One of the fun things we do on this blog is break down a lot of the tedious research, make it fun, and turn it into something useful you can go out and use. Today, I’d like to show you how I took two of the most popular snowy weather activities and pitted them against each other to see which one burns more calories. Without looking at the answer can you guess which one it is?
Here are the breakdowns for the 2 winter activities over 3 hours:
Downhill Skiing or Snowboarding – 1350 calories in 180 minutes
Cross Country Skiing (5mph) – 2250 calories in 180 minutes
So although I believe you should enjoy whichever winter sport you choose to do, you can clearly see that cross country skiing burns about 70% more calories in the same time period. Also, if you’re looking to get outside this winter and you’re near some snow you may want to give cross country skiing a try if you’ve never done it before!
*Caloric expenditures are approximations based on a 165 pound person over 180 minutes