Winter Sports- The Pleasure And The Pain

Posted by Kristin on Dec 13, 2011 in Health & Fitness | 0 comments

There’s something inexplicably odd about winter sports. By their very nature, they are a little sadistic. Choosing to go out in the freezing cold and exercise on ice or in the snow? Sounds like torture, but many normal people participate in winter sports year-after-year. Skiing or snowboarding? Why not? It’s the holidays! I’d love to pay a lot of money to freeze in the snow!

Why do we do it? Because despite the multiple layers of clothing, numb toes, and eyelashes frozen together, winter sports are invigorating – and fun. What’s really great is that most cold weather sports are a great way to stay fit all year long and are an enjoyable past time… but then there are those who take it to the next level. How do you like your winter sports? Solely for pleasure or with a side of pain?

Ice Skating

The pleasure: Ice skating is an extremely accessible winter sport. Especially before the holidays, it’s easy to find a rink- whether it’s Winter Wonderland’s rink in London or the National Ice Centre in Nottingham. Ice skating works most of your muscles to some extent- you especially use quads and glutes for leg movements- and your core for balance! But with the fun element at most rinks- be it Christmas carols playing or a dance club atmosphere- chances are you’ll be having such a good time, you’ll forget you’re also getting some exercise.

The pain: Want to take it the next level? Did you know that there are long-distance ice skating events? For those that just don’t feel that skating around in circles to the latest Rihanna track is enough, enter ice marathon. Famous long-distance ice skating events include the Finland Ice Marathon in Kuopio, with distances ranging from 25 km up to the daunting 200 km race, and Vikingarannet, an 80 km point-to-point event between Uppsala and Stockholm, Sweden.

Cross-Country Skiing

The pleasure: Cross-Country skiing is hard work, but once you get the proper balance/glide/weight distribution thing down, it’s a beautiful thing. In my mind, there are few better ways to enjoy winter’s majestic landscape than on a quiet cross-country trail in the middle of a snowy forest. That said, it’s an amazing workout. It literally works your entire body and can burn around 700 calories an hour (though not if you’re just staring at the scenery like me!) Burning all of those calories, it’s tough to stay cold for long.

The pain: Enter The Birkie. The Norwegian Birkebeinerrennet is one of the oldest and most challenging races in Worldloppet (cross-country skiing marathons) and over 16,000 (crazy?) people participate each year. The course is “nordic classic” length- or 54 km. Sound too easy? Well, apparently the Norwegians think so, too. The race must be completed carrying a rucksack weighing at least 3.5 kg. There’s also an American Birkebeiner, being held for the 39th time this winter in Wisconsin.

Climbing

The pleasure: Rock climbing, like ice skating, has venues (both indoor and out) that make it accessible to almost everyone. In the winter, indoor climbing gyms make it easy to climb element-free and with some experience or a guide, rock climbing can be done outside, despite the cold. It’s extremely challenging, but even kids can do it. Climbing gyms are great places to host a birthday party! Literally everything gets a workout- all the way down to your fingers. And there is an amazing sense of accomplishment at reaching the top.

The pain: In this case, the painful bit is adding the winter-specific element… ice. Why just climb around on a bunch of rocky walls when you can climb up a creaking frozen waterfall? Ice climbing takes climbing into a completely different frozen world. Fortunately, ice climbing relies on technique as much as strength, but it is recommended that you’re fairly fit before giving it a go. Scotland is a mecca for ice climbing, so it doesn’t have to be painful to find a great climbing location. And if you really want to try ice climbing without the extreme elements, there are indoor ice climbing walls- but where’s the pain in that?

Whether you’re a pleasure-seeker or enjoy a little pain in your exercise routine, there’s a winter sport to suit your style. So get outside to stay fit, have fun, and discover a new challenge this winter!

Photography by: davidpaige, Benson Kua, Take it to the Manx and justinjohnsen