The wintery season is no excuse to skip out on outdoor activities!
It’s important to make sure you and your family stay active even when it’s a
little cold outside! Whether you’re planning family day out or a romantic
escapade with your sweetheart, ice skating is a fun way to get outside and
enjoy the frosty air!
Most cities have outdoor skating rinks available to the public,
but if you can’t find an outdoor rink you can usually find an indoor facility! So
bundle up with those mittens and winter hats and enjoy the holiday season by
staying active and participating in a traditional past time.
Here are some more tidbits about ice-skating from
http://www.besthealthmag.ca/get-healthy/fitness/the-fitness-benefits-of-ice-skating
Ice skating is easy on the joints because
it’s low impact, and it improves your balance and coordination.
“You use a lot of small stabilizer muscles that don’t get a
workout in day-to-day life, in particular those around your hips, knees and
ankles,” says Kristin Kunze, a certified skating coach and coordinator of the
skating programs in the faculty of kinesiology at the University of Calgary.
“Strengthening those small muscles helps you in other activities, like running,
skiing and yoga.” You’re also toning larger muscles in your legs, butt and core
as you propel yourself on the ice.
“You never see a skater with a
flabby bum!” Kunze notes.
The calorie burn depends on your speed: A 155-lb. woman skating
slowly (less than 14 kilometres per hour) burns about 387 calories per hour.
Fast, full-out skating (for example, chasing a puck) burns 633 calories per
hour. Kunze adds that
skating outside
offers a bit more of a workout than an indoor rink since you’re contending with
wind and bumpier, harder ice.
Be
Careful! -The most common
injuries are to the wrist, or those that come from falling backwards onto the
ice and hitting your tailbone or the back of your head. Says Kunze: “If you’re
skating stiffly, and flail your arms backwards when you lose your balance,
you’ll end up on your butt.
You need to bend your knees a bit to gain
more control, so that you’ll fall on your side.”
What to Wear:
Warm, light layers work
well no matter where you skate. Buying skates, rather than borrowing or
renting, is best because your feet will be fitted properly and you’ll be more
comfortable (see box, above right). A helmet is a great idea, and it’s
generally mandatory for skating lessons; you will need either a hockey helmet
or a multi-purpose winter sports helmet such as one used for skiing or
snowboarding.
Take Lessons:
If you’re a beginner or just want to brush up your skills, take
adult skating lessons. They generally cost about $75 and up for group lessons,
and run for six to eight weeks. Look for classes that are 45 minutes to an hour
long, with at least one teacher to every eight students, suggests Kunze.
In a basic class, you’ll learn skills such as how to stand, fall
down, get up, stop and glide. In an intermediate class, you may learn about
crossovers or power skating.
Speed-skating classes are becoming more popular, too, perhaps
due to gaining a higher profile at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Speed skates
are an expensive specialty option, so contact a speed-skating club for advice
on where to try these skates.
Stay safe on outdoor ice:
The
Canada Safety Council recommends
some basic guidelines if you’re skating on a lake or river:
•
Use designated areas maintained by people who are
knowledgeable about the local conditions such as currents and water depth,
which can affect ice thickness.
•
Remember that river ice is frequently unstable due to changing
currents.
•
Ice must be at least four inches (10 cm) thick. Clear blue
ice is strongest; grey ice is unsafe.
Get
the right fit
Ditch those figure skates you wore in high school. Skates are
much comfier now, with new materials such as carbon fibres and lightweight
plastics. “I recommend hockey skates for recreational skaters because you can
get a decent pair from companies like Nike, Bauer, Graf or Easton for about
$100,” says Kunze. Go to a specialized sporting goods store so you’ll get a
sales clerk who knows how to choose the best pair for your feet and ability.
In general:
• Skates are usually a size smaller than your normal shoe size.
•
Wear thin wool or fitness socks rather than doubling up with
two pairs of
regular socks.
•
Lace the skates firmly and stand up. Your heel should be right at
the back of the boot, and your toe should not touch the front end. Your heel
and ankle should feel snugly gripped, as if you’re wearing running shoes, but
not tight or painful.
• Get the store or your local rink to sharpen the skates before you hit the
ice. If you’re skating leisurely once a week indoors, sharpening once a winter
is fine. Outdoor ice contains grit and mineralized water and is harder on your
blades, so sharpen every outing or two.
Remember when you’re all done skating for the day to warm up and
enjoy Bari Life’s amazing protein filled Hot Chocolate (
http://www.barilife.com/variety-pack-hot-cocoa.html)! The perfect after skate
workout drink you can enjoy and not add on the extra calories you burned
skating!
To your health!
The Bari Life Team
Bari Life is high quality bariatric vitamins that are clinically proven supplements to help in post bariatric surgery.
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