The Joys of skiing – tips for beginners

Skiing is my beloved hobby and I have been skiing since childhood. Because the effects and benefits of skiing are significant, I decided to gather about them more to this story.

While you ski, the body and mind will be more alive. After starting your body warms very quickly and good feeling take over the mind. Your mind will recover and at the same time your mind will calm down and become clearer. In these moods I'm quoting "It is good for the skier to ski" by a Finnish National poet Eino Leino.

Skiing is a versatile and comprehensive form of exercise, and it is also one of the best forms of exercise to improve fitness. When skiing, the condition rises surprisingly quick and the skiing effects can feel from head to feet. The speed and impact of the skiing can easily be managed according to your condition, weather conditions, landscape, and the length of the ski trip. You don't have to be in top condition, you can start from a poor level. The flat route is easy to start with, but you can get better power by choosing a route that includes ups and downs. In addition, in varying landscape it is more enjoyable to ski longer routes.

Skiing uses hands and feet as well as the back and abdominal muscles. So, it is very good exercise for the whole body. However, skiing is less straining on the joints than walking and running. It also gives good exercise for the neck and shoulder. From skiing I have received help for shoulder aches and tension headaches, and today I need less pain medication.

Skiing need some technical training also, but it is easy to learn. We Finns have been "almost" born skis in our feet and the older generation has learnt to ski in the Lower School at the latest. If you have not learned to ski yet, you can get help from the ski school, for example. After a few training lessons, you are ready to ski. You can ski either in a traditional style which is easier, or then by skate style, which is heavier, but you'll get faster speed.

There are many good effects of skiing e.g.:

* Better fitness, because after just a few exercising, the fitness is improving fast. The effects are in the muscles of the whole body, as the muscles of the upper, middle and lower body are improved.

* Weight loss, because skiing consumes energy and calories especially well. I have compared cycling and skiing impacts through my fitness watch and the skiing is much more efficient.

* Mood lifting, the mood rises, especially in nature, and the stress level is lowered. This has been tested many times.

* Better seeping , as effective exercise in outdoors improve the quality of sleep. This has tested, too.

If the effects are viewed in more detail through health, the following things should be noted:

* Strengthens oxygen uptake, which is the main exercise measure, and which tells the condition level.

* Strengthens blood circulation system and to reduce blood pressure, which reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

* Improves cholesterol levels, because effective exercise increases the concentration of good HDL cholesterol in the blood.

* Reduces the risk of second-type diabetes, because all exercise and weight control are good for health.

* Improves functions, because it strengthens the muscles and develops the ability to balance and coordinate.

Skiing needs good equipment, too, and with them the skiing is more efficient and makes skiing safer.

Ski equipment must be dimensioned according to your own size, i.e. skis based on your weight and sticks based on your length. Also, the skiing experience/condition has impacts, so you must ensure that the ski seller makes the necessary measurements before you buy or rent skis. The right size of skiing shoe is also of great importance for skiing comfort.

In addition, right dressing is important. It is good to have underwear that let moisture towards the following layers. Next is the interlayer, which again moves moisture towards the topmost layer. The top layer, the actual ski suit, protects from wind, snow and rain.

In a mild weather you don't need to use many layers but frosty you'll need more. If you accidentally put too much clothes, you can easily lighten layers while skiing trip. It is also good to wear a wool helmet in frosty weather, which protect the face from frost. Ski gloves and beanie are also needed. In practice, it is good to have different kind of gloves (warmer or thinner) and use them according to the outdoor temperature. Or change gloves during skiing trip, if you sweat a lot during skiing.

On longer ski trips it is also a good to take a backpack or a belt bag, in which can be packed with drinks, snacks, sunclasses, handkerchiefs, plasters, replacement gloves and a beanie, a map, a mobile phone and cellphone map app. In the dark time, the head lamp is also good to be included. I use a belt bag, where are two places for bottles and in the middle is place for the other equipment. When skiing the belt bag is not heavy. I pack my camera also with, but it needs some patience to take out the camera in skiing trip. At least, patience is needed to my skiing friend, who is waiting and wondering what takes so much time of taking photos 😊

Skis waxing can be the most challenging thing. The waxing of the skating skis is basically easy, only glide is needed as much as possible, and nothing else. There are sometimes some troubles to ski in very soft snow. In this case, the skating skis are slipping, and you have to use more sticks and hand power. In this case, it would be easier to use traditional skis. It's a little bit more difficult to wax the traditional skis, you need to add both traction and glide according on the weather. The new alternative skis are the so-called R-Skin for traditional skiing, because they do not need to be waxed at all, and the glide, however, is said to be very good. I don't have any experience R-Skin skis yet, but if I'll get a good offer, maybe I'd buy and try them.

The ski trips should be planned before and take care of weather effects for clothing and equipment. Even though I like to find myself from new routes, at least the cafes and toilets I'll check beforehand. In the cafes it is easier to change the clothing or let the clothes dry. I am very happy with some of the ski cafes which have either interior toilet or an infrared heated toilet. It's a a great joy when you'll find the heated toilet in a frosty weather. Someday I'll gather all the warm toilets that I know, and I'll make them my own map 😊

Skiing varies by different kinds of weathers in the wintertime. The new, first-snow time skiing is heavier because the ski tracks are softer. In the frosty weather, skiing also requires more strength, because the skis are not sliding well. In the springtime when sun is warming the skiing is more fast and lighter. In the downhills the speed could be very higher, and you should be careful, too. In the springtime, skiing is a very easy and enjoyable.

After the skiing trip, you should remember the stretching and it is worth making it as soon as the muscles are still warm. After the good stretching, your body recover more quickly, and it is more ready for the next day's ski trip. The heat of the sauna relaxes the body and eliminates the feeling of chills. A good night's sleep will give a fresh start to the new skiing day.

While I'm writing this story in the end of February, I'm dreaming of skiing in the spring routes where my skis are skating fast and I could stay to admire the beautiful nature. The best skiing times are coming soon in Äkäslompolo. We southern Finns can only dream of skiing because we don't have snow at all in this winter. Instead in northern Finland, there are enormous amounts of snow. I wish a very enjoyable skiing for everyone there!