If you love the snow and truly want to burn calories, you will want to check out more about snowshoeing. The truth of this wonderful winter activity is that you can burn more calories snowshoeing than you can running, walking or cross-country skiing.

The health benefits of snowshoeing is amazing when you look at all the great advantageous this sport offers to our bodies.

Cardiovascular Workout

Snowshoeing gets your heart pumping which will help build a strong heart as well as provide your body with the proper blood flow. The workout also aids in building your endurance, agility, balance, and strength.

Fat Burning

Too many times during the winter months, we sit in our homes and do not actively work out as we would during the summer. The good news is that with this sport you can burn fat even in piles of deep snow. Not only will you burn fat but you will also be working out and reducing your chances of heart disease. Research at Ball State University as well as the University of Vermont showed that individuals that snowshoe can burn between 420 to 1000 calories each hour.

Low Impact Exercise

Snowshoeing is considered a low impact, effective and safe exercise that allows you to burn calories even if you are snowshoeing at the same pace you normally walk, according to Dr. Declan Connolly from the exercise physiology department of the University of Vermont. Just by snowshoeing you on a flat surface, you will burn calories. To pump it up a bit just take a walk in your snowshoes in powder on a terrain made up of hills for three miles in an hour and you can burn up to 1000 calories.

High Energy Sport

In cold weather, your body has a higher metabolic rate and when you add in snowshoeing you are using major muscle groups in order to move through the snow. This makes the sport a high energy sport that will certainly improve circulation and give you a great cardio workout.

Stay Fit Year Round

With snowshoeing you will be able to workout year round even on vacation if you love going to the mountains or snowy areas. For those that normally cycle, run, or hike, using snowshoeing when the weather does not permit other forms of exercise you can stay fit even during the cold winter months.

Modern Snowshoeing

You may imagine traipsing through the snow in large wooden shoes that you often see in old movies. This is not snowshoeing today at all. Now, you can purchase aluminum and carbon fiber models that are more comfortable and not as cumbersome as those of years gone by.

Snowshoeing changed during the 1970’s when more individuals wanted to get back to nature and explore their world and travel farther into the mountains while hiking or walking. This is when more modern snowshoes began to appear. With new technologies the more modern these shoes became, so much so that you will really look your best in these shoes while you are out getting your winter workout.