What's your favorite physical activity?

And don't say what I know you're thinking, you pervs.

I absolutely adore hiking, which I've mentioned here before. I like to get in about a thirty minute hike every day, over the ski trails in the woods near my house. There are lots of hills and little bridges and twisty, turny paths and it's just really great. It's a good workout because of all of the hills, too.

I do yoga somewhat regularly, which feels good but has never really given me that peaceful feeling it apparently gives others.

I'll occasionally do some weight training, but it's repetitive and dull so it's pretty difficult to make it a habit, unfortunately.

Oh, and swimming is pretty high on the list. Whenever I stay in a hotel, heading down to the pool at the end of the day is always my favorite part. In the summer, there are a ton of lakes out here, which are great, though I don't much care for crowded beaches. I just want to go enjoy the water in solitude.

Skiing, canoeing, kayaking, hiking the ski trails, and had I been alive in the first part of the last century, dancing at the canoe club, but since was not, I'll just leave it at ballroom dancing. Does playing instruments count as a physical activity?

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Originally posted by Zuul

Oh, and swimming is pretty high on the list. Whenever I stay in a hotel, heading down to the pool at the end of the day is always my favorite part. In the summer, there are a ton of lakes out here, which are great, though I don't much care for crowded beaches. I just want to go enjoy the water in solitude.

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http://my.tbaytel.net/culpeper/Katta...Untouched.html
"The water and air were so warm that Martina decided to not paddle the next day. I paddled. She swam. We had discussed what to do in case we lost the canoe, which would put us in an uncomfortable but non-life threatening position. I suggested that we could wait a few weeks until our rescue coordinator realized that we were overdue, or we could walk out, depending on where we were. Tina said, “Why not just swim out.” I thought that she was joking. I was mistaken. Perhaps Martina was onto a new sport: wilderness marathon swimming. Who needs canoes?"

http://my.tbaytel.net/culpeper/24520015.jpg

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http://my.tbaytel.net/culpeper/24520020.jpg

Oh, wow, Muffin. What an incredible story. Everyone should check out that link. It's long, but a very enjoyable read.

Now, I've been considering taking up skiiing since hiking the trails isn't an option all winter long and I go a bit stir-crazy. Do you have any advice for a beginner in cross-country? I'm only about an hour's drive from where they have the American Birkebeiner every year, and so I have the unfortunate and intimidating position of being one of the few people around who has never been on skis in my life.

I like to walk in my neighbourhood (lots of small lakes) in the very, very pre-dawn hours, like around 4AM. It's so peaceful, quiet, and I feel like the world is mine alone. Plus, it smells great at that time of the morning for some reason. When I walk at this time, I don't take my music with me; this is time for me to just be aware of myself and my surroundings.

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Originally posted by Zuul

Now, I've been considering taking up skiiing since hiking the trails isn't an option all winter long and I go a bit stir-crazy. Do you have any advice for a beginner in cross-country? I'm only about an hour's drive from where they have the American Birkebeiner every year, and so I have the unfortunate and intimidating position of being one of the few people around who has never been on skis in my life.

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For knowledge, join a ski club. Cross country skiing is a mass participation sport. All those thousands of people in the Birkie, or any of dozens of other major loppets? Some are super human, but most are just plain old folks of all ages, shapes and sizes, who like to have fun in the outdoors in the winter. Expect a club to offer friendly and helpful instruction.

For equipment, visit ski swaps (which tend to take place in October and November). Odds are that you will find someone at a ski swap who can ensure that you get started with the right gear.

Start with the type of skiing that you intend to do. There are two types of cross country skiing: classic and skate. For classic, your skis point straight forward, and you kick and glide forward, one ski at a time. For skate, your skis point diagonally out , and you skate with them as if your were on ice skates. Skating requires more effort, but is a lot faster. Skating requires packed snow. Classic requires tracks in the snow that your skis slide along. For anything more than a couple of inches of fresh, ungroomed/unpacked snow, classic shuffling is possible whereas skating is not. Consider starting with a combi ski, that permits you to use either technique.

For ski length, it really depends on the type of skiing, the weight of the skier, and the skill level of the skier, so you should ask for assistance at the ski swap. Start with something fairly soft and short, but expect to have to replace your skis next season once your technique improves. When fitting classic skis, you should be able to slide a piece of paper under both skis while you are standing on both skis, but you should not be able to slide a piece of paper under one ski if you are standing with all your weight on that one ski – this is very important.

