Gender differences in power output, phyiological responses and exercise efficiency during arm, upper body and whole body double poling

This study compared gender differences in power output, physiological responses and exercise efficiency between arm (AP), upper body (UP) and whole body (WP) double poling. Ten male and ten female performance-matched cross-country skiers performed three 4-min submaximal exercise bouts, a Wingate as well as a 3-min all-out test (3MT) on a modified Concept2 SkiErg in all three poling modes. Power output and physiological responses were measured during each test and body composition was determined with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. During the 3MT, UP power was more than 50% higher compared to AP, whereas WP power was ~35% higher than UP for both genders (all P<0.001). VO2peak was ~32% higher for UP than AP for both genders, and 29% (females) and 18% (males) higher for WP than UP (all P<0.001). Males produced 103, 97 and 87% more power, and had 71, 65 and 51% higher VO2peak than females in AP, UP and WP respectively (all P<0.001). The power output-oxygen uptake regression lines did not differ between genders, but were slightly elevated for AP compared to the other modes (P<0.05). Lean mass in the arms, upper and whole body respectively was 60, 38 and 33% higher among males (all P<0.001). Overall, the current study demonstrated the significant role of the trunk and legs in double poling. The relative gender differences within these modes were greatest with isolated arm and upper body work, and coincided with the greater portion of muscle mass in arms and trunk among males. Power output differences in mode and gender could partly be explained by differences in aerobic energy delivery capacity, but were relatively independent of the ability to convert metabolic energy into power.
Key words: cross-country skiing, efficiency, gender differences, poling, upper body performance