Aspen Club and Spa

I have wrote about this before, but I feel like it warrants some further attention as we head into the winter season. If you only do one or two different physical activities, you cannot possibly be as fit as you potentially could be. It is a given that an extremely large percentage of people in this valley will regularly ski or snowboard this winter. Terrific. If this is all you do and you wonder why you aren’t in better shape, you are kidding yourself. I am not bashing the benefits of skiing, I simply want to broaden the average person’s perspective regarding exercise and physical activity.

The truth is, there are very few sports/activities alone that can give someone a well-rounded, high level of fitness. In order for this occur the activity must combine, at some level, muscular strength/power, muscular endurance, cardiovascular endurance, and flexibilty. Instead of searching for the perfect sport, it is much easier (and more fun) to engage in multiple activities. Forinstance, an extremely fit client of mine does the following: Hikes and cycles for cardio endurance, does yoga for flexibilty and core stength, plays tennis to stay agile, and does resistance training to build/maintain muscle mass and reduce injury risk.

If all you typically do is ski down the mountain a few times a week… it would be very beneficial this winter to mix in a skin up buttermilk or a cross crountry ride across indepence pass. Take a new class or learn to lift weights. Anything you can do to add variety to your fitness regime will definitely pay off.