Need some exercise? Play in the snow.
February 7th, 2010There is something about snow and cold that makes me want to drink lots of coffee, hot cocoa, and make the largest breakfasts that I’ve ever eaten. Looking out from my breakfast room at the dozens of birds at the bird feeder over the last 48 hours (and 29 inches of snow), I get why the birds are plump – they have to survive the cold. Me? I’m warm and cozy inside except for walking the dog and two days of constant shoveling, which by the way, is fantastic exercise, but not at all “fun”.
“Mom, I’m bored,” declared my seven year old this morning. “Will you come and watch me play Wii?” That soooo didn’t sound like fun to me, so I politely declined and suggested we sled together outside. “I’ve been shoveling for two days,” I said. “Now I want to play.” Over two days, the boys played in the snow while we shoveled, but we had not yet played outside together.
While the boys finished watching Sponge Bob, I declared, “Come outside when the show is over; I’m going out now to get the sledding run ready.” There is an art to the perfect sledding run, which is really never finished and is so fun for my boys and I to aspire to “finish.”
I walked outside, snow up to my knees, and it was a physical effort just to get to the sledding run 20 feet away, which we started before there was over two feet of snow on the ground. The sledding run is not big, maybe 50 feet long on a gradual slope leading to trees, and we had built up a ramp only two feet tall.
Finally reaching the sledding ramp, I was going to have my work cut out for me. First, I had to find the sleds that got left outside under two feet of snow. Oops. But, the boys soon joined me and finding them became a treasure hunt. Second, I attempted to go down our run – now buried in two feet of snow – and I immediately sank two feet. Because I could barely walk in the snow, I literally crawled 50 feet through the snow to start packing down the snow. This may sound absolutely horrible, but I was laughing hysterically the whole time and finally collapsed at the end of the run and turned on my back, just gazing up at the large white oaks covered in white.
And then, once I finally got the sled half-way down the run, I had to lay on the sled on my stomach and start “swimming” with my arms, scooping the snow out of my way to continue forward. I could have sworn I was doing the butterfly (which I have never been able to do in the swimming pool), and suddenly I didn’t feel guilty for not having officially “worked out” in two weeks.
So who needs a treadmill? Just start acting like a kid, and play in the snow. Just remember to keep a water bottle with you; you’ll need it.
Rebecca P. Cohen is the author of the upcoming book, 365 Days Outside: A Mother’s Journey to Improve the Well-being of Her Family and Founder and President of Rebecca Plants LLC, a gardening and outdoor lifestyle company that inspires families to spend more time outside together. Rebecca is also creator and producer of the television series, Get Out of the House, inspiring you to create memorable moments outside every day. To learn more, visit http://www.rebeccaplants.com.
Copyright 2010
Rebecca Plants LLC





