Have you accumulated more items than your house can hold? Do you have an enclosed trailer sitting empty in your yard?

The obvious handy solution is even more convenient than you might think. The features and qualities that make enclosed trailers ideal for hauling are no less beneficial for storage:

Protection from Weather: Quality enclosed trailers are designed to protect their contents and themselves from moisture caused by snow or rain, and from the drying, fading, and cracking effects of the hot sun. With a bit of sealing and maintenance help from you, they can continue to do so for a long time.

Mobile storage: If you own a farm or other large property, and use many of the same tools repeatedly, you can move them all wherever you need to use them. And in emergency situations like approaching wildfire or severe weather, you can load up your valuable possessions, so you’re prepared to haul them to safety.

Protection from Theft and Vandalism: Existing theft deterrence features, like door locks and solid construction, are just as effective in your yard as they are on the road.

Protection from Floodwater: Trailers are already elevated by tires and can be raised further on concrete platforms.

Cost-Effectiveness: Over the long term, buying a trailer costs less than renting, building, or purchasing a storage unit.

Versatility: You can store anything from household items to business equipment to vehicles, and your enclosed trailer can serve a wide variety of purposes.

Temporary storage during moves. If you need to do some work on your new space before you move items in, you have them stored close by.

Storing equipment for events. If your business is supplying anything from catering to music, you can keep your equipment safe and ready to roll.

Seasonal Storage: Hockey equipment, Christmas decorations, or camping gear – if you’re not using it at the same time you’re not using your trailer, take advantage.

Interested in a storage option that’s built to protect cargo, can be moved wherever you need it, and retains much of its original value?

Call or visit your nearest Flaman Trailers location to learn more about the advantages of storing items in an enclosed trailer. Our experts are ready to answer any questions you may have. We also offer some timely tips on taking good care of your trailer and its contents.

So, you’re running a small business or maintaining your property, and you need a durable, reliable, and well-designed trailer. However, you don’t want to spend extra on a heavy-duty unit that’s bigger than you need.

Trailer manufacturer Diamond C realized that many dump trailer users faced similar challenges. So, the company developed a solution.

The Baseline Trailer Series

Diamond C launched this new series in July of 2024 to make dependable trailers more accessible. Baseline trailers offer the same quality and durability as the company’s premium trailers at a lower price.

“Basics Done Best”

Making core Diamond C quality and functionality more affordable is the guiding philosophy behind Baseline series trailers. The company’s designers focused on accommodating the budgets of businesses and individuals who didn’t need the advanced features of their premium trailers.

They prioritized essential functionality for tasks like equipment hauling and material dumping. The reliability and longevity of features, like tilt-decks for easier loading, were crucial to smaller landscaping, construction, and general hauling businesses.

Baseline Trailer Models

Heavy-hauling commercial companies can afford the Premium Series’ stronger suspension systems, heavier axles, and Engineered Beam Technology. Those features easily pay for themselves in tonnage and hours worked.

The Baseline series takes out the features smaller, lighter-hauling companies don’t need but maintains the solid frame, dependable wiring harness, and DM coating system that ensure durability and reliable performance. These trailers provide everything these users need at a price within their budget:

The Tale of the Tape

A head-to-head comparison of the Diamond C Premium and Baseline series shows the same across comparisons for equipment trailers, tilt trailers, and dump trailers. One series is bigger and beefier. The other is less expensive.

So, Who’s the Winner?

Isn’t it obvious? The winner is every contractor or property owner who’s waited for something like the Baseline series to come along. Diamond C will likely also do well, which is what happens when a company sees a change whose time has come.

Get to Know the Baseline Series at Flaman.

Take advantage of your chance to see Diamond C design, engineering, and functionality in a more compact, budget-friendly working trailer. Call or visit your nearest Flaman Trailers location and ask to learn more about the Baseline series.

For many snowmobilers, the physical and emotional benefits of their winter passion may come as a pleasantly surprising bonus. Their adventures, time with friends, and convenient access to nature are already rewarding enough.

