Top 5 health benefits from skiing!
Skiing and snowboarding season is rapidly approaching and snow-lovers are already thrilled and excited to open the new season. Mountain holidays and activities are incredibly inspiring and relaxing – all those wonderful sceneries of crystal white mountain peaks, inviting powdery snow on pistes and lovely little chalets and cafeterias that serve delicious beverages and snacks. At the end of the holiday – this all sums up in a wonderful experience and overall – great emotional state, but did you know that skiing per se does good not only for your stress and tiredness, but also physically benefits your body?
Here is a list of 5 great health benefits from skiing!
Strengthens up your stomach muscles!
Once you get on your skis, your body has to maintain good coordination and hold your core in order to balance yourself and stay flexible and stable on the slopes. While skiing – you are actually strengthening all those inner muscles all over your abdomen and it results in flatter belly, stronger backbone, better posture and significantly improved coordination!
Improves your cardiovascular system!
Doesn’t matter either your are a beginner or a skiing expert, going down the slopes is a wonderful and pretty demanding workout! Since your are working out with your legs mostly and other muscles, your body is constantly consuming energy, heart is pumping more blood, blood vessels are working as well to bring all the nutrients and oxygen to peripheral tissues and it all results is a wonderful cardio workout, which strengthens up your main muscle in your body – the heart! Since the oxygen consumption in tissues is high, there is a need of increased lung functioning as well, hence – skiing automatically improves lung health as well!
Flexibility!
Skiing can also benefit for flexibility of the lower body, but what is more important – you should always stretch before getting on the slopes! Otherwise there is an increased risk of strains and sprains and nobody wants that on the first day of skiing holiday! The best way to prepare for skiing is the superman stretch – lay on your stomach with arms and legs stretch straight out. Lift your arms up as far as you can, lift your head and look up and raise your feet up at the same time and hold it for some 10 seconds.
Getting fit and slim!
According to fitness experts, you can lose up to five pounds during a week of proper skiing holidays! It has been calculated that a regular person doing skiing for around 6 hours per day can burn up to 3000 kcal! And if this amount of skiing is done for more or less one week, the result can be a lovely weight loss of 5-6 pounds! This is far more than a hardcore session in a gym!
Boosting your brain!
Apart from all those nice physical benefits, there is another extremely important health benefit – happiness! Skiing as any other active exercise increases metabolism in brain, releases adrenaline and endorphins into the bloodstream and boost your emotional well being, helps to combat depression and mood disorders!
So now you can clearly see – what is it about the skiing holidays that makes you so happy and satisfied! It’s all the good things that skiing does to your body – physically and mentally! Get on the slopes and get happy!
