1. Shovelling

Ok, this may be a chore, but it also can provide an excellent workout.  According to Davie Tibbetts, you should “approach it like a workout where you do warms ups, you invent and do repetitions, and rest breaks. You work each side of the body evenly, work up a sweat. Well, the driveway seemed to go a lot quicker and it felt good doing it.”

2. Sledding

No need to make excuses for playing in the snow with your kids; this will count as your daily workout!  Carlo Celotti, a personal trainer and nutritionist, recommends sledding as a form of winter exercise.  “There are plenty of inexpensive sleds on the market and running up the hill to go back down again is a great cardio interval workout, not to mention fun, too.”

3.  Snow Pilates

Why keep your Pilates routine indoors when you can perform it outdoors?  Lindsay Lopez, a professional Pilates instructor, recommends trying it in the snow.  “ROLL around in the snow! Do some classic Pilates moves in the snow for more resistance and work in your abdominals!  Sit in the snow and make a ball shape with your body. Grab behind you knees, curl your tailbone under you, and roll back and forth on your spine. Pull your abdominals in and up the whole time and try to stay in a tight ball.

Don’t look at the snow as a barrier to your workout; consider it a part of the routine.

Getting ready to go for a run outside or to do some other sort of exercising outside is a very important task. Now I know that I do not really have to tell you all this, but what you wear really depends on what you are going to do. For example, if you are going to be doing something in which you will not be sweating as much or producing a lot of heat, then you should be really bundling up. However, if you are going to be using energy and truly exercising, then there are a few general tips that you should follow.

The first is that you should dress in layers. Do not go outside in an extremely warm sweatshirt thinking that it is too cold outside to be in a thermal shirt or a long-sleeved shirt. You should really never overdress. This is one of the most common mistakes of a rookie winter-exerciser– they overdress. Overdressing has a lot of negatives associated with them. One is that you will sweat more profusely and dehydrate quickly. In fact, you could sweat and become dehydrated just as quickly as had you been running in 95 F temperatures. I’m serious! Even worse is that you could suffer from hypothermia if you stand around in your sweat for too long.

That is also something that you want to remember; do not stand around when you are done. Come inside, get warm, and do not let the sweat turn into ice and either result in you getting frostbite or suffering from hypothermia.

Speaking of frostbite, one of the easiest parts of the body to neglect — your feet. Protecting your feet is extremely important; especially since a lot of your body heat escapes from your feet. While your toes will rarely get cold, it is important to wear proper socks or put your feet inside plastic bags to protect moisture from collecting and freezing. When I say proper socks, I mean non-cotton socks. You really want to invest in Smartwool or some other water-wicking type of sock if you want to protect your feet.

A general rule of thumb when getting ready to exercise outside is to avoid cotton and dress in layers.

What do the experts say? Contrary to my belief, studies have actually shown that exercise will help your immune system fight simple infections like colds and flu. Regular exercise is much more beneficial toward keeping your healthy, but if you are already sick, it probably will not hurt you either. Because exercise may help to boost immune function, it’s usually safe to exercise with a cold. For the common cold, exercising is beneficial for you; plus, you will get some fresh air out of it.

However, there are a few really important things to take into account if you are exercising while sick with a cold. One is that you need to listen to your body and to respect its limits. If you take cold medications such as decongestants, then your heart rate will most likely increase. Adding exercise into the mix, you might risk having too high of a heart rate. This could also result in becoming short of breath and having difficulty breathing.

If you have a fever, then that is a completely different story. Having a fever could make you and your body even more stressed. Stressing out your body will make you feel worse and if could definitely prevent a full recovery from occurring.

The key to exercising is, as always, moderation. You do not want to keep pushing your body so much so that it becomes stressed and tired, but exercising a moderate amount help keep your immune system up to par.

I hope that you stay healthy this winter so that you don’t have to worry about exercising with a cold!

Strength, flexibility, endurance and agility drills for skiers are essential for both recreational and expert skiers. These drills are important to improve upon in order to have technical and physical skills, such as strength, endurance, agility and balance. You do not have to ski and keep skiing in order to become a stronger and more rounded skiing; there is plenty of work that can be done in the off season. Two aspects of off-season training to be aware of are muscle strength and endurance.

