Winter Sports – Part 1
After a mild BC Christmas, the temperatures have dropped and the resorts are opening for the winter sports season. This led me to thinking about the wonderful activities on offer for those of us who have access to snow (be that regularly or occasionally) and whether we just jump right in or prepare in advance.
Here at P3, we believe good preparation prevents injuries and improves performance. We also like to inspire our customers to try new things and so, over the next few weeks, I’m going to focus on one sport at a time and hopefully give you some guidance; giving you the confidence to try something you haven’t done before or get back to and continue with an activity you love.
Snow-shoes can be rented at local resorts for those wanting to try it out before committing to buying and many local stores carry brands in a variety of price brackets. You can also find some in local thrift stores too.
Before you begin, ensure you prepare your muscles and joints:
- Build up strength in ankles and knees using some exercises that can replicate walking on uneven surfaces. I like to use a bosu ball for this and add it into a weekly gym routine. It is great from maintaining strength in the smaller muscles around the ankles! Here is a brief video that may help get you started:
- Stretch your muscles out before undertaking any physical activity and ensure you have clothing suitable for any changes of weather.
- Apply P3 Cream to any areas which cause you discomfort before and after the hike. The all-natural ingredients ease pain caused by inflammation and allow you to continue doing the activities you love. Keeping joints mobile is essential for long term management of conditions like arthritis so using our topical cream can get you soothing relief right where you need it.
If you are new to the sport or recovering from injury, check out this link for some fabulous easy trail ideas, with great views and marked routes, along with information on the basic safety kit and even some guided tours to get you going.
For those of you who are looking for something more challenging, I recommend checking out this list of hikes near Vancouver.
Even with snow-shoeing, be prepared for accidents. A colleague of mine was hiking with family when one of her boys ventured too close to a tree and disappeared into a tree well, luckily the warning calls of her dog ensured a quick reaction by the adults in the group and all was well. For a funny example on a snowshoeing fail check out this video
In general, though, stick to marked trails, heed avalanche warnings and always let someone know your route; then go explore and enjoy the beauty of our country.
Please do add your own trail recommendations in the comments, especially those of you elsewhere in BC or in another province – we’d love to hear from you and get some inspiration of our own.
Best wishes