Then get some good fitting boots. For combi skis, use combi boots, or skate boots (classic boots do not have ankle support for skating). Wear synthetic or wool athletic socks, and keep trying on boots until you find a pair that fits you as comfortably as your running shoes – neither too tight nor too sloppy. Don’t worry about wearing more than one pair of socks at a time. You will work up quite a head of steam when cross country skiing. If your feet are not warm enough, then purchase a pair of over-booties to pull over your boots, and when you come inside to rest between loops, change your socks for dry ones.

Once you have a nice fitting pair of boots, get bindings that match the boots: SNS, SNS Profil, NNN, whatever. A ski technician can mount the bindings on your skis for you. The positioning of the bindings is extremely important, so don’t do it yourself until you have some experience under your belt.

For poles, go with something fairly new and light. For combi, the pole should go to the bottom of your chin. For skate, about halfway between your chin and your lower lip, an for classic, to the top of your armpit. When you use a pole, slip your hand up through the strap from underneath before you grab the pole. That way when you push with your pole, your hand will be pushing down on the strap. If, when you grab the pole, you are also grabbing the strap, you are doing it right. If you are grabbing the pole without grabbing the strap, you are not doing it right. Once you get skiing, you don’t have to grab the pole tightly, for it is pushing down on the strap with your hand that helps propel you.

For clothing, start with a wicking lawyer (very light poly or very light silk), then an insulating lawyer (light or mid weight poly or light or mid weigh wool – light at the start and end of the seasons and mid in the middle of the season), then a wind blocking outer layer (nylon) that breathes (that lets moisture out). Finish up with lightly insulated windproof gloves and light headband for the start and end of the season, and lightly insulated mittens and lightly insulated hat for the middle of the season (be sure that you can cover your ears). (For your first few times out, consider wearing a bicycle helmet, for sometimes a new skier’s legs go forward out from under him or her, causing him or her to fall backward, knocking the back of his or her head on the ground.)

Finally, before you hit the trails, you have to first dabble in the black art of ski waxing. If you want to avoid the wax thing, you can purchase waxless skis. With these skis, base of the ski (the bottom of the ski that slides in the snow), has fish-scale groves under your foot, which prevents it from slipping backward when you press down and back on the ski with your foot. Think of it as petting a cat – you can only pet in one direction. This lets your ski slide forward, but not slide backward. You do not have to wax waxless skis for them to work, but if you want to scoot along a fair bit more quidkly, wax the front of the base of the ski and the back of the base of the ski (the flat parts that do not have the fish scales) with glide wax. Pick a glide wax appropriate to the snow temperature you will be skiing in, dribble some onto the base, gently and quickly iron the wax onto the base using a very low heat setting, and then scrape the excess wax off with a straight edge.

For skate skis, wax the entire length of the base with glide wax.

Remember that business about being able to slide a piece of paper under both classic skis when you are standing on both of them, but not being able to slide a piece of paper under one classic ski if you are standing with all your weight on just one ski? That space under your foot is called the wax pocket. That’s where you rub on some kick wax on classic skis. The kick wax has impurities in it that makes it softer than glide wax With glide wax, the wax breaks off the points of the snow crystals. With kick wax, the points of the snow crystals stick into the wax, preventing the ski from slipping backwards when you press down and back on the ski to propel yourself forward. With all your weight on one ski, the wax pocket presses down into the snow, and sticks there, giving you some resistance to work with as you propel yourself forward. When you return to standing on both skis, the wax pocket no longer presses into the snow and no longer sticks, so while you are dividing your weight between both skis, you slide forward. Kick, and g—l—i—d--e, kick and g—l—i—d—e, kick and g—l—i—d—e. To help with the glide, use glide wax for the front and back sections of our ski. To help with the kick, use kick wax in the wax pocket.

The wax pocket starts more or less at the back of your heel, and extends forward to more or less a boot length in front of you boot. Stronger skiers have a shorter wax pocket than less strong skiers, so expect to play about a lot when trying to find your wax pocket. Pick a kick wax appropriate to the temperature and quality of the snow that you expect to ski on (new snow has pointed crystals, whereas old snow does not have pointed crystals, so you need stickier kick wax for old snow). Since you are new to the sport, you’ll probably have to use kick wax that is rated for warmer temperatures than what you are actually skiing in, for your kick will need a bit of help from a relatively stickier wax. There are several good brands out there – just ask at the swap what brand most people use, and go with it. As you go out skiing in differing conditions, you will end up with a collection of kick waxes that cover all temperatures and conditions. When applying kick wax, rub some wax into the ski in the wax pocket area, and then spread it by rubbing it into the base with a cork. Don’t apply a thick coat, for it will chunk off. Instead, rub in several very thin lawyers. Take your kick wax with you when you ski, in case you wear off the wax that you had applied. There is a wonderful world of base preparation, wax selection and wax application out there, but for now, just keep things simple, and pick up knowledge as you go along.

