Mens_HealthUSA_December_2016

Step outside your comfort

zone to beat cabin fever and

get fitter than ever. These

three sports can take you there.

By Doug Schnitzspahn

Winterize

Your Workouts

1 / NORDIC SKIING

Don’t let the skinny skis or its image as an elite

Olympic sport scare you away. You can learn

to ski cross-country in an afternoon.

Robert Peay, 45, of the nutrition bar com-

pany Probar, recalled feeling like a newborn

giraffe the first time he stepped out on slippery,

packed snow wearing a pair of Nordic skis. “It’s

the most physically demanding activity I’ve

ever done,” he says. “It works your legs and

arms. Your heart is pumping.”

In summer, Peay joins his friends for moun-

tain bike rides around his hometown of Park

City, Utah. But come winter, his buddies ditch

him and descend into the gym, while Peay

simply switches his bike for Nordic skis and

scores an even bigger cardio benefit.

Where to Go

Nordic Center at

Solitude Mountain

Resort, Utah

You can ski 12 miles

of trails 8,000 feet

up the Wasatch

Range.

December 2016 | MensHealth.com 45

Fitness + Muscle

To build your winter legs, see the workout on page 126.