Winter sports such as ice-skating, snowboarding, and snowshoeing are enjoying a boom, in part because they're a perfect way to have fun and make friends.

Ice Skating: This is a sport that adapts to almost any age and level of ability. Whether you like to skate in pairs, race, or play ice games, you can have a good time learning and improving your skills. Women account for 60 percent of skaters.

Skating in Rhode Island's public skating rinks can be an inexpensive, family-friendly sport that makes you feel graceful and athletic, especially when skating to music. Basic skating can burn 225 calories in 30 minutes. As you naturally bend your knees and lower your center of gravity to glide forward, you firm your legs, hips, buttocks, and abdominals.

Learners can wear flexible knee pads to avoid bruised knees from falling.

Snowboarding: A little like downhill skiing, but it's easier because your feet are locked in and there are no ski poles to worry about. Seven million people tried snowboarding last year, about two-thirds of whom were men.

To begin, it's important to take a lesson or two. You'll learn how to lean your weight forward, push up off your butt to a standing position to start, and maintain balance on the downhills. Some slopes that children use for sledding makes a good place to learn before you head off to Yawgoo ski area in south county.

Snowboarding burns 260 calories every 30 minutes, and tones thighs, calves, and butt muscles.

Snowshoeing: If you can walk, you can learn to snowshoe, which probably accounts for the growing popularity of the sport. Numbers of men and women snowshoers are about equal. It's fun because you take in the beauty of the snow and great view as you trek solo or with friends. It burns 260 calories in 30 minutes and tones thighs, calves, and butt muscles. Snowshoes and poles rent for $12 to $20 per day or can be bought at ski shops for about $100, and you can snowshoe anytime snow is on the ground.

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