If you're one of them, you'd probably like to keep that sweet ride going for years to come. Keeping safety, nature, rules and potential hazards in mind will help you do it.

Be Kind to Nature.

Nature is a source of great beauty, solitude, and serenity. Those are its obvious, immediate benefits.

Less obvious are the mental and physical benefits that build up the more you spend time outdoors. These include everything from mood elevation to better heart health to more efficient metabolism to greater self-reliance. Nature has that power, and it gives us so much to enjoy. Yet, it isn’t invulnerable to disregard.

Anytime humans go into a natural area, they’re bound to have an impact – especially when they go there on mechanized vehicles. So snowmobile associations work with environmental and governmental agencies to develop environmentally responsible riding policies. At the same time, association volunteers work to keep the trails safe, clear and pristine.

Snowmobile Makers Work to Do Their Part.

The Klondike Snowmobile Association says snowmobiles have less impact on the environment than many people think. It points to ground, water and vegetation being frozen over and protected by a layer of snow.

Furthermore, the association says snowmobile manufacturers have designed sleds to exert less pressure on the snowpack than the weight of a person walking. In addition, on-board computers and four-stroke or direct-injection two-stroke engines significantly reduce emissions.

How You Can Do Yours

Nevertheless, snowmobile associations set down guidelines for riders to leave nature as they found it. These include:

• Not leaving anything but tracks behind you.
• Giving animals plenty of space and keeping quiet around them
• Sticking to pre-existing trails whenever possible
• Keeping up with new environmentally-conscious technologies
• Keeping your sled well-tuned

Riders are also asked to remind other riders of these guidelines.

Snowmobile Safety on Trails

Along with environmental tips, associations have plenty of vital safety advice to share with their members – or anyone out on the sled. Here are a few examples from the Alberta Snowmobile Association’s list:

• Make sure your sled will not let you down. Keep your snowmobile tuned up and bring along necessary spare parts and emergency repair items like duct tape, a flashlight and a knife.
• Dress for unexpected conditions. Layer your clothing, and make sure it’s waterproof, windproof and warm. Avoid scarves and other loose clothing that can snag in your machinery or tree branches.
• Pack an emergency survival kit with items like a first-aid kit, warm blanket, extra clothes, energy bars, and extra food and water. Things like a compass/GPS receiver, tarp, nylon rope, a well-charged cell phone, signal flares and waterproof matches can make a big difference if you have to get your bearings, signal for help and/or spend a night in the elements.
• Use the P.L.A.N Method
  • PREPARE by knowing your terrain, location, weather, avalanche risk, etc., before you go.
  • LOCATE your riding area with a map.
  • ASSESS your physical condition, equipment and safety rules before deciding to go.
  • NOTIFY someone where you’re going, who you’re going with and when you expect to return. Be specific.
• Familiarize yourself with best practices for making a shelter, building a fire (or surviving without one) and how much food and water you’ll need in an emergency.
• Observe precautions to prevent extreme weather hazards like frostbite, hypothermia and falling through the ice. Like other associations, the Alberta Snowmobile Association provides tips on what to do if you or anyone in your group suffers one of these misfortunes.
• Don’t drink or use drugs. It may be fun to enjoy a drink with friends, but not when it endangers your health - or anyone else's. Alcohol can make you feel warm while doing nothing to protect you from the cold. Both alcohol and drugs impair your senses, decision making and reaction time, which could lead to a severe accident.
• Familiarize yourself with hand signals. They can keep the trail safer when you’re travelling with a group or meet another group.

Licensing and other Considerations

Who's allowed to ride a snowmobile? Where can you legally ride? Being aware of regulations can save you a lot of legal trouble. Safe Snowmobiling rules are in place to keep you and others safe from more serious risks, including injury or death.

Here's where you can learn more about regulations in Western Canada, Ontario, and Quebec. Governmental agencies also publish helpful guides like the Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) Snowmobiling in Saskatchewan Handbook.