Muscular strength is one of the more important skills, as it improves your ability to relax and still maintain control, while being able to make quick adjustments that are needed on the slopes. Without any muscles, there is no way I could maneuver myself around moguls or trees. If my muscles weren’t in shape I definitely would lose control, fall, or have to take a break after every couple of moguls! To become more muscular, the best exercises for a skier are ones, such as leg squats, that will help strengthen the quadriceps. A second strength exercise is a weighted quadriceps squat.

Doing 30+ minutes of endurance training definitely will make you a stronger skier. Cardiovascular endurance exercises, such as running, swimming, and more, are all great forms of endurance training, but one of the better exercises is biking.  Whether it is stationary, road, or mountain, biking will strengthen the heart and lungs and focuses on the leg muscles used during skiing.

There is a lot to be done before next ski season, so I better start soon!

1. Skating – Moderate skating is a leisurely activity, and consequently it only burns about 230 calories per 45 minutes. On the other hand, if you find a rink where you can take skating to the next level, you maybe be able to burn upwards of 400 calories for that same amount of time.
2. Snowboarding and Skiing (moderate) – Moderate snowboarding or downhill skiing burns about 290 calories during an exercise period of 45 minutes. This is definitely on the low end for winter activities, but most of us typically ski for hours on end, and the used calories rack up quite quickly.
3. Snowshoeing – Snowshoeing burns about 340 calories for 45 minutes of the activity. This is about twice as much as standard walking at a brisk pace would burn.
4. Cross Country Skiing – At a slow pace cross country burns at the same rate as snowshoeing. However, at a moderate pace you can burn about 385 calories in 45 minutes, 435 during 45 minutes at a vigorous pace. Cross country skiing has the added bonus of being quite scenic.
5. Snowboarding and Skiing (vigorous) – If you are planning on racing down the mountain and hitting some moguls, you also can plan to expend more calories. Vigorous snowboarding or downhill skiing burns about 385 calories for 45 minutes of activities.

On a winter vacation it’s easy to spend hours involved in any of these activities. As always, it is important to stay hydrated. (Simply being surrounded by snow doesn’t do anything for you, though it might have that illusion!) Also, if you’re curious, shoveling fits in at number 2 (according to healthstatus.com) burning about 280 calories for 45 minutes. (I get the feeling it’s actually more than that based on how much it tires me.)

Well, once the snow comes along, ski season will be in full blast.

Teaching someone how to ski is an interesting experience. It is not too hard to learn, in opposition to first starting snowboarding, but it can be challenging. For those of you who are looking to bring your children out into the amazing world of skiing or to teach a friend how this sport works, here are a few hints.

First and foremost, figure out if they can handle the cold temperatures, the uncomfortable boots, and the rest of the equipment. Speaking of equipment, do not get the cheap stuff. Buying or renting good quality equipment will not only aid your “student’s” overall experience, but it also will make your life easier. Figure out how they learn best–by watching, example, doing, trying, etc?

Start them off on the bunny slopes with the carrot lift. It should be extremely flat and boring for you, but trust me, your child or friend will think that they are going too fast to handle at the beginning on even this slope, so make sure that they are comfortable on these slopes first. Once you can get them to make big turns, how to use the pizza wedge technique, and how to stop, you can test them out on the lift. Take a lift up and take a long green circle trail down. They will learn so much on that one trail and may even find it easier going down on a slope because they’ll have more momentum.

However, I will admit that the best thing to do would be to enroll them in a one hour class. A lot of times you can get a package for beginners for free which would include rentals, a lesson, and a lower mountain pass. Other times you can get some great deal that includes all three items.

CNN reports that “every year 700 people die from hypothermia and frostbite in the U.S.” The dangerous thing about frostbite and hypothermia is that, initially, they aren’t identified easily.  Frostbite occurs when the blood flow to a certain area, such as fingers, ears, or toes, is restricted. The area will turn pale, but because it is frozen, no pain is associated with it until the body is back in warmer temperatures. Hypothermia is also dangerous in that sense because shivering, caused by the cold, actually reduces in intensity as the body temperature drops lower and lower.

Because the symptoms of both of these dangerous ailments are misleading, preventative precautions are the best way to fight them:

• If you are exercising in extreme cold, you should wear hats and gloves to prevent frostbite.
• Wearing several light layers will keep your warmer than wearing one bulky one.
• Exercise in areas that are not isolated so you don’t find yourself alone in the cold.
• If you plan to stop for any prolonged period of time, make it in a warm, dry place.

