Date of Award

5-2021

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Health and Human Performance

Program

Exercise Science (MS)

First Advisor/Chairperson

Dr. Sarah Breen

Abstract

Cross country skiing is an endurance sport that requires complex physiological and biomechanical capabilities. In recent years, resistance training has become an essential requirement for success in cross country skiing due to the evolution of the sport. Although important for success in skiing, resistance training recommendations are not well defined within the literature. The purpose of this study was to provide resistance training recommendations for cross country skiers by performing a systematic review on the current literature related to cross country skiing performance and resistance training. Four electronic databases were searched systematically to obtain original articles in peer-reviewed journals addressing the relationship between cross country skiing performance and resistance training through the use of an intervention. Nine articles were included following screening of each article for inclusion criteria. Studies were grouped in accordance with Synthesis Without Meta-Analysis (SWiM) reporting guidelines. The main findings were that ski-specific explosive training improves VO2max for junior females, while most forms of ski-specific resistance strength training improve time to exhaustion and ski economy for a wide range of skiers. Based on these findings, it is possible to recommend supplementing traditional endurance ski training with ski-specific explosive training for junior females, and supplementing some form of ski-specific resistance strength training to a wide range of skiers.

Access Type

Open Access

Justification for Restricting Access

The author wants to have the option to publish their work with a publisher who considers open access publications equivalent to prior publication.

Exercise Classifcation.xlsx (14 kB)
Provides specific resistance exercises used within each study included in the current review.

Leo Hipp Thesis Systematic Review IRB Statement.pdf (74 kB)
Email exchange noting that IRB approval was not necessary for this study

Available for download on Wednesday, April 01, 2026

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