Winter is approaching and basketball season is in view. The cold weather is also on its way and brings lack of exercise to most homes. How can people continue to exercise and stay warm?

Basketball is a form of exercise that keeps your body fit. If you don’t like just running, basketball adds adrenaline and competitiveness to your workout. With no muscle unused, you work all parts of the body from running down the court to your shot on the foul line. I think basketball adds variety to a workout. It is also a great time to socialize with your friends and to cooperate as a team. For some, a team sport might be better and help people work well with others building their social health, too.

Basketball works the heart and cardiovascular functions. As you sprint down to the post, you use your legs, joints and muscles. After you stretch from your toes to your fingertips on the shot, you work your upper-body strength and foot speed to reach for the rebound. You also stretch your calves, quadriceps, biceps, triceps, and your heart and lungs. Playing basketball works more than just one part of your body. If you are not one who enjoys exercise, you might like basketball because you work your heart as well as your calves. While running, you only work the bottom half of body, while in basketball you can work on running on defense and upper muscles on offense.

If you are an active player, you cut-in, jump, sprint and do other types of body movement. While you fight to win, you are burning numerous calories. If you have trouble maintaining a diet, maybe instead of cutting down meals, work the calories off. An average game of basketball can burn 472 calories for a 130-pound man. A game of basketball could erase a McDonald’s double cheeseburger of 490 down to only about 30. If you ate smart, you could delete your amount of calories at lunch to nearly nothing.

Most people forget that sports are a form of exercise, too. Here in Maine, winters provide tons of snow and could be challenging to run in. You can burn the same amount of calories by either running in the icy cold or playing a game of basketball in a heated gym. If you live in Maine you’ve experienced winters; what would you prefer?