Date of Award

8-2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Health and Human Performance

Program

Exercise Science (MS)

First Advisor/Chairperson

Scott Drum

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to correlate upper body (UB) lean mass (UBLM), UB maximal strength (UBMS), and average power production during a 3-min ski ergometer (SERG) test to predict the dependent variable, a one-kilometer uphill double pole time trial (DPTT) on snow. We hypothesized UBLM would be most important to performance. All tests were conducted within four weeks of completing the championship phase of a Division I cross country (XC) ski season. Skiers (n=10; all females) performed the mass-start DPTT on snow (i.e., criterion measure), SERG, and UBMS separated by at least a few days recovery. Lastly, body composition was determined via dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) with a focus on UB mass characteristics (i.e., trunk + arm lean mass). A significant (p = 0.02) correlation was observed between DPTT and UBLM. No significant (p > 0.05) correlations were observed for UBMS or SERG vs. DPTT. Thus, our hypothesis was supported and we suggest female, competitive cross country skiers work to build functional UB lean mass to best prepare for utilizing the ever popular and evolving double pole technique.

Access Type

Open Access

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