Monday, February 25, 2008

Snowshoeing as Cross Training

Last week, running along the beach in Ipanema – this week snowshoeing in Lake Placid. Wednesday was a cross training day, so I tried snowshoeing for 1.5 hrs. Advantages:


  • Easy on the joints, under the crunchy snow
  • Weight distributed more evenly across the foot due to the wide pad of the snowshoe
  • Still weight bearing, unlike the bike or elliptical
  • Great to be outdoors in the woods, rather than in the boxy gym
  • Good for the muscles as it took a non-trivial effort to pull through deeper sections of snow.

Disadvantages:

  • Hard to reach appropriate aerobic levels. If you try running on a bumpy trail, it’s easy to fall. I saw only one other person on the trail, and that was just ¼ miles in. Even with a PLB, it would not be fun alone in the cold woods with a twisted knee. So I was satisfied with a quick walking pace and enjoyed the wonderful Adirondack scenery.

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