What is rollerskiing and how can it help you improve your performance as a mountain runner?

At RUNNEA, as you know, we talk about running and mountains, but we also like to provide information on all those disciplines that, in one way or another, can make us better runners. And that's why today we come to talk about rollerskiing, a discipline widespread among trail runners that will help us to be more complete and efficient runners. If you want to know how, read on!

Before we get into the heart of the matter, and find out how this discipline can help us improve our performance in the mountains, we need to understand what rollerskiing is. Very simply, rollerskiing is, roughly speaking, the equivalent of winter cross-country skiing, practiced off the snow, usually on paved roads, thanks to the bearings under the skis.

As you may already know, cross-country skiing, like ski mountaineering, are common practice among top trail running. Not for nothing is it easy to see elite athletes taking advantage of the winter to train on snow. However, the discipline of rollerskiing, although popularized in order to be able to continue training the movements of cross-country skiing, without snow, in summer, has become a sport in its own right.

Rollerski as cross-training for trail running

It is clear that summer is the season par excellence for trail running, and that for the most hardcore mountaineers, the idea of walking on asphalt while being able to walk on rocks and trails can be difficult to resist. However, rollerskiing can be a form of cross-training in the preparation of our goals, as it will allow us to exploit our physical condition by favoring a lower impact on our joints or muscle wear.

As the practice of cycling is widespread as a means of cross-training for running and trail running, rollerskiing can be an optimal discipline to maintain the activity while avoiding excessive wear and tear. It is a general conditioning practice that, due to the lack of impact with the surface, favors a much less harmful practice. In addition, as we say, it is an exercise that, unlike cycling, will involve almost all the muscle groups of our body, including, although it may not seem so, those of the upper body.

What are the benefits of rollerskiing for mountain runners?

Rollerskiing is a discipline that combines elements and movements from other major disciplines and sports, such as athletics, cycling and swimming. It is a practice that brings a series of benefits to runners, both on asphalt and in the mountains, and can be used at any time of the season. Some of the most important direct benefits are the following:

1. Reduced impact on joints: As it is a discipline that uses skis with bearings to glide over the asphalt, we are talking about a practice in which the impact against the surface is practically null, which facilitates the accumulation of aerobic work avoiding pressure on the joints. Therefore, we are facing a less injurious sport, above all, as far as ankles and knees are concerned.
2. General physical conditioning: As we have already mentioned, although it may not seem so, rollerskiing is a discipline in which, as can happen in swimming, almost all the muscle groups of our body work in unison. Although the legs play a fundamental role, the upper body takes on greater importance than in trail running, favoring a more complete core workout, as well as a toning of the upper limbs and back. A training that can avoid future injuries preventing our body by strengthening the muscles of complementary areas in the practice of trail running.
3. Increased caloric expenditure: By involving a greater number of muscle groups, necessarily, our body will be forced to increase the expenditure of calories, this being greater, for example, that of cycling. Therefore, our cardiovascular system will be reinforced, implying, indirectly, a lower expenditure and greater efficiency when practicing trail running.
4. Improved proprioception: As in any sport that requires extra balance, rollerskiing improves the perception of our body and its movements, involving key joints such as the hips, knees or ankles. The instability of holding steady on the skis will provide a gradual improvement in our proprioception, which will have direct implications on our balance, for example, in technical or steep mountain areas.
5. Optimization of the footstep: The rollerski will help us, to a great extent, to maintain a more exhaustive perception of our footstep, forcing us to propel ourselves at all times from the metatarsus. A movement that, on many occasions, we look for in running and trail running, thus avoiding heel entry and facilitating midfoot entry. Moving our center of gravity forward, something so necessary in this discipline, will favor greater efficiency in running when we put on our trail running shoes again.

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But⊠How to start rollerskiing?

Practicing the discipline, in itself, is not too complicated. The only thing we have to do is to gradually get used to its peculiarities, including balance, so as not to make a mistake and cause an unfortunate accident. If you have no experience with rollerskiing or cross-country skiing, the best thing to do is to start practicing, with just one ski, on a flat, paved surface with little or no traffic. Once you have mastered gliding with one foot, you can add the other ski to begin to familiarize yourself with the balance necessary to move forward.

With both skis on, you will have to learn to maintain the basic posture on them, which involves atriple flexion of ankles, knees and hips. A position that will allow you to move your center of gravity forward and improve your proprioception. After this, the improvement consists of practice, as in any sport, with emphasis on lengthening the stride, achieving greater hip width, driving your body from the metatarsals, and accompanying the movement with fluidity from the upper body.

Some of the indispensable materials for the practice would be the following:

• Rollerski.
• Cross-country ski/rollerski boots for summer.
• Custom-made poles.
• A helmet for safety.
• Protective gloves.
• Elbow and knee pads.
• Reflective clothing.

As you can see, the dynamics that encompasses this discipline of rollerskiing is not only aesthetically attractive, but also functional. It is a sport that will allow us to 'rest' from the demanding art of running to enter a different world, where fluidity of movement is the key. A discipline that will help us to reduce muscle wear and tear, as well as the impact on key joints, while promoting general physical conditioning and improving balance and proprioception. All key implications for the practice of trail running.

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