Contribution of upper-body strength, body composition, and maximal oxygen uptake to predict double poling power and overall performance in female cross-country skiers.

Osteras, S, Welde, B, Danielsen, J, van den Tillaar, R, Ettema, G, and Sandbakk, O. Contribution of upper-body strength, body composition, and maximal oxygen uptake to predict double poling power and overall performance in female cross-country skiers. J Strength Cond Res 30(9): 2557-2564, 2016-Maximal oxygen uptake (V[Combining Dot Above]O2max) is regarded as the most performance-differentiating physiological measure in cross-country (XC) skiing. In addition, upper-body strength and lean mass have been associated with double poling (DP) power in XC skiers. In this study, we tested upper-body maximal strength, lean mass, and V[Combining Dot Above]O2max's contributions to predict DP power production of different durations and the overall XC skiing performance level of elite female XC skiers. Thirteen skiers (V[Combining Dot Above]O2max: 64.9 +/- 4.2 ml[middle dot]kg-1[middle dot]min-1) performed one 30-second and one 3-minute DP performance test using a ski ergometer. The International Ski Federation's (FIS) ranking points determined their overall XC skiing performance. The skiers performed three 1-repetition maximal strength tests in poling-specific exercises that isolated the elbow extension, shoulder extension, and trunk flexion movements. Body composition was determined by a DXA scan, and V[Combining Dot Above]O2max was tested in an incremental running test. Multiple regressions were used to predict power production in the 30-second and 3-minute tests and FIS points. The 2 best predictions of 30-second DP power were lean upper-body mass and maximal upper-body strength (with the 3 strength tests normalized and pooled together as one variable) (R2 = 0.84 and 0.81, p