Getting to the Trails

You also need to know how to transport your snowmobile safely. Loading it onto a truck may require some physical exertion, so make sure you're up for it. Your other option is renting or buying a trailer. Either way, you'll need to be aware of best practices for securing and hauling. The Klondike Snowmobile Association has some great tips, but you'll also want to make sure you're complying with regional transport regulations wherever you do your sledding.

Make the Most of Your Time Outdoors

The physical and emotional benefits of sledding owe much to the tranquil beauty of nature around you and your ability to share adventures with friends. How you exercise that wonderful privilege will determine how long you will get to do it. Proper respect for safety and the fragile environment you ride through will keep the trails open for snowmobiling’s next generation.

Start Your Safe Sledding Adventure at Flaman.

Are you looking to buy or rent a top-quality snowmobile trailer? In need of professional service and advice for your current trailer? Flaman Trailer Stores are your hookup. We sell and rent outstanding utility, enclosed, and flat-deck trailers to get you out to the snow. (We also deal in gooseneck, stock and dump trailers because we’re here all year.)

You can count on our accredited Trailer Service Department for quality maintenance, inspection, repair, warranty, or upgrade work. You put a lot of care into your sled. Let our professionals put the same care into the trailer that carries it. Call or visit the Flaman Trailer location nearest you!

No, you're actually doing much more than that. Here's a rundown of the health benefits of "sledding," and how you can take part if it sounds like your kind of outdoor fun.

More Than a Mechanical Sleigh Ride

According to the Canadian Council of Snowmobile Organizations (CCSO), sledding can positively impact both your physical and mental health. In 2019, the organization released its Physical Activity Health Study, a summary of independent research done by the University of Guelph. The report included physiological data from field-testing in Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec.

The study highlighted how snowmobiling could restore a sizable list of healthy habits that go missing as the days get shorter and colder - physical activity, outdoor time, exposure to nature, and socialization. Unfortunately, their absence can result in weight gain and reduced strength, endurance and immunity. With winter seemingly closing in on us, we can add Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) to the price of our sedentary sins.

Physical Benefits

After following over 4,000 snowmobilers, the study found that the average rider used 5.6 METs while riding. The term "MET" stands for Metabolic Equivalent, a measure of the calories you burn sitting still. The study used body-position sensors to determine snowmobiling is much more than "sitting still."

There's a lot of standing, kneeling, stabilizing, handle gripping, and changing position involved – especially if you head out into the backcountry or up into the mountains. The study also mentions peripheral tasks like digging out a stuck sled, clearing obstacles and truck/trailer loading and unloading.

The study also measured these activities' exertion, fatigue, and aerobic exercise value. Again, uneven terrain was a significant factor. Trail riders reached an average of 68% of their maximum heart rate, while backcountry and mountain riders reached 71% and 82%, respectively.

The researchers admit that cardio calculations can be logistically tricky with all the moving around. Measurement can also be obscured by exhilaration, which sometimes goes by another name - fun.

Emotional Benefits

Snowmobiling is so much fun, you might overlook the workout you're getting - and that physical activity makes you feel even better. It combats changes in the brain that can lead to Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and General Anxiety Disorder (GAD). Time out on the snowy trails can also do wonders for sleep cycles and blood flow to the brain. It can even enhance the structure of the brain itself.

Furthermore, frequent leaning and shifting positively affect stress hormones, inflammation, and neurotransmitter production. It works as well or even better than prescribed antidepressant medications at reversing depression symptoms. One weekend trip can keep your contentment charged up for up to a week.

Social Dynamics Make Social Dynamos

The study also points to several social benefits vital to mental health and physical safety. For example, isolation is a significant contributor to depression and other mental disorders. Because snowmobiling works best as a group activity, it offers several group dynamic pleasures, benefits, challenges, and rewards. Leaders choose the path and set the pace, and followers look out for those before and behind them. Negative thoughts are replaced by the good feeling of being part of a group that relies on your best qualities.

