Snowshoeing and Cross-Country Skiing Helps Burn Extra Calories During Holidays

Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing are two great options for warding off unwanted weight gain during the over-indulgent holiday season. In fact, getting out in the winter months on snowshoes or cross-country skis are both great activities for burning up hundreds of calories. The 18th Annual Winter Trails day on January 12, 2013 offers children and adults an opportunity to try both activities for FREE at participating locations throughout the United States. Venues, locations and event details are posted at WinterTrails.org.

“Snowshoeing and cross country skiing are excellent aerobic activities,” said Reese Brown, director of the Winter Trails program. “They are easy to learn, appeal to the entire family and many times can be done right out the back door. Plus, they offer a way to keep weight down during the holidays and winter months.”

DSC04708According to SnowSports Industries America’s consumer website Snowlink.com, an adult can burn 700 calories per hour cross country skiing if moving at a brisk pace and 550 calories snowshoeing. Another fun fact – as a participant group, cross country skiers burned an amazing 54 billion total calories last winter equal to the same amount of calories found in 77 million cheeseburgers or 362 million beers. While snowshoeing enthusiasts burned up an impressive 109 billion calories as a group.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than a third of the adult population in the U.S., 20 years of age and older, are considered overweight or obese–as are nearly one-third of children between the ages of two and 19.

Winter Trails offers children and adults new to snow sports a chance to try snowshoeing and/or cross-country skiing FREE at venues throughout North America. There is no charge for the use of equipment or trails. Most locations offer snowshoeing AND cross country skiing. Some locations only offer snowshoeing. Current alpine skiers and/or snowboarders are also encouraged to try an alternative snow sport.   Visit www.wintertrails.org for more information.

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1 Comment

  • This is an excellent article from Ryan Alford. Doing activities such as skiing (or for any outdoor activity for that matter) helps you to keep your body moving and to help you keep in shape. You will find that if you are doing an activity such as skiing you are NOT eating. This is the biggest problem for our youth of today. They sit on the couch playing computer games and eat out of habit. It is not hard to understand why they get fat – eat and no exercise = ???

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