The holiday season is about getting family together and spending quality time with each other. But as the weather gets colder, nights get dark sooner, and the weather becomes gloomier people tend to stay inside and become less active. Staying active during the holiday season doesn’t mean one has to go to the gym and pump some iron. There are other great, family – oriented activities that can get people moving! Let’s discuss some everyday tasks that can help burn calories and get people moving more throughout the holiday season!
Commonly, when people think of burning calories, they assume people need to change into a workout outfit, dedicate time out of their day, and get to the gym. There are common activities that people perform daily that cause a calorie burn. Think about walking, walking doesn’t require a dedicated amount of time or energy.
- Set an alarm every hour to walk just 10 minutes around the house, one can burn 30 – 75 calories depending on one’s age, sex, and weight.
- Everyone loves a clean house, depending on the cleaning activity and duration you can project typically 50 – 100 calories burned for general cleaning. Of course, depending on the intensity of the household activity one can project a higher calorie burn.
- Shoveling snow, everyone’s favorite winter activity, can burn close to twice that amount in the same amount of time.
Now that there is a general framework for how many calories people can burn cooped up at home, but how about what happens when people go out and get the family involved? Dedicated winter activities are a great way to get the family together and share some beautiful memories. An added benefit is being able to move around, have fun, and build a slight sweat.
- Skiing is a common winter activity that many enjoy each year. Depending on the modality that people are skiing one can burn more calories. Skiing at a low speed and intensity will burn less than skiing downhill and skiing downhill burns less calories than skiing at a moderate speed.
- Snowboarding is another fun activity that can bring family together while focusing on movement during the holiday season. If someone was to snowboard for an hour, they could estimate a near 300 – 600 calories burned for an hour of fun.
- Ice Skating is another common winter activity that can be either a fun family event or a great date idea. Ice skating at a nice, general pace can have you burning hundreds of calories in an hour. Of course, if someone increases the intensity and tries to race or are a figure skater, then one can project an increase in the calories burned.
- We can’t forget about sledding. The top three options can present some ecological issues, mainly being that not everyone lives in an area where skiing and snowboarding are viable options and not everyone lives close to an ice rink. Typically, everyone has access to a sled, some snow, and a hill of any size, then the sledding conditions are perfect.
During this holiday season, try to expand your ideas on ways to stay active. Don’t be confined to only doing circuit training or dreading the journey to the gym. Think of the small, simpler things that can be done to increase one’s energy expenditure and incorporate the family in activities this holiday season. Curious what those activities might translate to in calories? Do a simple google search for activity calculator or use this one.
What is your favorite calorie burning activity to do with family during the winter months?
