Winter Sports to Build Fitness

6 Hard-Body Winter Sports

If cold and snow have your fitness routine in a rut, get outside and try one of these time-tested, seasonally friendly and super fun sports
By Jason Sumner fitbie
 

Hard Bodies Aren't Just for Summer

6 Hard-Body Winter Sports // Winter Sports To Build Fitness © Thinkstock

Image: Thinkstock

If you’re among those who view winter as a 3-month sentence to hard time at the local gym, it’s time to reconsider. Just because temperatures are low and days are short doesn’t mean wintertime exercise options are limited to trainers, treadmills, and Tae-Bo classes. Activities in oft-maligned solid-water states (also known as snow and ice) aren’t limited to shoveling your driveway and cleaning off your car. They also include a host of outdoor sports opportunities. The experts we talked to all agree that getting outside for a little exercise in the winter is great for body and mind.

Get the ultimate winter sports workout.

“In winter, you hear a lot about people getting depressed when they have to spend so much time inside,” says Scott Riewald, PhD, CSCS, the U.S. Olympic Committee’s winter sports high performance director. “Well, lots of studies have shown that regular exercise quells anxiety, lowers stress, eases tension, and reduces the tendency for depression. So getting outside in winter and being active can go a long way toward improving physical and mental health.”

Here are six exhilarating wintertime sports and the whole-body fitness benefits they provide.

Are you as fit as you think you are? Watch this video to find out.

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