Skiing has the greatest impact on overall fitness
The wellness and fitness travel trend isn’t going anywhere. Leading luxury ski holiday company, VIP SKI, reveals a holiday fitness index looking at common sports that people participate in on holiday. With people wanting to continue their fitness journey on holiday, whether it’s learning to ski, going for a run or even rock climbing, there is no doubt that fitness holidays are only going to become more and more popular.
Keen to find out which sport has the greatest impact on fitness, VIP SKI has created a fitness index (also known as the fit-cation index). This includes factors such as the calories burned per hour, calorie burn score, the main muscle groups worked, a muscle group score, and how the sport promotes balance and outdoor wellbeing.
| Activity | Calories burned per hour (up to) | Calorie burn score | Main muscle groups worked | Muscle group score | Promoting balance score | Outdoor wellbeing score | TOTAL SCORE | RANKING POSITION |
| Skiing (Cross country brisk) | 612 | 14 | Abdominal muscles, glutes, quads, hamstrings, adductors, feet/ankles, biceps, and triceps | 9 | 8 | 10 | 41 | 1 |
| Running (6mph 10 min mile) | 680 | 15 | Quads, glutes, hamstrings, calves, gastrocnemius, hips | 5 | 6 | 9 | 35 | 2 |
| Skiing (Alpine – intense with challenging moves) | 600 | 11 | Quadriceps, Hamstrings, Glutes, core, abdominal | 5 | 8 | 10 | 34 | 3 |
| Rock climbing | 584 | 9 | Lats, biceps, forearms, core, calves | 6 | 7 | 7 | 29 | 4 |
| Snow shoeing | 544 | 7 | Quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes and calves, arms, shoulders, back | 7 | 5 | 9 | 28 | 5 |
| Football (competitive) | 612 | 13 | Quadriceps, glutes and hamstrings | 4 | 5 | 5 | 27 | 6 |
| CrossFit | 600 | 11 | Glutes, hamstrings, quads, back, calves, core, triceps | 8 | 7 | 1 | 27 | 7 |
| Running club | 606 | 12 | Quads, gastrocnemius | 5 | 3 | 6 | 26 | 8 |
| Calisthenics (intense) | 544 | 6 | Full body | 10 | 8 | 2 | 26 | 9 |
| Cycling (12-13mph) | 544 | 5 | Quadriceps and hamstrings, gastrocnemius and soleus in the calf | 5 | 6 | 8 | 24 | 10 |
| Circuit training | 547 | 8 | Full body | 10 | 4 | 1 | 23 | 11 |
| Barre | 415 | 1 | Full body | 10 | 9 | 1 | 21 | 12 |
| Tennis | 544 | 4 | Abdominals, obliques, latissimus dorsi, and erector spinae | 4 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 13 |
| Spinning | 600 | 10 | Quads, hamstrings, hip flexors and glutes, core | 4 | 4 | 1 | 19 | 14 |
| Pilates | 450 | 2 | Abdominal, gluteal, and paraspinal muscles | 4 | 9 | 3 | 18 | 15 |
| Swimming (casual) | 476 | 3 | Triceps, biceps, quadriceps, and hamstrings | 7 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 16 |
VIP SKI found that brisk cross-country skiing is one of the best sports to keep fit overall on holiday. This is followed by running 6mph for 10 minutes, rock climbing, snow shoeing, competitive football and then CrossFit.
With 71% of ski enthusiasts insisting working out to stay fit is important to them (YouGov Profiles), compared to just 45% of the national representative, it’s no surprise that they come out top in the list.
Nicola Hardy, Marketing Manager at VIP SKI, said: “It’s no surprise that active holidays require more physical preparation than other holiday preferences. Those who are familiar with ski holidays already understand that there is a certain level of fitness required, however it is also one of the most accessible, especially when families are concerned.
“There is no doubt that a ski holiday is a luxury experience, but it is also somewhere that fitness plays a part, it’s an adventure holiday, and offers an experience. There has absolutely been an increase in people looking after their health across the last few years, and people want to make sure they’re staying fit when they’re on holiday.”
