Muscles to Strengthen for Cross Country Skiing

Cross country skiing is one of the most physically demanding activities you can do. The long distances that you'll be covering require strong muscles and plenty of stamina to keep you going. With this in mind, it's important to know which muscles to focus on. Your hips and thighs will need attention, and strengthening the muscles supporting your spine, chest, shoulders and arms will ensure that you're prepared for the gruelling ski trek ahead.

  1. Pushing Off

    • Hip extension occurs when you move your thigh or the top of your pelvis backward, a movement that's done when you use your legs while skiing. Your gluteus maximus, hamstrings and a small muscle at the top of the inner thigh called the adductor magnus will all be engaged when you bend down to push off with your skis, so strengthening these muscles will help you to get going across the snow. Try some hip abduction exercises to build and develop these important muscles.

    Maintaining Control

    • Hip flexion occurs when you move your thigh forward. This movement engages your hip flexors, which are deep muscles connecting your hip to the top of your thigh. Your quads in the front of your thigh, a long muscle stretching down your thigh from your hip to your knee called the sartorius muscle and the muscles at the top of your inner thigh will all be used when you move your legs out to your sides as you ski, so developing these muscles will give you more control and stability. Hip flexor exercises such as body weight or cable-assisted leg raises will strengthen these muscles.

    More Power to You

    • Moving your upper arm upward and in front of you as you dig your poles into the snow will engage your deltoids, which are located at the front and sides of your shoulders. Your pecs are the muscles that sit above your chest and below your collar bone, and your biceps are the main muscle of your upper arm, which will also be used. Developing these muscles will give you more power as you push off on your poles, so go for some chest dips, pushups or bench presses.

    Pouring On the Speed

    • When using your poles to gain more speed, you’ll be moving your arms down and behind you. This movement is called shoulder extension. That movement requires you to engage your lats -- the muscles that sit to the sides of your rib cage. Also used are the deltoids located at the back of your shoulders and your triceps, which are located at the back of your upper arm. Strengthening all of these muscles will give you more power allowing you to generate more speed across the plains. The shoulder press is an ideal exercise to strengthen these muscles.

    Twist and Shout

    • Skiing involves twisting and turning your spine, so to avoid potential injury you will need to strengthen the erector spinae muscles which sit alongside your spine and stretch down your lower back. Go for exercises like the bent over, inverted, or seated row. Also, when you bend your knees during skiing, you’ll be engaging your hamstrings at the back of your thighs, your inner thigh muscles and calf muscles. Strengthen these muscles by performing calf raises and presses to give yourself a greater range of motion, balance and stability.