It may be cold, but there is plenty to do! And it's not just for kids ...

You're being responsible for your health, eating right, getting your Z's and exercising regularly. With winter dead-on you're faithfully in the gym to work out. But believe it or not, there are plenty of fun workouts in the great outdoors when the "weather outside is frightful."

Don't forget to stretch to warm up those muscles before you begin any of the following.

Go Cross-Country

With the ability to burn between eight and sixteen calories per minute (depending on your weight and level of effort) one of your best bets might be cross-country skiing.

Greg Bennett, Registered Clinical Exercise Physiologist at Memorial's Health & Lifestyle Center, says "few exercises burn as many calories or employ as many muscle groups as cross-country skiing."

Cross-country skiing is also a great aerobic workout, doesn't put a lot of wear and tear on your joints, and the rhythm involved keeps you moving.

Get glamorous on skates

Ice skating is another great low-impact high return activity, burning between eight and thirteen calories a minute.

"The calories burned in an hour of ice skating can be compared to an hour of jogging - without the impact on the joints." As an added bonus, Bennett says, "Skating builds your endurance because you are constantly moving." Not to mention the great toning of your gluts, abs, calves, quadriceps, hamstrings and thighs. "You can spend an hour in the gym going from machine to machine to work these muscle groups separately, or you can head to the ice rink and get them all at once," Bennett says.

Tromp across the tundra

"Snowshoeing is a low-impact conditioning sport offering a safe form of exercise," says Bennett. This great activity can burn between ten and fourteen calories per minute, and "is ideal for anyone interested in an aerobic workout combined with strength training and muscular endurance."

Snowshoeing with poles will provide a total body workout - buttocks, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, upper hips, inner thighs, abdominals, back, chest, and shoulder muscles.

Zoom downhill

Downhill skiing is also a respectable workout, burning between seven and fourteen calories a minute.

"Downhill skiing requires intense muscular effort," says Bennett, "especially in the quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteal muscles of the legs, and the oblique muscles of the midsection."

While downhill skiing is not considered an aerobic activity, Bennett says you still need to have good cardiovascular fitness and muscle endurance for a day down the slopes.

Believe it or not, even sledding is a good workout, "a fact you will realize by your third trip to the top of the hill," Bennett says. Sledding will burn between eight and thirteen calories per minute on a sled, toboggan or bobsled.

Bennett recommends not sliding on your stomach or sitting too far forward while sledding, which can cause your back to bend unnaturally.

Not so fun - but still a workout

Okay, so this isn't winter fun ... but shoveling snow by hand can burn between seven and eleven calories per minute.

Be sure to use proper body mechanics to avoid injury. Bennett says, "push the snow straight ahead; don't try to throw it. Walk it to the snow bank. Avoid sudden twisting and turning movements. Bend your knees to lift when shoveling. Let the muscles of your arms and legs do the work, not your back. Take frequent breaks to take the strain off your muscles."

If you have any history of heart problems, do not shovel snow without clearance from your doctor.

Pick up the Winter 2005 Edition of "the Bend" magazine for a complete listing of our areas winter fun locations. "the Bend" is available at local businesses and UP Mall.