7 Great Winter Fitness Activities

When the snow falls thick and heavy, it can seem like getting out there and exercising is impossible. Thing is, there are a lot of winter activities that you can do with the family that are actually high-impact calorie burners. Here are 7 fun ways to play in the snow, bond with your family and burn some fat:

1) Tobogganing. You don’t need fancy equipment, just a snowy hill and a large piece of cardboard or even a garbage bag. Climbing the hills before each run is a great butt and thigh workout.

2) Do-it-yourself hockey. Make your own backyard rink: Build a frame with plywood, cover with a tarp and then fill with a couple of inches of water. The next day you’ll have your very own backyard rink. (Plenty of famous hockey players say that they got their start this way!)

3) Tour the lights. When darkness falls bundle up and take the family on a walk to explore neighbourhoods that have the best holiday lights. Some neighbourhoods hold contests and people go crazy with their displays, your local paper may have details.

4) Build a snow family. Go beyond the traditional snowman and build replicas of your own family.

5) Go skating outdoors. Take along a thermos of hot chocolate to warm everyone up before you head home.

6) Have a snowball fight. Lobbing snowballs at each other is high-energy hi-jinx! Form teams or just go one on one.

7) Take a snowy nature hike. There's no better time to look for animal tracks, so head out somewhere beautiful and take a hike in the snow.