upper body became more developed with the skiing.
Apart from this consideration, I think cross country skiing is almost a perfect cross training avenue for riders.
Is muscle going to be more stubborn to lose than fat? Roy Jones, the boxer, just dropped 25 lbs (11 kg) to fight a light heavyweight boxer and regain the light heavyweight title after his recent heavyweight success. Although he won, he complained that he had lost a lot of strength from the weight loss. The commentary followed that many top boxers in prime shape lose so much strength by dropping to a lower weight category that they never regain their former stamina.
What's the current buzz about cross country skiing as a viable cross training tool? Maybe the answer to this problem is to ski without poles. That would do the trick, maybe. But then you wouldn't have as much of an aerobic uptake because of not using the arms for poling. For myself, I won't worry about the muscle buildup. I'm using my poles, but I don't ride the Tour de France, either.
I remember quite a while ago reading that some top TdF riders were turning to cross country skiing in the winter as an excellent cross training activity: Greg Lemond and Davis Phinney, for example.
I know cross country skiing's best have the highest energy consumption: up to 1,500 calories an hour. I suspect you may be able to increase your VO2 Max by skiing in the winter.
One problem with cross country skiing for elite riders is that it might lead to muscle development in the upper body. While this is beneficial for the average guy on the street, an elite cyclist won't want even one pound more on the upper body, even if it's muscle. Greg Lemond had a problem with this. He noticed that his upper body became more developed with the skiing.
Apart from this consideration, I think cross country skiing is almost a perfect cross training avenue for riders.
Is muscle going to be more stubborn to lose than fat? Roy Jones, the boxer, just dropped 25 lbs (11 kg) to fight a light heavyweight boxer and regain the light heavyweight title after his recent heavyweight success. Although he won, he complained that he had lost a lot of strength from the weight loss. The commentary followed that many top boxers in prime shape lose so much strength by dropping to a lower weight category that they never regain their former stamina.
What's the current buzz about cross country skiing as a viable cross training tool? Maybe the answer to this problem is to ski without poles. That would do the trick, maybe. But then you wouldn't have as much of an aerobic uptake because of not using the arms for poling. For myself, I won't worry about the muscle buildup. I'm using my poles, but I don't ride the Tour de France, either.
