Winter Running > Nordic skiing

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1 year ago 12/15/2022 3:13pm EST

I live in a state where there is a lot of snow in the winter so around half of the cross country kids join Nordic, and the other half does winter running. To get in shape for track I will say winter running can’t compare to Nordic. Here in Minnesota the running trails are plowed and easy to run on, so winter trading is full of aerobic endurance building. Nordic is different, is a lot less muscle impact and upper body as well. I’ve seen the heart rates not go above 140 in a Nordic race. My opinion is winter running will drastically help you get in shape faster compared to doing Nordic cross country skiing in the winter. I don’t know a lot but if someone can give some insight, feel free to reply

1 year ago 12/15/2022 3:26pm EST

re: Runner 23

Runner 23 wrote:
I live in a state where there is a lot of snow in the winter so around half of the cross country kids join Nordic, and the other half does winter running. To get in shape for track I will say winter running can’t compare to Nordic. Here in Minnesota the running trails are plowed and easy to run on, so winter trading is full of aerobic endurance building. Nordic is different, is a lot less muscle impact and upper body as well. I’ve seen the heart rates not go above 140 in a Nordic race. My opinion is winter running will drastically help you get in shape faster compared to doing Nordic cross country skiing in the winter. I don’t know a lot but if someone can give some insight, feel free to reply

Very strange. Normally the heart rate will go higher in cross country skiing as you will go stronger on the hills because you can recover better during the downhill. Maybe it depends on the skiing technique.

1 year ago 12/15/2022 3:48pm EST

re: Runner 23

If the goal is to absolutely maximize running performance then one should mostly be running.

Classical style nordic skiing might be the closest cross training activity to running, but it is different in that there isn't much eccentric muscle contraction skiing like there is in running. This difference is what allows skiers to do considerably higher volume training than runners, but makes the transition back to running a little challenging.

To the advantage of skiing it's undoubtedly a better full body fitness activity, it's (IMHO) much more fun than running in the cold weather, it has low incidence of overuse injuries, and "just doing something different" for a few months is a good mental break from running. It also give one reason to look at the winter season as a unique and limited time opportunity rather than an inconvenience to be tolerated.

I don't understand your comment regarding heart rates. My experience is that the HR response is similar to running.

As I type this response central NY is getting our first ski-able snow of the year and I'm psyched about it.

1 year ago 12/15/2022 3:50pm EST

re: Runner 23

Doesn’t need to be one or the other. One isn’t better.

It is possible to ski 2-3 hours per day. That will build a pretty big engine.

1 year ago 12/16/2022 10:45am EST

re: skirun

Yeah i was looking at his race watch data, I mean with wrist HR in the cold it could be inaccurate.

1 year ago 12/17/2022 1:43am EST

re: Runner 23

Runner 23 wrote:
I live in a state where there is a lot of snow in the winter so around half of the cross country kids join Nordic, and the other half does winter running. To get in shape for track I will say winter running can’t compare to Nordic. Here in Minnesota the running trails are plowed and easy to run on, so winter trading is full of aerobic endurance building. Nordic is different, is a lot less muscle impact and upper body as well. I’ve seen the heart rates not go above 140 in a Nordic race. My opinion is winter running will drastically help you get in shape faster compared to doing Nordic cross country skiing in the winter. I don’t know a lot but if someone can give some insight, feel free to reply

If you can´t get your heart rate up in XC skiing, then either your technique sucks or your upper body strength sucks.

1 year ago 12/17/2022 6:48am EST

re: Runner 23

Skiing is the best exercise you can do, here where I live nobody runs in winter, everyone becomes a skier. Every year I'm in my best shape right after the XC ski season, no matter how much I train after that, my shape doesn't improve. When skiing, the heart rate is at least 10-20 beats higher at the same effort, if I feel the need to rest in the middle of the ski season, I go for a run. When skiing, you have to use an HRM belt, no watch can correctly measure the heart rate from the wrist when skiing.

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