Mythbusters busted the myth that brandy can help you stay warm if you are in conditions that can lead to hypothermia. The results showed that the brandy increased circulation (and thereby also warmth) to the extremities, however, this also led to more rapid heat loss, and a faster decrease of the core body temperature. Thus, drinking brandy might make you feel warmer at first, but it is probably one of the worst things you could do to your body in such a situation. Keeping alcohol out of your system will keep you more focused and in better physical condition than if it is in your system.

The first route, the easier route, is the more expensive option: buying snow and ice traction devices to add to your shoes, just like snow chains to tires. The options range in price from $20 Yaxtrak Walkers, to the 5-star rated $59 Kahtoola Microspikes Traction System. Sounds intense, right? You don’t have to be a runner to purchase these. They can be helpful to increase your control when shoveling snow, walking your dog, taking a hike; it will fit around any kind of shoe. While $60 may seem like a lot, compare it to the cost of a broken hip! All of the reviews I have seen on these are positive; the Kahtoola Microspikes Traction System has shown to serve its purpose while being lightweight, durable, and versatile.

The second route is a DIY technique that transforms your regular shoe into the Screw Shoe (pictured). Basically, you drill screws into the bottom of your shoes, and they provide enough traction and stability to reduce falls on slippery roads and trails. With some old shoes and screws, you have a great, economical way to be safer on ice. A full explanation of this technique is posted on skyrunner.com. My father tried it, a bit wary at first, but he was very satisfied with the results!

So, maybe we can’t walk on water, but thanks to some innovative minds, we can run, walk, or hike on snow and ice safely.

When we workout with another that person is there to push us, and we have a sense of peer pressure not to whine or try to avoid a certain exercise.  We also don’t have the tendency to lift lighter weights or not do the total reps.

By ourselves, there is a different story.  If we don’t feel like doing all ten reps, we do only eight.  “I really hate that exercise, I will do this one instead.”  Some of us even lift lighter weights because we don’t have a spotter there and hate asking others to stop their workout to come to us.  We allow our minds to take over.

There is a solution.  It involves pushing ourselves.  Now, I honestly believe that no matter how self-driven you are, you will never get the best results on your own.  However, we need to focus our minds on smaller pieces of the pie.

When it is our goal to run 3.2 miles, we often decide to take it easy or stop and walk when we are alone because our minds tell us our body is tired.  A trick I use is to focus on landmarks like the quarter-mile mark.  I race to that point, and once I get close I move the line to the next point.  When my mind says, “THIS SUCKS,” I reason that I am almost there.  Doing reps while lifting is the same thing.  I want 10 and am “done” at 6.  “OK, just get to eight” and so on till I hit my mark.

It takes a lot of patience and discipline to re-train our minds.  I do this in everything.  My goal is to drink at least 100 ounces of water a day.  I have a 32 ounce water bottle.  Even though I would rather have something else, I force myself to drink every drop.

What are some suggestions?

For those of us who have stationary bikes or treadmills, we naturally can turn to them. Yet, neither seems to be a satisfying alternative to pounding on the pavement or gliding by a changing landscape. Treadmill-running and stationary-biking quickly become monotonous tasks, and it feels easy to let them slide and just forget about being active for a couple days, but we must not let the weather prevail!

Winter is a good time for strength training (for building or toning muscles), an important part of exercise, which you might not do normally. It doesn’t require much room, and if you don’t have your own set of weights, you always can improvise (but remember to be safe)! You can apply the tips from “Use of a Weight Room” within your own home. Strength training doesn’t have to involve weights. In fact, targeting some areas can be easiest without weight. For core training, strengthening your abdominal region, you could try 5 Minute Abs or even yoga!

If none of those options sound appealing to you, perhaps you’re looking for something more “fun”. If your ceilings aren’t too low, jump-roping actually can be brought indoors. It’s a fun, while demanding, activity that you can even include your kids in. (I’d be a little wary of the furniture in this case.) A less traditional but equally, if not more, rewarding activity is jumping on a trampoline. Use of a trampoline can give you all the benefit of normal exercise and can help you increase your sense of balance. Buying a mini-trampoline specially designed for exercise, it will be safe for your joints, might be your next best investment. (You didn’t think I was referring to a full-sized trampoline, did you?)

Last but not least, why not dance? It doesn’t matter what your previous experiences were like, all you have to do is turn up your music and start moving! Who knows? Maybe you can master a cool new move (or perhaps just scare your kids with a resurrection of “Thriller”).