Snow day physical activity ideas

Kristi Evans<evanskr1@msu.edu>, Michigan State University Extension - January 15, 2016

Make physical activity a part of your next snow day with these tips.

It is 7 a.m. on a Tuesday in January, you are running around getting the kids ready for school when all of the sudden you hear the TV from the other room announce that school is closed due to a snow day. Now you are faced with making a few quick decisions to figure out what you can do with the kids for the eight hours that they normally spend in school. Have you ever taken this moment and thought, this is the perfect time for some physical activity fun in the snow? If you haven’t, then Michigan State University Extension encourages you to consider the following reasons to make physical activity a part of your next snow day.

We know that keeping the kids cooped up in the house all day, is not beneficial for anyone. Take a snow day and turn it into an opportunity for physical activities, family bonding and steps toward a healthier family. As an adult, you want to reach a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity during the day while also encouraging your kids to be active for at least 60 minutes. Here are some ideas of how to be active in the snow.

For people of all ages, you can get plenty of the physical activity that you need in your yard or in a nearby park, wherever there is snow. Some ideas would be to build a snow fort, throw snowballs at a target (use a tree or a snowman), make snow angels or build a snowman. These activities are also a great opportunity for adults and teenagers to summon their inner child while being active.

There are also some other snow activities that require more planning and equipment but are also great physical activities and a way to melt away some extra calories. The table below shows how quickly you can burn 100 calories with any of these types of outdoor activities in the snow.

How to burn 100 calories in the snow
Activity	130 lb	160 lb	190 lb
Activity	Minutes
Snowboarding	16.5	13.5	11
Shoveling	16.5	13.5	11
Ice Skating	15	13	10
Cross Country Skiing	13	10	8.5
Snow Shoeing	13	10	9
Sleding	14.5	12	10
Ice Fishing	51	41	35
Snowmobiling	29	24	20
Downhill Skiing	17	14	11.5
Calories are based off USDA SuperTracker*

Now you can start to prepare for your next snow day, for a list of snowsport-friendly venues in your area you can visit Pure Michigan. This way when the next snow day announcement comes up, you can be motivated and prepared with a few snow activities for you and your family.

For more physical activities and nutrition information please visit the MSU Extension and search for other physical activity ideas for you and your family to help keep you active all year round.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit https://extension.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit https://extension.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit https://extension.msu.edu/experts, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).