What's Cross-Country Skiing?

Many professionals say that cross-country skiing (also known as XC skiing) is a great way to get aerobic training. During the training, both leg and arm muscles are engaged.

Cross-country skiing is different from downhill skiing. Normal skis limit you to a ski slope. The boots of a downhill skier are attached to the skis. In cross-country skiing, only the front of the foot is attached to the ski, the heel isn’t. This allows you to move across various types of terrain - you can go uphill, downhill and pass around all types of obstacles that you encounter on your way.

Cross-country skiing began a long time ago in Scandinavia as a way to move from place to place. Nowadays it is one of the most popular winter sports. You can find lots of people training all across the world thanks to natural and artificial tracks and routes made especially for this type of sport (there are many tracks where there is no snow, for example in parks, so you can even practice during all seasons of the year).

There are two different styles of XC skiing - classic and skate skiing. Classic is a normal style in which you use standard skiing techniques that allow you to move across almost any type of terrain. Skate skiing on the other hand is a more dynamic style, which uses a motion similar to skating and roller skating. You can skate ski only on terrain especially modified for this type of exercise. It’s also a lot harder than the normal style. That’s why it’s advised to practice it with an instructor.