How Many Calories Are Burned Skiing?

Downhill typically burns between 300 and 600 calories per hour . Again, how many calories are burned has a lot to do with your weight. According to Harvard Medical School, a person who weighs 155 pounds can burn 446 calories in an hour of downhill skiing, while someone who is 185 pounds will burn 532 calories during the same period. (Note: This doesn’t include time spent on the ski lift).

Skiing is a fun and exciting way to get a fantastic full-body workout that burns calories quickly. How many calories burned while taking part in the popular winter sport depends on the level of effort you’re exerting and your weight and body type. Downhill skiing, also known as alpine skiing, is the most common form of skiing .

Downhill Skiing Health and Fitness Benefits

Downhill skiing is an aerobic and anaerobic activity, which is a big reason why it’s such a great overall workout and calorie burn. Downhill skiing is a blend of endurance and resistance training. In addition to burning a bunch of calories and being a cardio workout that has positive effects on the heart, downhill skiing improves flexibility, strength, agility, balance, and endurance.

In terms of its cardio aspect, downhill skiing equates to rowing workouts or cycling. Of course, skiing through the deep powder and moguls of advanced-level black diamonds will increase your heart rate more than a leisurely cruise down a green circle, or “bunny slope.”

The cardio-metabolic benefits of downhill skiing include improved insulin resistance and glucose metabolism, and a decrease in blood pressure (Blood Pressure Support Help), blood lipids (fat-like substances, of which too many can lead to high cholesterol), and resting heart rate. Downhill skiing (and all other forms of skiing) has been shown to reinvigorate blood vessels and cell health.

For An Even Better Workout, Try Cross-Country Skiing

Cross-country burns more calories than downhill skiing–between 400 and 900 calories per hour. Cross-country skiing is truly a full-body workout. The Olympic sport works your leg and butt muscles and because you’re pushing off the ground with each step.

You also use your hip adductors on your outer thighs – muscles that don’t even get worked when cycling and running. And that’s just the lower body workout. Cross-country works muscles in your shoulders, your biceps, triceps, and back when you use the ski poles to move forward.