XC Ski Training is WAY Behind!
XC skiing seems way behind other sports in indoor fitness. Behind as usual.
Not only for ski fitness training. But, hey, the XC motion is all-body and pleasing and so one of the best possible motions for indoor training. Yet nothing is available! Max potential, zero delivery. Typical!
Indoor bike training by contrast might be a billion$ biz by now. It has great products and also interactive action.
XC has nothing for either! We need both right away! Total change! …Is it possible?
What We Have…
Now, the Concept 2 Rowing Erg is famous for indoor racing around the world. And about 10 yrs ago they created the Ski Erg — for poling. …And only for poling. It’s a popular device. For poling. Mostly for double-poling. Since that is what classic ski racing has often turned into. But you can single-stick it, too. (FYI, KayakFirst.com makes a paddling erg. And I think you can adapt a Concept 2 rower to paddling.)
For some reason there hasn’t been much if any interactive racing apps set up for the Ski Erg yet.
There are two other indoor ski trainers: the ancient Nordic Track has gotten updated somewhat. But only as an elliptical with limited option arm action. Maybe it has potential? At least you use both your legs and your arms.
Nordic Track doesn’t sell a ski type machine anymore! Jeez! That’s how low skiing has sunk… Their homepage menubar says: Treadmills … Ellipticals … Bikes … Strength … Rowers … Corporate iFit. Wow! Notice anything missing? Maybe the Rowing Erg is considered all-body enough? Yeah, rowing is nice, but jeez. Isn’t skiing a nice motion, too? It is! It’s the best!
ThoraxTrainer is the other indoor ski erg — and it’s also poling-only. The poles work in tracks. Now, TT is cool because they’re developing interactive racing. It’s a start! They offer doublepole racing. …And they offer biathlon! There is a target on the wall in front of the skier. After poling, you shoot and see how you do compared to your pals. I don’t know if it’s WWW wifi interconnected, though. They have a bunch of YouTubes.
But it’s just sad to me to see them just standing there poling. It’s neat that the poles are in tracks. Kinda of like NordicTrack. Why not add 2 more tracks to have leg action included? Yeah it would cost more but it would work your legs!
Say, what if an XC indoor trainer also had body position sensors? So you could watch yourself on a screen and make your avatar go around corners and take on all sorts of interesting courses. We’d want the trainer resistance to increase also — like with Zwift. Darn, what if there was a motor that changed the ANGLE of the work surface, like a treadmill does. Or if it could also tilt DOWNWARD. Ha. I guess that wouldn’t work unless it really was a treadmill. …Coz then you’d just be resisting the tilt unless you were really gliding. Well, I suppose any kind of handling would be better than what we have now.
Anyway, XC has a LONG way to catch up. But it is ALL BODY action and so would seem to have the best fitness appeal potential.
Is Handling the Future for Zwift?
What if Zwift included body position data so that handling could be a part of the experience? What if XC ski trainers were adequate … and also interactive … and also had handling? WOW!
Everybody has been stuck indoors a lot this season, due to the coronavirus lockdown. Sure, we can do things on our own outside, but people like to socialize. And that means racing! The Zwift bike training system lets people ride together and chat doing both realistic and fantasy rides anywhere. It lets them race, too. Pro bike racing has even taken to Zwift!
One aspect about Zwift that some people like but which some might not is that it is fixed. There is no handling or crashing or cornering. Skill not required. Pure leg and cardio.
This makes me wonder if there’s more that could be done.
I’m considering the fact that smartphones have a built-in gyroscope and position sensors. They can measure or estimate forces. I know a guy, Tim Kelley, who created a ski technique analysis app. It measures or estimates the forces and directions that you’re moving your legs. So there’s that.
What about other gaming tools that use position? I’m out of the loop, but doesn’t a Wii controller sense position? What about other game sticks…?
What if a Zwift trainer could sense your body position and pressures. Who knows, maybe this would require a flexing bike-stand, so you can lean it or turn the bars.
Update
I found a couple other XC trainers. Here’s a link to one that I’ve heard is very pricey, like $5k, but also realistic. The Nordic SkiCrosser:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuqB7NyJ9ZE
Their website is motiofy.com.
Ercolina Doublepoling
Here’s another doublepoling machine. At $1200 I suppose it costs about the same as the Ski Erg. Here’s a video of a guy combining Ercolina with rollerskis for realistic classic doublepole training. It’s neat but has no popular potential. The legs MUST be realistically included!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0No-UAY6aSQ
ThoraxTrainer interactive poling racing in action, on YouTube
A guy added real skis and poles to his old NordicTrack to give a much improved experience. Too bad NT has dropped all ski devices!