When you head out skiing for the first time, don’t bite off more than you can chew. Stay close to the club house. Don’t worry about going fast and far; instead, work on balance on skis. Dance about in them, and experiment with weighting one ski or both skis. Try edging with the inside edge of your ski to skate yourself forward. Try a snowplow and a hockey stop. Practice falling (tuck your head and do a shoulder roll). Remember to have some fun and shout “WHEEEE!” Once your body and mind start treating the skis as extensions of you body, you will have an easy time learning how to use the skis.

Once you are out there scooting about the trails, keep an eye out for frost bite on your nose and cheeks, general hypothermia (caution: hypothermia turns your though process to mush), and dehydration. As with any vigorous athletic activity, start gently and do some stretching as your warm up before you go at it hard, and do some stretching after your activity and intermittently for several hours after your activity.

As far as technique goes, there are volumes written on it, but just start by watching good skiers, and mimicking them. Begin with your legs, either classic or skate, and the add in your arms. For classic, with your legs, focus on a smooth but powerful kick with all your weight on one ski, followed by a long glide with your weight on both skis. For skate, focus on a smooth but powerful kick on the inside edge of one ski, followed with a long glide on the other ski (since there is no kick wax on skate skis, you can glide with all your weight on one ski). When you add your arms, use them to assist your kick. With classic, use the arm that is opposite the leg that is kicking. With skate, use both arms. Play with the timing between your arms and legs, for it does not all happen at the exact same time.

For safety and trail etiquette, don’t ski down a hill unless you know that you will not hit someone who might have fallen (skiing over crashed skiers is rather rude), move out of the way of faster skiers (especially if you hear someone call “track!”), try not to harm the ski track by stepping sideways on it or by dropping something into it, for heaven’s sake, do a shoulder check before you clear your sinuses, and take care to not go sliding off anything too steep.

http://my.tbaytel.net/culpeper/24490015.jpg

Before you know it, you will be wanting longer winters!

I'm fine with longer winters if I can get a shorter driveway.

Last winter I spent the best part of the day clearing my drive enough to make it to the dead end road that I live on, only to find that a big snowplow was stuck about a kilometer down the road, leaving me just as cut-off from town as ever. Some days you just can't win for trying.

Amen, brother. That's my story every single winter. Except I'm plowed in at the end of my LONG ASS driveway.

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Originally posted by Muffin

[Lengthy, great advice from Muffin.]

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Awesome, thank you. This makes it a lot less intimidating for me. I'm going to check out the clubs around here and look into a ski swap for equipment.

Well apparently I can't list my favorite one, but I guess it's moot since I'm not getting any of that anyway.

Horseback riding is pretty far up there. Of course it's been a while since I've done that, too. It's a lot of fun and fantastic exercise and besides, everyone looks cool on a horse.

Swimming is pretty great, and given the right environment plain ol' walking can be good times, too.

Roller Skating.
I go to adult nights at the roller rinks in the area. Quad skating is a great workout since once the music gets hot, there's no stopping.

Here's a list of skate clubs: http://www.skategroove.com/skateclubs.htm

Swimming. I LOVE to swim and wish I could do it more often.

Horseback riding used to be my favorite, but I haven't been able to do that in years. :-(

I love long walks on the beach or other scenic places. I'm not the fittest of individuals but I can comfortably walk miles if the scenery is nice enough or the company is.

In addition to Taekwondo, SWMBO and I are avid geocachers. We will go to regional tournaments and plan the trip so that we get in some caching on the way back home.

I love walking/hiking - urban as well as wilderness, or even a museum or shopping mall in a pinch. My daily "commute" involves about a mile and a half of walking, and I make sure to take at least that long a walk on Saturdays and Sundays as well, or I just feel lazy and sluggish all day.

I love playing the drums, and it's most definitely a workout.

Hiking! Swimming is fun too, although medical professionals say that from a health perspective while it is much better than nothing it is not great exercise.

I lift weights, albeit somewhat erratically, and run on the treadmill or outside in Jakarta's heat, sometimes with a heavy backpack on. Both the running and the weights are fairly enjoyable (I watch CNN or DVDs of Star Trek to minimize boredom) but what really motivates me is staying in good enough shape to handle challenging climbs on Indonesia's mountainous terrain. The running and weightlifting are fun because I'm doing thinking about the future volcano climbs I'll be ready for.

I'm probably in better shape at 51 than I was at 30. (Not that I was a particularly slothful 30 - long daily walks have been part of my routine throughout my life whenever possible - but now I can run 6k nonstop on an incline with a heavy backpack and not be winded when I'm done, which I don't think I could have done at 30).