The Art of Waxing

Seeing as it’s the end of November, some areas of Canada have already seen snow, while others are one big snow storm away. If you are thinking of taking up cross country skiing, now is a good time to start thinking about preparing for the ski season before the trails are calling your name. As Cross Country Canada says, cross-country skiing is easy to learn and its benefits for health and wellness are unmatched.

If you walk into any ski shop, the sheer number of colourful wax tins may be enough to create some confusion. Getting your skis ready for the season does include the need to grasp the art of waxing but that doesn’t mean it has to be complicated. However, the sooner you learn that the type of wax you use on your skis can make or break your ski day, the better off you will be.

There are basically two types of ski wax: grip and glide. The grip wax goes on what is called the kick zone of classic cross-country skis, while glide wax goes on the rest of the classic ski, on the entire length of skate skis (as on downhill skis and snowboards). The selection of waxes is influenced by some or all of the following:

• The outside temperature
• Type of snow – new, dry, wet, old
• The snow and air temperature
• The relative humidity: high (over 75%), normal (55%-75%), low (below 55%)
• The structure of the snow: old, coarse, icy, dirty, new or fine granule
• The distance to be skied
• The technique used: free (skating) or classical (diagonal stride)

There is no doubt that ski waxing is not a science, but an art. You’d be well advised to attend a ski waxing clinic or refer to the many ski waxing guides that are available to insure you get it right the first time you hit the trails.

For more information on cross country skiing, please visit SIRC.

Growing into Biathlon

The word biathlonis of Greek origin and means "two tests". The sport of biathloncombines the two sports of skiing and shooting.  Athletes must complete a cross country ski race stopping throughout the course to shoot at a series of targets.

The sport is challenging both physically and mentally. It is not just about being the fastest skier, athletes must control their body and relax enough to hold the gun still and hit the target. Then without wasting anytime return to the fast pace of the race.

Youth participation and safety concerns have been issues faced by Biathlon.  Many people are reluctant to put children into the sport due to the fact that you have to shoot a rifle. Looking to attract more people to the sport and overcome these obstacles the sport of Paintball Biathlon was born.  Inventors hoped to play off the popularity of paintballing amongst young people and create a safer introduction to the sport of biathlon.

In this sport athletes use paintball guns (or laser guns) instead of a regular rifle, which allows the young athletes to understand the fundamentals of biathlon, without the use of a rifle.  Making for a great introduction to biathlon; kids can enjoy the fun of shooting the paintball gun while racing to finish first. Paintball (or laser) biathlon serves as a grass root program until the athletes are responsible enough to handle a riffle.

The first paintball biathlon event was held in Vermont in 2006, since then the Nordic sport has seen a large jump in enrollment and events can be found all around the world.

References from the SIRC Collection:

1. Grout, P. (2011). Paintball Biathlon. Cross Country Skier, 31(2), p.30.
2. Hausermen. (2011).Laser Biathlon Motivates Young Skiers. Cross Country Skier, 31(2), p. 28.

For the love of cross-country skiing

Why not get outside and enjoy the winter while getting some exercise?  Cross country skiing gives you the ability to do just that! Whether skiers are trying to travel through knee deep snow or a well groomed course, these athletes are outside enjoying nature while getting in some exercise.  The best part about cross country skiing is you can make it suit your needs… skiers can go out alone, in groups or as a family.  You can also choose your pace; ski at a high speed or at a nice leisurely slow glide. No matter how you choose to cross country ski, it is a whole body workout that can require high levels of endurance.

Another benefit of cross country skiing is, unlike running cross country it doesn’t pound your joints. Giving your legs a break from the running related stresses. Cross country skiing also works your upper body, which tends not to be worked out in other sports.

Cross country skiing requires the use of a large number of muscles which helps to improve cardiovascular fitness. This is the ability of your heart and circulatory system to deliver blood and nutrients to the working muscles and organs within your body. Easy tours will raise your heart rate to 60 percent to 70 percent of maximum.  If done 2 or 3 times a week for 20 to 30 minutes easy tours will help you increase the amount of blood the heart can pump.

Muscular endurance, which is the ability of a muscle to work for long periods of time without fatigue, is another benefit of cross country skiing. Endurance training generally increases the aerobic capacity of the muscle so that they can get a great deal more energy from food sources. Muscular endurance may require strength training with light to medium weights with a high number of repetitions.

Training exercises to help with cross country skiing include:

• Running
• Bench dips
• Core strengthening

Contact SIRC for more information on Cross-Country Skiing!

Online Resource

Cross Country Canada