How do you go cross-country skiing?

Cross-country skiing - a fun and beneficial form of exercise

Many of us don't want to spend winters cooped up in a gym. At the same time, opportunities to exercise outdoors are very limited. Both cycling and running are very difficult to do, even though they are possible. Cross-country skiing is therefore a much better outdoor activity to do during the winter months! There are many advantages to taking up cross-country skiing. Firstly, it's a lot of fun and gives you peace of mind. Secondly, it is also a great way to strengthen your stomach, back and shoulders, among other things.

How to get started with cross-country skiing

First and foremost, it's about getting out on the trail. Even if it can be a bit chilly outside. Wear clothes according to the weather. A good tip is to invest in a pair of warm gloves and socks. Both your hands and feet are parts of your body that get cold quickly. Once they do, it's no fun to be out on the trail.

Start fine-tuning your stacking

Once you're out on the trail, it's beneficial to start honing your stacking skills. More specifically, it is the one that allows you to go very far without getting very tired. With the right stacking technique, you mainly use your stomach and back, which prevents lactic acid in your legs. A common mistake that many beginners make when pole vaulting is to place the poles too far back. It's not uncommon to place them flush with the feet. Or even worse - behind your feet. Instead, you should focus on placing the poles in front of your body at the pole vault. In addition to this, people also talk about ”getting over the bars”. This means coming up with your hips and then folding over the bars. In this way, you mainly work with your stomach. The poles should also be placed straight down the hill to get the most power out of them.Another mistake that many beginners make is to ”sit down” when doing the pole vault. Instead, try to hold on with your hips to get the maximum power out.

Learn to diagonal skiing

Diagonal running is said to be the engine of exercise. In short, the technique involves using one leg at a time. In other words, shifting all your weight to one leg followed by the other. This allows you to get a very good grip. One mistake that many beginners make is to drag both skis, which is due to not really daring to shift all the weight to one leg. In addition to this, many people also tend to push off with their leg far too late. Push off when your foot is in the centre of your body. Perhaps the best way to get better at diagonal skiing is to ski without poles. Work with really heavy and big arms. The arm should pass the leg. That's also exactly when you should push off. Another good exercise is the ”one, two, three glide”. It involves taking three steps and then stopping in the middle of the diagnol movement to try to slide on one leg. The advantage of this exercise is that you get better balance while daring to slide on your skis. Let them do the work for you!

Cross-country skiing with us at Stöten in Sälen

If you also want to go cross-country skiing and at the same time enjoy the Swedish mountains, you can visit us at Stöten in Sälen. Here you'll find 45 kilometres of cross-country tracks for both classic and skate skiing.

As you can see, there is a lot to learn. However, we hope that you now have plenty of tips and advice to get you started with your cross-country skiing. See you on the trail!