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.
","abstract_html":"<p>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.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Whitham, Karmen M"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Health and Human Performance","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Scott Drum"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:23:47Z","subjects":["Cross-country skiing","upper body","strength","correlation","body composition","Sports Sciences"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/109","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Scott Drum"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Whitham, Karmen M"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health and Human Performance"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Cross-country skiing","upper body","strength","correlation","body composition","Sports Sciences"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/109"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Upper Body Characteristics Related To Double Pole Performance in Female Cross Country Skiers"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Scott Drum"],"dc:creator":["Whitham, Karmen M"],"dc:date.available":["2017-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.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.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/109"],"dc:subject":["Cross-country skiing","upper body","strength","correlation","body composition","Sports Sciences"],"dc:title":["Upper Body Characteristics Related To Double Pole Performance in Female Cross Country Skiers"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health and Human Performance"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:23:47Z"}