Winter Fitness Activities

If you live in the northern hemisphere, winter is upon you. It’s cold, maybe you even have snow falling, and that isn’t exactly inviting to go biking, skating or running. But there are a lot of winter fitness activities you can do.

Be Old-Fashioned

Many people put on a couple of pounds during winter, because they can’t do the fitness activities they do during summer.

But those pounds can easily be avoided. You just have to remember the fun things little you enjoyed doing in the snow and forget some of that fine machinery we came up with to make our lifes easier. The below winter fitness tips will give you an idea how many calories a 150 lbs person burns when doing some typical winter activities for an hour.

Chores

Instead of using a snowblower (153 kcal burned) or buying that ready-to-use wood for your fireplace, do these things like in the old days:

• Burn 700 kcal: Shoveling snow by hand
• Burn 400 kcal: Chopping wood for the fireplace
• Burn 360 kcal: Stacking the wood

Family Activities

There is no need for the kids to hang in front of the TV when it’s cold outside. Winter can be a chance for fun and memorable family moments:

• Burn 238 kcal: Sledding with the kids
• Burn 319 kcal: Have a snowball fight
• Burn 285 kcal: Build a snowman
• Burn 320 kcal: Take a walk

Winter Sports

Remember that pair of ice skates in your basement? How about polishing them up and putting them to good use?

• Burn 425 kcal: Ice-skating
• Burn 545 kcal: Put on snow-shoes and go for a walk in deep snow
• Burn 430 kcal: Snowboarding
• Burn 510 kcal: Cross-country skiing
• Burn 375 kcal: Downhill skiing

Dress For Winter Success

To stay safe, sound and healthy during your time outside, keep a couple of things in mind:

• Dress in layers to be able to adjust the amount of insulation your clothes give you
• Protect hands, feet and ears, as the extremities get less blood flow when it’s cold
• Especially wear a hat, as the human body loses most of its heat via the head
• Wear reflective clothes, as snowing and darkness can make you hard to see, especially in traffic
• Check the weather report and take weather conditions into account when planning outdoor activities

Picture courtesy of “erin“.