Winter Activites: As part of our Winter Activities series, we are sending this out hard copy rather than email. To see the other activites in the series, visit www.flagstaff.az.gov/teamWELL.

Hello All!! are one of many great reasons to live in Flagstaff! In general, being outdoors helps to reduce anxiety and can benefit your mental health. This can be very beneficial as daylight hours decrease. Any time you are being active it is leading to stronger muscles and lungs, higher metabolisms and big smiles from endorphin release and from the pleasure of the landscape and activity! Besides, if we’re going to have to deal with road closures, we might as well take advantage of the benefits snow provides! Let’s take a look at a few options:

Cross Country –

Cross Country skiing is a great way to move around the winter landscape.  The gliding motion is pleasant and the exercise utilizes every major muscle group simultaneously. This requires a great deal of energy. And in the human body, energy comes from burning calories.  Nordic skiing burns more calories than any other form of exercise or sport --up to 1,122 calories per hour for vigorous backcountry mountaineering! As a low impact sport this translates to huge benefit with little pain on the joints.  It is also a family friendly activity and one that can be done well on groomed and manicured trails, or off in the wilderness breaking trails (as long as you are careful and prepared). Bring a lunch, water and sunblock and explore Northern Arizona while building strength, balance and burning calories! When you’re ready to explore, a rental set-up is relatively inexpensive in any of the sporting shops around town.

In order to help encourage City Employees to stay active during the winter, the Nordic Center has donated a Free Trail Pass to all City Employees! The trail pass is attached – simply take it to the Nordic Center along with proof of employment. (This trail pass is for employees only and is invalid if shared or duplicated.) HOWEVER, they are also offering a 20% discount to employees and anyone with you at both the Nordic Center as well as the Nordic Nook. This discount is good all season long. Simply show proof of employment to utilize.

Visit http://www.flagstaffnordiccenter.com/ for directions, hours, or a list of events and classes.

Whether you’re a seasoned skier or have never been skiing, this is the perfect opportunity to get the season started – so grab a friend and head for the trails!

See reverse for more information on the health advantages of skiing

Alpine Skiing

Some might be surprised to think of skiing as a great sport that benefits your body. One could think of it as dangerous, hard on the knees or too exposed to frostbite. While skiing is a strenuous form of exercise, the healthy advantages to downhill skiing are numerous.

One of the biggest benefits of skiing for fitness is that it is great, complete body workout, exerting every major muscle group from your head to your toes and toning your entire torso. This terrific aerobic activity improves balance and coordination and is an excellent way to stretch and strengthen leg muscles, particularly in the thighs and around the knees, as well as help with joint mobility.

Downhill skiing is also an excellent cardio workout, strengthening your heart, improving your circulatory system and releasing oxygen to your muscles. It is an excellent fat burning activity, burning 450 to 600 calories for an average 165-pound person while mogul skiing can burn almost 900 calories an hour. Skiing also boosts your metabolism and helps to regulate good cholesterol levels in your body.

Skiing requires a certain level of balance, strength and endurance so pre-conditioning in the weeks and months leading up to the slopes to increase your endurance and lessen a chance of a possible injury is a must. Pilates will work your core before taking on the mountains while yoga is a good discipline to improve your strength, balance and concentration. The Awkward Pose is one of the better positions, which when done correctly, increases your overall strength, tones the muscles of your legs and aligns your skeletal system.

Ski injuries that do occur seem to either happen early in the day when muscles aren’t loose yet or late in the afternoon when the muscles are fatigued. So just like you stretch before a long run, stretch your muscles before heading out to the lift lines. This includes your shoulders and back, but most particularly your legs which will receive the brunt of your workout. To help prevent altitude sickness, stay well hydrated continually and avoid caffeine and alcohol. And always remember to wear your helmet!

What is the best benefit of skiing? That it does not seem like you are working out for six or more straight hours. Instead, you feel like you are eighteen again as you fly down the snowy slopes set against magnificent scenic surroundings. You are able to experience the great outdoors in the cold crisp air, explore endless miles of trails and enjoy the endorphins that kick in right before you hit the hot tub!

Back Country

For a complete package of winter workout, skiing and in the back country can be a rewarding way to “earn your turns” by climbing up the mountains before you slide down. This requires a pretty sophisticated level of skill, knowledge of snow and avalanche conditions and an investment in safety equipment so it should not ever be done lightly or on a whim, but it is a wonderful way to avoid lift lines, lift tickets, and get access to untracked terrain while pushing the body to build significant strength and endurance.