by Lisa Marie Mercer

Created on: November 14, 2008   Last Updated: December 10, 2008

The days get shorter. The temperatures drop. The snow covers the streets. Welcome to winter. Upon its arrival, many outdoor enthusiasts rush to hot and crowded gyms. However, something seems amiss. Where's the fresh air, where's the scenery, where's the love? Without negating the fitness benefits of indoor workouts, outdoor winter exercise has some unique benefits.

Seeing the Light about Outdoor Winter Exercise

During winter, reduced exposure to sunlight causes some people to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder, otherwise known as SAD. Fortunately, outdoor winter exercise can be the perfect solution. The healing rays of natural sunlight generate vitamin D, which prevents osteoporosis, breast cancer, prostate cancer, psoriasis, and depression. Since cold weather keeps us indoors during the winter; many of us suffer from vitamin D deficiency. This contributes to SAD, which can be alleviated by outdoor winter workouts.

But that's not all. Winter fitness activities involve weight bearing exercises on unpredictable surfaces. This type of program can:

*Prevent Osteoporosis

*Enhance Balance and Coordination

*Improve Confidence

Actress Virginia Madsen would agree. Suffering from a severe case of postpartum depression, she felt that she was pessimistic about future prospects. Then, she was asked to participate in a celebrity ski event.

Although she didn't ski, the organizers assigned two attractive instructors to coach her. In the middle of the race, she suffered an unfortunate fall. At first, she was discouraged; then she got up and finished the race. For the next few days, Madsen practiced from the moment the lifts opened until they closed. When one of her instructors saw her looking down from the top of a Black Diamond run, he told her that if she could learn to ski it, she could walk into any audition with confidence. When she got home, she decided that if she could "hurl herself down the mountain" she could "hurl herself back into life."

If balance, coordination and confidence don't inspire you, consider the fat burning benefits of winter fitness.

Burning Fat with Outdoor Winter Exercise

When the cold air hits your skin, your brain calls your adrenal glands into action. This causes them to release high quantities of a hormone known as adrenaline. The increased adrenaline forces your fat cells to push large amounts of fat into your blood stream, where it can be easily metabolized by your muscles. Some studies even show that
cold weather exercise gets rid of the deep fat

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