Embrace Snowshoeing Utah is famous for the wonderful winter weather that produces snow covered mountain sides and backcountry. Residence of Utah and the Salt Lake area especially have embraced the opportunities for winter recreation that abound in the mountains that surround them.
Winter Recreation One such activity that allows for winter recreation is snowshoeing. Snowshoeing across majestic mountain trails and wide stretching fields of white has become a favored pastime of many individuals who have given the challenging activity of snow shoeing a try. But snowshoeing should be given a chance by its skeptics for more than the reward of exploring the natural beauty of the Salt Lake area. While it certainly provides this opportunity, snowshoeing is also a great a fun way for people to get out of doors and receive revitalizing exercise. Exercising in the winter can be difficult for most people as the weather tends to dissuade outdoor activities, but snowshoe combines the best of both exercising and winter weather to allow an individual the benefits of both. The first and obvious health benefit of snowshoeing comes from the amount of calories that can be burned from snowshoeing.
Snow Shoeing VS Walking The act of snowshoeing has the ability to burn more calories than walking at the same pace. Snowshoeing likewise has the ability to burn more calories than running if done at the right intensity. Studies have shown that snowshoeing at a slow but constant pace in deep powder over hilly terrain can burn over one thousand calories per hour. That is around thirty percent more calories burned per hour than if the person was to go running at a constant speed of seven and a half miles per hour on the average city street. The same studies back up the previous claim that snowshoeing on a flat surface burns more calories than walking on a flat surface at the same pace. In fact, the study claims that snowshoeing over flat and packed snow while traveling at a pace of three miles per hour will burn up to two hundred calories more in that hour than if the person walked the same speed over equally flat ground. Beyond burning calories, the act of snowshoeing gives the cardio system a sturdy workout that can bolster heart health and improve stamina. Snowshoeing also targets infrequently used muscle groups in the abdomen in conjunction with the large muscles in the legs to improve one’s strength, balance, agility, and endurance.
While snowshoeing provides all of the above health benefits to those who embrace its practice, the fact that snowshoeing is an outdoor recreation and physical activity means that it comes with inherent risks and dangers. The most frequent risk to those who snowshoe typically involves injury to the legs. The primary joints of the legs, the knees, ankles, and hips, are at the most risk of being injured while snowshoeing. If injury does occur while snowshoeing, an individual should contact a Salt Lake orthopedic clinic immediately to seek treatment. Salt Lake orthopedic clinics will be able to provide the care needed for a person to heal completely should an injury befall them while snowshoeing. Snowshoeing safely can be a great and healthily beneficial way for individuals and families to experience the wonderful winter weather of the Salt Lake area.