Abstract

Alpine skiing is a very popular winter leisure time activity. However, this practice can be very demanding in terms of power and energy consumption. Skiing holidays are often the only time devoted to physical activity during the winter. Spending the whole days skiing may induce fatigue, especially if skiers are not well prepared. This may favour injury occurrence since motor control is reduced in fatigue. Fun and enjoyment may also disappear with fatigue. Knowledge about fatigue development may help to plan skiing load and other activities during the skiing holidays. This can be important for individual skiers as for organisers of skiing vacations. Safety is an important part of skiing. However, fatigue has never been considered as an important factor for injury occurrence. There was found no study elaborating this subject. It has been shown that in recreational alpine skiing heart rate exceeds 85 percent of maximal theoretical heart rate during 18 percent of the actual skiing time. Anaerobic energy mechanisms may thus take place during recreational skiing. During the whole day skiing and after many repetitions, considerable fatigue may occur. There is not much known about possible fatigue development during recreational skiing. It is possible to assume that both peripheral and central fatigue would be present. These effects may be even more pronounced during skiing holidays where more consecutive skiing days are performed. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine some possible fatigue mechanisms during one week of tourist alpine skiing. Einleitung (gekürzt)