Skiing is a very interesting sport, which is very popular in our country.
With minimal loads, you can get amazing results, and at the same time, it is less dangerous to health than the same run.
When skiing, the load on the joints is significantly reduced, and in addition, during training, many muscles are strengthened of our body - legs, arms, lower back, pectoral and abdominal muscles.
The load is evenly distributed throughout the body, making skiing easier than running.
However, almost the same amount of calories is spent in both cases. Further, we will analyze in detail what skiing is, its benefits and possible harm.
Skis: benefit or harm
Before all the positive properties of skiing begin to be listed, it is worth saying that, like any other sport, it has not only positive properties, but also contraindications. However, its beneficial effect far exceeds the potential harm. In winter, in the forest you can often meet skiers of all ages, and what is surprising, it is older people who prevail among them. With this simple but exciting exercise, they can maintain their health for many years.
• From skiing you can get multifaceted benefits. Firstly, skiing takes place in the winter, which favorably affects immunity. Regular exercises in the cold fresh air make the body adapt to environmental conditions, and tempers the body.
• Skiing is associated with such a thing as landscape therapy. This term means the treatment and strengthening of the human body through physical activity in nature. This allows you to improve sleep, strengthen the nervous system, helps to improve mood, and also relieves depression and stress.
• Skis are great workout for heart and cardiovascular apparatus. Like any other cardio load, it makes the heart work in an enhanced mode. As a result, it pumps blood through the body faster, and blood circulation increases. Regular skiing allows you to strengthen and increase the volume of the heart muscle, which will have a positive effect on the whole organism. In addition, during exercise, blood pressure practically does not increase, since capillaries tend to increase in size, which would better cope with increased blood flow. Numerous muscle contractions improve the flow of blood through the veins, and facilitate the work of the heart.
• Skiing improves pulmonary ventilation and gas exchange in the body. Due to this, the amount of oxygen that enters the body increases.
• Skiing is the prevention of many diseases of the respiratory tract, and also allows the body to cope with viral infections more easily.
• Of course, skiing helps to strengthen the body’s muscle corset, and allows you to effectively lose weight. During skiing, the hands and feet of the skier get a good load, which allows you to strengthen both parts of the body. In addition, this activity is quite energy-intensive for the body. Due to this, he is forced to spend a huge amount of calories for this. Regular exercise allows you to burn excess weight while training your muscles. In addition, they also strengthen the muscles and the joint-ligamentous apparatus. The level of physical fitness, endurance and resistance to fatigue increases.
However, despite all the benefits of skiing, in some cases they can be harmful. By themselves, they do not have a negative effect, but it is important to observe the following contraindications:
1. You can not go skiing if a person has a disability;
2. Serious diseases of the heart or respiratory system;
3. Pathology of the musculoskeletal system, or problems with the spine;
4. Pregnancy;
5. Weak immunity and joints.
6. Any recently transferred diseases and operations.
In other cases, the use of skis is undoubted, and it is recommended to all people without exception to improve health in the winter.
Skiing: where to start?
If you decide to go skiing, but you do not have the necessary knowledge about this sport, then below you will be given a small recommendation on how and where to start.
1. The first thing to do is individually choose skis. Of course, for lovers this is not so important, but it is better to do it comfortably than to try to understand why you fall so often. Few know, but skis are selected not by height, but by weight. The heavier the potential skier, the longer and harder they should be. It is best to contact a specialized store with this - there they will pick up skis, and fastenings, and suitable shoes, and poles.
2. Since school times, many remember that before skiing, you must first lubricate the skis. However, many modern skis glide well even without lubrication. In some cases you will need special ointment so that the ski does not "shoot" when repelled.
Best to learn to ride on an already rolled track. There you will not need special skills - all you need is just to move your legs slightly and push off with sticks. It is important to begin to feel confident skiing before starting more difficult techniques.
A huge number of problems arise for beginners due to climbing uphill. For those who have never skied, it’s rather hard to imagine how you can climb them at all. This is a really difficult technique, but the main thing is a sufficient amount of practice. To climb the mountain you should put your foot on the edge of the ski and herringbone lift up while pushing with sticks.
Skiing and its varieties
There are several types of skiing. The main ones are:
• Skate style;
• Classic style;
For starters, you should master the classic style. When skiing, this style, as a rule, is used by the already skated track. Get on the track, put the sticks forward a bit, and push them off the ground. After that, try to slide on the plane, pushing with one foot (the direction of the push should not be back, but down). When you get comfortable with it, try kick off alternatelywhile simultaneously taking forward the opposite arm (left leg is the right arm, and vice versa).
Skating style for beginners will be a little more difficult, but it is this method that conveys the whole atmosphere of winter skiing. You must try to drive the Latin letter "V". At the same time, try to keep it as narrow as possible. On one leg, slide forward and slightly sideways, while the other is placed on the inner edge of the ski and repels you. It seems that you can step on one ski to another, but in fact it is quite difficult. Almost all the time when riding this style, the legs are in different planes, and it is quite difficult for them to meet.
The ridge style differs from the classical one in more dynamism, and, therefore, it is more effective in terms of losing weight. The classic style is more suitable for beginners, as well as for older people who find it difficult to run at a fast pace. It is great for easy walks and general health improvement.
Skiing for children: not harmful?
Skiing is a universal sport that is useful not only for adults, but also for children. With their help, they can strengthen their immunity from childhood, and are much less likely to undergo various viral diseases.
Regular exercises will strengthen the heart, and overall physical development. If you manage to instill a love for this sport in your child, then it will be useful for him throughout his life. He will become much stronger and more enduring. In addition, skiing is a great way to direct the child’s energy in the right direction.
In many northern countries, such as Norway or Switzerland, children are put on skis from early childhood. This explains the large number of professional athletes who are residents of these states. If you will be skiing with your child from a very young age, then perhaps you can raise a future world champion.
If we talk about harm, then here are almost the same recommendations as for adults. But it is worth remembering that a child may not have a fully formed immune system. Therefore, do not start practicing in too cold weather.
Skiing: the benefits of losing weight
Since skis are good cardio load, then, of course, they have a positive effect on losing weight. It’s best to lose weight by running in the skate style. At a fairly intense pace, you will burn even more calories than when running. This is because you have to actively move not only your legs, but also make quite energy-intensive hand movements.
In one hour of intense exercise, you can burn up to 600 calories. Since you simultaneously burn fat and strengthen muscles, you can prevent such a thing as saggy skin and stretch marks.
But, for effective fat burning, some recommendations:
• Exercise 3-4 times a week;
• One lesson should be at least an hour in time;
• Eat about two hours before your workout, and an hour after it.
Regular exercise coupled with proper nutrition and lifestyle can provide stunning results. In just one season you can get rid of extra pounds, and besides, work out your muscles and the body as a whole.
