Whenever you feel the need to get a little exercise, taking up a sport is something that’s often seen as the best activity to do. When it’s warm and sunny outside, there’s no end to what you might consider giving a try – soccer, cross-country running, rugby, martial arts – there’s plenty of choice. However, if the weather takes a turn for the wintry, your options become a little more limited.
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When the snow is piling up, you might think that the best thing you can do in terms of working out is aerobics, which can get boring after a while, but there is one option that may have escaped your mind – skiing! Classed as a winter sport, it’s great to do if you fancy visiting a serene, mountainous winter wonderland in the next few months.
Sloping towards a slender you?
Having a look at the physiques of some professional skiers, it’s easy to see why this sport can prove to be so beneficial for your health, but how does it work, and what are the specific health benefits of going on a skiing break? As it happens, there are a number of benefits which can be gained from skiing. Here are the main ones:
Muscle toning
Skiing regularly can have a profound effect upon your figure. It can help to tighten your muscles up from head to toe, as your entire body is working while slaloming down a mountainside. As a result, your stomach will become flatter among other things, as long as you maintain your core stability.
Relaxation
A big part of feeling healthier is knowing when to relax. Relaxation is exactly what you can expect to experience on a skiing holiday. In most cases, you’ll be staying in a rustic yet warm chalet or hotel within a stone’s throw or cable car ride of the mountaintop, and you might even be able to receive treatments at spas after a long day on the piste. Have a look online at the various tour companies that run in the area you plan on visiting, they’ll likely have a range of resorts which offer all that. When I visited Switzerland each summer I went to Wädenswil which had cool nearby mountains chalets we could stay at and ski near to.
Losing weight
As well as toning your muscles, skiing can actually help you to lose a little weight. Spending two or three hours a day trying to master the sport can be exhausting, but for getting rid of the extra pounds you’ve put on over Christmas, it’s hard to think of anything better or more exciting.
Increasing flexibility
If, after a few lessons, you’re ready to tackle cross-country skiing, you might find that in order to get it right, you need to be a little more flexible. Once you manage to get the hang of cross-country skiing, you’ll be able to negotiate sharp bends and the like with hardly any trouble, resulting in improved flexibility around your joints.
Jules is a UK travel blogger that used to visit Waedensvil, Switzerland each summer to practise her Ski skills! Connect with Jules on Google+.
