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Whether you're planning a quick getaway or looking to get into the world of snow sports, take note that these sports aren't just for leisure. Some of these help burn a substantial amount of calories and make for a stellar workout.
In this piece, we'll look at the 5 best options for those looking to work up a sweat through snow sports.
Snow Sports That Will Work up a Sweat
Snow sports are no joke, and are definitely not for the faint-hearted. Since they require prolonged movement, your heart rate will always be high, and your body will always be engaged.
Let's look at the top 5 Snow Sports that are guaranteed to work up a sweat.
1) Snowboarding: Snowboarding is an intense activity and sport that engages all your muscles. It keeps your core working, while also being a quad-intensive workout.
Snowboarding typically requires good calf and glute strength to stay stable on the board and requires your abs to be engaged to maintain a solid stance. A typical snowboarding session will burn around 300-600 calories.
Snowboarding is a difficult sport to learn. Apart from immense core strength, it requires good balance and endurance. However, it is relatively easy to master it, as the hard part is learning all the basics, and it's a downhill slope from there (pun intended).
To become a prolific snowboarder, one must dedicate years of practice and consistency to the regime, much like any other sport. Snowboarding's universal appeal lies in the fact that it can be performed professionally, at an Olympic level, but also casually, as a pastime.
2) Skiing: Skiing, much like snowboarding, is an intense, full-body activity. It mostly targets your lower back, from your glutes and quadriceps to your hamstrings and calves.
Apart from aiding your muscles, it also helps in improving your overall balance and endurance. Skiing is typically easier to learn than snowboarding, but much harder to master. Good physical shape is a must to combat the onset of injuries.
Skiing requires the body to be engaged at all times, keeping it in squat positions. This means that your quadriceps, glutes, hamstrings, and calves are engaged at all times. Additionally, the calves are under strain at all times because of the forward motion of the activity and the core, glutes, and hamstrings help maintain structural integrity and keep your spine intact.
Skiing can also offer some benefits to your upper body, such as the use of skis to propel your body forward and engage both your biceps and triceps. It offers a full-body workout that is both enjoyable and intense.
A low-intensity session can burn around 350-400 calories.
3) Snowshoeing: Snowshoeing is a great but criminally underrated snow exercise that isn't very intense but burns a significant amount of calories.
It's perfect for those looking to stay active but not exhaust themselves, and it also requires far fewer technical skills compared to skiing and snowboarding. However, it isn't as exciting and exhilarating as skiing and snowboarding, nor does it offer the same kind of heart-thumping adrenaline rush.
At the same time, it is probably the most efficient exercise on this list in terms of calorie expenditure. An average snowshoeing session can burn anywhere between 470-500 calories within an hour.
The way snowshoeing works is essentially like hiking. While it doesn't put too much load on your body, it burns up to 40% more calories than you would by just walking regularly.
4) Ice-Skating: Ice-skating is another popular and enjoyable snow sport that you can engage in to break a sweat. Much like the other sports on this list, it engages your entire lower body, especially your glutes and hamstrings.
Each push is initiated by thrusting your hips forward, using your glutes to push you, your hamstrings to keep your body stable, and your core to help your spine stay upright. The abductor muscles are also employed in this activity, as they are another important part of the body at work during the propelling motion.
It is of utmost importance that you maintain good posture while ice skating. By staying upright, you allow your body to move more freely and comfortably, and create enough space for your glutes and hamstrings to move forward.
You can burn around 15 calories a minute performing this activity, so a 30 minute session would burn around 400-450 calories.
5) Sledding: While some perceive it to be childish, sledding is a fun, and surprisingly intense exercise. It is one that burns a good amount of calories when you look at the effort being put into the exercise.
Sledding engages all your leg muscles, especially on the upward trip. A pro tip is to select hills that are steep, so as to increase the intensity of your uphill walk after sledding.
An hour of sledding can burn around 350-400 calories, so it is definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a fun and nostalgic activity. One that also doubles up as an intense workout.
Conclusion
At first glance, snow sports may feel like activities designed for a week-long vacation in the hills, but they are not to be taken at face value. These exercises have tremendous potential as workouts, and are also extremely fun to engage in, whether alone or with friends and family.
So, if you're looking to break a quick sweat on a holiday, this might just be the perfect list for you.
