Get fit and keep the winter blues away

(Val Thoermer)

SparkPeople.com, an online healthy living community, is encouraging people this winter to get outdoors to ward off seasonal depression and benefit from the calorie-burning-efficient winter sports.

Here are some activities that will keep you sweating no matter how freezing the temperature, provided you have the right gear:

Snowshoeing and cross-country skiing top the list with both burning 510 calories per hour.

Most interesting is bromball, similar to hockey just with a broom and no skates, burns up to 470 calories per hour slightly beating out ice-skating (450/hr) and ice hockey (380/hr).

Family activities like sledding and hiking in the snow burn between 445-455 calories an hour.

Spark.com measured the calorie count with a female weighing 145 lbs. (66 kg), and according to Military.com, U.S. military and veteran online community, if you are a male around 190 lbs (86 kg) you can burn about 200 more calories during the same hour of activities

Spark.com's complete list of winter activities and calorie counts: http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/slideshow.asp?show=37

Military.com's physical activity/calorie chart: http://www.military.com/military-fitness/weight-loss/want-to-lose-weight