Love Your Winter Workout
Come out of hibernation with these seven activities
Getting outside during the winter has many benefits: The cool air energizes you, the sunlight lifts your mood (and lets you absorb vitamin D), and you use your muscles differently from the way you do with summer activities. “Winter sports help you maintain fitness and improve balance and coordination,” says trainer Joan Pagano, author of Strength Training for Women.
Before you head out into the cold, make sure you are adequately hydrated, says Fabio Comana, an exercise physiologist for the American Council on Exercise. Cold, dry air can quickly dehydrate you, even if you’re not sweating as much as you would in hot weather. So drink up beforehand, and make sure you take water with you on your outdoor adventures.
Then try some of these winter activities, guaranteed to prevent the cold–weather doldrums!
Ice–skating
Physical benefits: Because you have to stabilize your body on two thin blades, ice–skating is a good core workout that builds balance. It also strengthens your glutes, thighs and your calf and ankle muscles.
How it fights winter blahs: Skating builds confidence and coordination — and you can easily bring the kids along to reap the same benefits. Skate rental and rink time are generally inexpensive and accessible in most cities.
Calories burned in 30 minutes*: 200 to 230
Ice hockey
Physical benefits: Stopping, starting and quick bursts of speed — ice hockey is essentially a perfect form of interval training, which increases your fitness level quickly. “Agility, balance, speed and strength — you use them all for hockey,” Comana says.
How it fights winter blahs: Hockey brings out competitiveness, meaning you’ll be itching to get off the couch and onto the ice for your next game.
Calories burned in 30 minutes: 250 to 260
Downhill skiing
Physical benefits: Swooshing down the hill is a great workout for your inner and outer thighs, Pagano says. It also strengthens your ankles and challenges your core, as you need to align yourself correctly to avoid toppling over.
How it fights winter blahs: Nothing quite beats the rush of downhill skiing. Add in a steaming mug of hot tea and a roaring fire, and you’ve got an ideal winter afternoon!
Calories burned in 30 minutes: 160 to 200
Cross–country skiing
Physical benefits: The workhorse of winter sports, cross–country skiing is a terrific total–body workout: Your hamstrings, quads, back, chest, shoulders and core muscles are all involved. “It’s also the front–runner for all–around aerobic benefits,” Pagano says. And it’s low impact on your joints.
How it fights winter blahs: There’s nothing lovelier than gliding almost–silently through a snowy winter landscape. Plus, you can get a tremendous workout in a short amount of time.
Calories burned in 30 minutes: 260 to 275
Sledding
Physical benefits: You need to use your core muscles to stay on the sled and steer, but it’s walking back up the hill that brings the most physical benefits. Climbing to the top is a great leg workout.
How it fights winter blahs: It helps you feel like a kid again! And sledding is a low–cost family activity that requires very little equipment.
Calories burned in 30 minutes: 220 to 230
Snowshoeing
Physical benefits: Snowshoeing is like walking through the snow with ankle weights. It targets your leg muscles plus your hip flexors, as you’re lifting your feet rather than gliding as you would be in skiing. “You burn more calories snowshoeing than you do walking or running at the same speed,” Pagano says.
How it fights winter blahs: Taking a walk in the woods is peaceful and an effective workout. Plus, there’s no need to stick to established trails, so you can tap into your spirit of adventure!
Calories burned in 30 minutes: 260 to 270
Shoveling snow
Physical benefits: Although shoveling isn’t an aerobic workout, you’re really using those core, arm and shoulder muscles. Be sure to bend your knees as you shovel. “It’s like doing a modified squat over and over again,” Pagano says.
How it fights winter blahs: Sure, it’s maybe more of a chore than recreation, but when it’s time to pull the car out, you’ll be glad the driveway is clear. Plus, you can make it more fun (and get kids involved) by building a fort or having a snowball fight with the piles you create.
Calories burned in 30 minutes: 200
*Note: All calorie amounts are approximate and based on a 145–pound woman working at moderate effort.
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