Sledding for Fun and Excerise
Winter is the time of year that seems to go on forever. Shorter daylight hours, cold temperatures and house-bound kids. And if you do go outside you wear so many clothes your knees won't bend.
What type of exercise would tempt you to brave the cold --- Sledding! Remember when you were young and fresh snow was an exciting part of your day? I’ll bet as you aged you lost sight of all that fun. Just imagine the calories you can burn when you force yourself to have fun with a sled!
You can't enjoy sledding without climbing a hill, and climbing that hill with a 30 to 50 pound child on a sled is certainly aerobic. Even hauling an empty sled up a slope of fresh powder is an effort.
When you were younger you probably weighed less, (probably a lot less), so now you have that extra weight adding to the fun. Just keep remembering that you’re working off your Christmas chocolates.
Walking uphill at 3.5 miles per hour will burn between 480 and 900 calories per hour depending on the terrain and the depth of the snow. Using snow shoes burns 600, but you don't get to use those when you're sledding.
Large people burn more calories than smaller ones and the same factor applies for most aerobic sports, including sledding. It stands to reason that a heavy person would have more trouble plowing through snow and climbing hills.
When the kids beg you to go outside and sled with them, consider the good points. Lots of laughs, lost calories, it’s free, and you don't have to wait in line. The secret is to dress warm and find a hot tub when you’re done.