How to Walk with Snowshoes

GET READY FOR SNOW

Snowshoeing is an easy winter time pursuit that will keep you in the kind of shape you want to be in depending upon how hard you want to push yourself. Whether you’re a fitness enthusiast juggling many different athletic endeavors already, or you’re just looking to get out of the house to keep ‘cabin fever’ at bay, strapping on a pair of snowshoes might just be the worthy addition to your winter schedule that you’ve been looking for. My enthusiasm for this workout in terms of body, mind, and spirit are all laid out in the first article of this series for your perusal and what to wear was covered in the second article.

Here, I will lay out the basic techniques involved with using these big, bad, weight-dispersing shoes effectively in order that you know exactly what to expect. First, strap the snowshoes on in the comfort of your home so you’ll know exactly how to manipulate the straps and bindings to fit snuggly on your boots when you get outside. Do this on a rug and don’t go walking around inside because I’m not paying to have your floors refinished. Most snowshoes are designated left and right and the ball of your foot fits approximately on the stomp pad. That is where the main crampon (the metallic teeth) is located underneath that gives you stability and traction.

A good stretch of the legs, especially the calves, thighs, and groin prior to embarking is a good idea. For stretching exercises that will improve your capabilities in every fitness activity, refer to my Yoga series to learn what Yoga can do for you. Once you’re out in the snowscape, it’s not much more than putting one foot in front of the other. You’re feet will be a little wider than usual but modern snowshoes enable you to walk with a more natural gait than the old-fashioned kind which required a little bit of a bow-legged stride.

FIND YOUR STRIDE

Make your strides wide enough to clear the other snowshoe and get a feel for how the hinged component of your snowshoe operates. There’s a lot more snowshoe behind your foot then in front of it because that’s the best design for weight displacement. The front of your shoe arcs up like the bow of a ship. You’ll want to lead with your heal and roll down gently to the toe for each step. The ball of your foot does most of the work and gets the most pressure. Avoid planting your toe because that might trip you up. With this technique and a little practice you’ll soon be striding along efficiently, and as fast as you’d like, once you understand how to get the best traction with the crampons and why the hinged design works so well. Use some trekking or even ski poles to give you even more stability and a full body work out to boot. A great feature of this winter sport lies in the fact that on the soft snow your trekking will have a low impact on all your joints which take such a pounding with other exercises.

I recommend a solo trip or two because Henry David Thoreau once wrote wisely: “I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude.” Then again there’s nothing like getting out and enjoying a wintry setting with some companionable compadres also. Either way, go well, be safe, and walk in the sunlight of the spirit.