Tired of trekking on that treadmill? Can’t stand one more stroke on the rowing machine? Getting dizzy going ‘round on the exercise bike?
Then change it up and get out there.
Cochrane is one of the best places on the planet to do fun things to keep you fit.
And just because it’s winter doesn’t mean you can’t get outside and enjoy the benefit of exercise.
Here are a few outdoor and indoor activities you can do to break up your fitness monotony:
1) Walking. Obvious, but beneficial and enjoyable just the same. Cochrane trails, like the dog walk along the Bow River are great places for a walk. You burn an average of 238 calories per hour at a leisurely pace. At a brisk pace a daily walk will burn 258 calories an hour and help you maintain a healthy weight, and prevent or manage various conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
2) Skating. Dig those blades out of the storage space and head down to Mitford Pond for some good, old-fashioned winter skating fun. There’s nothing like an outdoor skate in bright Cochrane sunshine on a crisp winter day. The average skater burns 500 calories in an hour of skating. If outdoor skating isn’t your thing, or you don’t have skates, visit Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre. It has daily skating times and shelves full of loaner skates and helmets to get you started in comfy indoor surroundings.
3) Tobogganing. Believe it or not, a 180-pound male will burn at least 450 calories in an hour of sliding down, and hiking back up, the toboggan hill. It’s the ideal activity for the thrill-seeker looking for the benefits of exercise. One of Cochrane’s most fit athletes, Canadian Olympic luger Tristan Walker, has reaped the fitness rewards of sliding down Cochrane’s toboggan hills at an early age. With a higher element of risk than other activities, tobogganing may not be for everyone. But for those who like to go fast, the thrills and spills of sliding down the hill come with physical health benefits.
4) Swimming. The ultimate low-impact, high cardiovascular activity. The Big Hill Leisure Pool in downtown Cochrane is open daily for lane swims. A half-hour swim doing the front crawl will burn around 250 calories and give you a great cardio workout without jolting your joints.
