Skiing is undoubtedly a fun and exciting sport.
It takes just a little training to get into, but years to truly master.
If you have never taken to the slopes before but are thinking of taking up the activity, you may be asking yourself, is skiing a good workout?
Absolutely yes, skiing is a great workout! Not only does it burn a lot of calories (between 400-800), but it is great for your cardiovascular health. On top of this, it increases your leg and core muscle strength, and improves your balance and agility.
How much energy you burn will depend on the type of skiing you are doing, along with your current fitness level, age, and weight.
It is worth noting that skiing costs money and a trip to a ski resort can be expensive.
From this point of view, there are a lot of exercises that will give the same effect without the added cost that skiing involves.
But if you enjoy it, then the health benefits are a great added extra.
So let’s break these benefits down.
How many calories do you burn skiing?
According to this study published in the National Library of Medicine, you can burn somewhere between 400 and 800 calories an hour skiing (depending on the type and intensity of your activity).
For downhill (or alpine) skiing, you can expect to burn between 448 and 713 calories per hour.
If you head out for a more intensive cross-country ski session, you will burn between 644 and 813 calories.
This level of fitness is on par with indoor cycling.
Your weight and your gender will also determine how many calories you burn while skiing.
Men will tend to burn more calories than women (about 300 per hour), and the heavier you are, the more calories you will burn.
What are the health benefits of skiing?
So we know that skiing burns a good amount of calories, but what other health benefits does the sport offer?
Improves cardiovascular health
Skiing is a good aerobic exercise, which keeps your heart rate high for a long period of time, strengthening it.
This will increase your stamina and your general level of fitness, which will help with everyday activities like walking or running.
It also helps to decrease your resting heart rate. Other benefits of aerobic exercise include a decreased risk of heart disease, better control of blood sugar, and lower blood pressure.
Strengthens your leg muscles and joints
Your legs are the key components of skiing and you will be spending hours on them each day.
They will take all of the strain of skiing, keeping you up right, and moving to allow you to make the twists and turns of the slopes.
Strengthens your core
Along with your legs, skiing will build the muscles in your core which contributes to your posture, balance and stability, on and off a pair of skis.
A strong core is a great base for many other sports and physical activities, so skiing will give you a leg up on your next active hobby.
Improves mental health
Your mental health is just as important as your physical health, and skiing is an incredibly healthy sport in this sense!
If you are heading to a ski resort, then you will be physically away from the stresses of everyday life.
Instead, you will be out in the backcountry, breathing in the crisp mountain air.
The views will be stunning and the winter sun can provide some much-needed vitamin D in the darker winter months, proven to help with depression.
Skiing is also a lot of fun and will cause your body to release endorphins, making you happier.
Is skiing good for losing weight?
As we have mentioned already, skiing is a great exercise, which can burn a lot of calories.
But just how effective is it at losing weight?
The basic fundamentals of weight-loss are calorie in vs calories burned.
In other words, a combination of diet and exercise.
When you head to a ski resort, the food on offer is usually very indulgent and full of calories!
This is for a good reason though, as you do need to recover a good portion of what you burn.
If you have too much of a calorie deficit, then this can be unhealthy.
So as long as you watch your intake compared to what you burn, then skiing can be a good fat-killer exercise.
Tips to maximise the health benefits from skiing
Pick a more rigorous route or ski style
Skiing on a tougher slope will present more of a challenge to you.
There will be more twists and turns involved, making you work your legs and core a lot more.
If you head out cross-country skiing, instead of downhill skiing, then you will burn more calories too.
Don’t take the ski lift
We don’t recommend this for every run, but try walking up the piste instead of taking the ski lift every so often.
Taking the lift will cool you down and lower your heart rate, but walking will keep that rate up high, therefore burning more calories.
As a less intense option, opt for a button-lift (if they have one), as this keeps you on your feet.
Watch what you eat
You will need to restore lost energy, so that you can get out of bed and ski the next day!
But a lot of the food at a ski resort will be high in calories and full of carbohydrates, so keep an eye on what you are fueling back up with.
Skiing is undeniably a great workout for mind and body.
It is worth noting that it isn’t the cheapest option, or the safest, but if you enjoy the sport then the benefits greatly outweigh the costs/ risks.
Not to mention, with skiing being a winter sport, it will help to keep you active all throughout the year.
Even the simplest forms of skiing will help to build muscle and cardiovascular health, but the more complex forms will give the biggest fitness rewards.
