PURPOSE: More than 4.2 Mio people in Germany and 82 Mio persons around the world participate in alpine skiing and snowboarding. However, little is known about the physiological workload during leisure sports like alpine skiing and snowboarding. The aim of this study was to assess the average on-slope cardio-respiratory stress, expressed in relative terms of heart rate (%HRR) and oxygen-uptake (%VO2R). METHODS: Spirometric data (VO2) and heart rate (HR), were monitored simultaneously during alpine skiing and snowboarding. A portable spirometric device (Oxycon mobile) and a heart rate monitor (Polar, S710) were used for data sampling. The field test took place in the Austrian Kleinwalsertal skiing region near Riezlern, located 1150 to 2000 m above sea level. Weather conditions were fairly constant at the time of testing, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures between -6 and -1 degrees Celsius. Eight skiers (VO2ma^. 41,2 ± 5,2 ml x kg'1 * min'1) and six snowboarders (VO2max: 43,7 ± 10,1 ml * kg-1 x min-1) with intermediate experience, had to run a 4.4 km slope with a medium degree of severity. To calculate relative workload, maximum cardio-respiratory values were analyzed during an incremental exercise test (IET) on an electromagnetically braked bicycle ergometer. RESULTS: The average heart rate during alpine skiing and snowboarding reached approximately 67% ± 7% and 76% ± 8% of the maximum lET-heart rate, respectively. Overall, snowboarders demonstrated a relatively higher cardio-respiratory workload compared to alpine skiers. Average %HRR and %VO2R are given in Table 1. CONCLUSION: In our study, we found demands for the cardio-circulatory system matching the recommended workload for causing a training Stimulus [1]. The stress for the Ventilation seems to stay below an aerobic challenge and far away from overtaxing the respiratory system. Further studies should evaluate the cardio-respiratory Stimulus over longer periods of time (i.e. one day of skiing).
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