“Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” ~Plato

It is no secret to most people who know me that I am a bit of a fitness geek. I’ve always been an avid athlete but over the past year and a half I’ve really established this amazing Zen experience with the gym and all things health and fitness related. Those familiar with the terrain in Minneapolis can speak to the flat lands, endless rivers and amazing scenery. This environment is optimal for outdoor training and there is such an active population of individuals up here that has been great to turn me into a really healthy, active person who’s become obsessed with lifting and running and all around health. A challenge to this fitness mindset is traveling. I’ve been lucky so far during the past year to either be traveling in the summer with miles of outdoor space to run or to be staying in a hotel with a fitness center. What I haven’t experienced since this new fitness kick set in is a winter vacation in the cold with a gym pretty far away in downtown Rovaniemi. It’s going to be a struggle for me to balance but…when you catch the bug you find the ability to strategize and be flexible so much easier. So, this is a post about my plan to continue staying active while on vacation in Rovaniemi, Finland…we’ll see how it goes.

First of all, I really want to continue running but HATE running in the cold (I stick to the treadmill here in MN in winter). I’ve also had sports induced asthma since I was 13 which has never agreed with the cold BUT, I’m determined. Today we headed over to REI and I got some gear to attempt some outdoor workouts in 20-30 degree weather (the sound of that just makes me shiver). In addition to my Under Armour tights and wind resistant shell jacket I needed some good shirts. Bought myself an Under Armour Cold Gear shirt along with a Nike fleece lined shell like top. This combo equals dryness, warmth and also all around breathability so the heat is retained but not suffocating. Next up, the head. This part is tricky. Instinct tells me to wrap my head in fleece and throw on some skii goggles to prevent myself from catching a nasty cold but with the help of some friends who do outdoor workouts in the winter and my boyfriend’s experience with the cold my headwear is going to consist of a hat low enough to cover my ears completely and potentially a head cover things that runs down to my neck. The neck and ears are crucial but I also want to see if I can’t cover my mouth a bit to ease the breathing in of cold air. Tomorrow the plan is to top off the outfit with a good pair of fleece lined pants to cover the Under Armour tights. Socks are covered- probably a dual layer of Smart Wool socks and fleece lined sport socks- dryness and warmth. Gloves are also taken care of. Shoes, that one will be trial and error. Going with a pair of trusted Nikes until I fall and hurt myself running on snow and need to run to the store in Rovaniemi to get something to run outside in.

In addition to running I’ve been combing all of my Women’s Health and Oxygen magazines looking for indoor exercises and just about all of them emphasize the benefits of jump ropes (both in traveling and in the resulting workout). About 30 min. every couple of days along with a couple days each week hitting a couple miles outside and round it all out with ab routines and push ups, I think I’ll be able to maintain my level of fitness while in Finland…hopefully, again, this is the first time I’m trying not to rely on the gym and attempt outdoor exercising so it might be a short lived goal until I start hitching rides downtown to the gym.

It’s really too bad I’m not a winter sport athlete because Rovaniemi has some pretty amazing cross country skii trails. But, I’m just not good at those sports even though they are great workouts. Here is a photo of what these trails look like- look at the right and left sides of the snow- preset to step your skiis into and just go wherever you want- grocery store, downtown, Santa Claus Village and all of your friends and neighbors along the way. Yes, for all of you thinking this is crazy, I partly agree but, to these Finns (and even some Minnesotans it turns out) it is as natural as walking.

Rovaniemi, Finland Cross Country Skii routes

My hope is to get in a few weight workouts at my new favorite gym in Rovaniemi: Kuntokaruselli. View my review of Kuntokaruselli if you’re interested in working out in Rovaniemi. The gym is absolutely great and unless things have changed since last December and January they have great daily pass rates.