Skiing is a wonderful activity for keeping your body, brain and emotions in good shape. You get to be in beautiful surroundings and feel really in touch with nature as you ski through the woods and snow. Interacting with others also brings social benefits. All in all, it is great news for our health. Make sure you get fit before you go, so that you can really enjoy yourself – skiing works your body hard!
Health benefits include:
- Builds lower body muscles Downhill skiing puts you in a squat position and, as a result, you will develop your quads, glutes, thighs and hamstrings like never before. Make sure you strengthen these before you go skiing, if you want to be able to walk the next day!
- Strengthens bones and knees Skiing is a classic weight-bearing activity that strengthens your bones and helps prevent osteoporosis, You will feel the tension on your knees, ankles and feet as you move downhill at speed and do your turns.
- Maintains proprioception Proprioception is the ability to link physical movement, location and action of a part of our body with our sensation of that happening. It is sometimes called our sixth sense and is why we know when our hand is in front of our face even if our eyes are closed. Proprioception can decline as we age as there are changes in our muscles, nerves and joints. Activities such as skiing, which require coordination and balance, and an awareness of slight changes in our body movements and position, can reduce the weakening of this important ability.
- Gets you outdoors The beauty of being outdoors in the snow and nature is divine! Whether you’re enjoying the silence of cross country skiing amongst the trees or the invigoration of a downhill ski, you get to enjoy the real outdoors first hand. If it’s sunny, you get the added benefit of Vitamin D. Put your sunscreen as the sunlight will reflect off the snow!
- Improves your mood Skiing releases endorphins and adrenaline into the bloodstream which builds your sense of wellbeing and improves your overall mood. This can help manage or keep depression at bay.
- Enhances your balance and core muscles Staying on your feet and not falling over dramatically increases your core muscles and improves your balance and agility.
- Good for your heart Skiing can improve your cardiovascular endurance, just by the physicality of what’s required.
- Improves your spatial awareness When skiing you need to be able judge distances and speed and be aware of how to position your body to go where you want to go. This increases your brain's capacity to calculate where you are in your surroundings and builds greater awareness of the space around you.
"Skiing forces us to make strategic decisions as we go along, choosing the best route and remaining aware of other moving objects around us. This combination is thought to help people think more clearly, and can even increase cognitive capacity, meaning that skiers are likely to be better learners in other areas of life, while also having less chance of suffering from mental decline in old age." US Centre of Disease Control