It's also a great way to learn skills from others and develop your own sense of mastery. Feeling capable when you encounter challenges lowers your levels of stress and anxiety. So does gaining confidence within a group. Last but not least, there's a proven link between physical activity and improved mood. All of these benefits are easier to realize in an affirmative group setting.

So, where do you get started if you're interested in snowmobiling but don't have any snowmobile friends? There are several snowmobile associations and federations across Canada representing 729 individual clubs.

Reclaim Your Time with Nature.

It's not just what you do, but also where you do it. Getting outdoors in the winter allows many of us to confront and befriend the fearsome snow beast of our imaginations. It's more than liberating. It's restorative. You're reclaiming a connection you thought you'd lost with the summer sun, and the scenery is still gorgeous to behold.

Happy Trails!

The CCSO reports there are over 121,000 km of organized snowmobile trails in Canada, used by over 1.5 million family members across the nation. No doubt many of those snowmobilers get excited when the snow starts falling.

Just remember to take good care of the trails you travel, those who share them, and yourself. Follow that rule, and snowmobiling can be great fun and fitness for everyone who jumps on and throttles up.

Flaman Has the Trailer That Can Take Your Sled to the Snow.

You take pride in owning a snowmobile that can take you where you want to go. Take the same pride in a trailer that takes your sled where you want to go. Flaman Trailer Stores sells and rents outstanding utility, enclosed, and flat-deck trailers to take one or more snowmobiles to the trails. (We also deal in gooseneck, stock and dump trailers.)

You can count on our accredited Trailer Service Department for quality maintenance, inspection, repair, warranty, or upgrade work. You put a lot of care into your sled. Let our professionals put the same care into the trailer that carries it. Call or visit your nearest Flaman Trailer location and talk about giving your great ride a great ride!

For countless winters, Canadians have instinctively taken to the outdoors. That habit has given us a national sport, long average lifespans, and a reputation for friendliness, hardiness and adaptability.

Most of us went out without the knowledge of studies documenting the good we were doing our minds and bodies. Fresh air, being active, and the natural beauty of our country were reasons enough.

Even if we find ourselves spending less time outside, the door is always open. So here’s some information for those who’d like to regain the joy of winters past and those yet to fully discover what the season offers. It’s our way of encouraging you to get out and enjoy the glories of a great Canadian Winter.

PART 4: FUN

In Part 3 of this series, we offered some timely

tips to ensure your time outdoors is safe. As lovely as a regret-free winter sounds, FUN sounds even better. It's good for the mind and body and for our relationships with nature and each other.

Done correctly, fun has the admirable power to make you feel younger AND extend your lifespan. So it's never a waste of your time.

Raring to Go Outside

Recent events have made "going out" feel like a long-ago dream. That's certainly taken a toll on everyone's mental health, but at the same time, it's elevated our appreciation of our time outdoors. A recent study by the Centre for Addiction and mental health (CAMH) reported that getting outside was the most popular coping method - touted by 93.5% of survey respondents. Remember, that's in an age when people were already spending too much time indoors gawking at screens.

We've also become wiser and more respectful of each other's space – and there's plenty of it outdoors. So the time has come for us to reap all the benefits of a brisk winter day, safely sharing time with family, friends, and neighbours.

That renewed socialization comes with a whack of benefits. While our bodies enjoy reduced blood pressure and stronger immunity, our minds gain a better mood, more confidence and self-esteem, purpose, improved communication skills, increased brain health, and reduced risk of cognitive decline.

Winter Frolics - Go Outside and Play

And we can have fun doing it. Just look at some of the entertaining activities out there and the health benefits they provide:

• Downhill skiing: Do cardio-metabolic benefits like improved insulin resistance, body composition and glucose metabolism, and lowered blood pressure, blood lipids and heart rate sound like you're going downhill? According to a 2018 Time Magazine article, you are if you're on skis. Downhill skiing's cardio benefits are compared to those of rowing and cycling. But it's also a fantastic full-body workout, especially when your carve up those moguls. It's also a form of interval training with downhill dashes and rides back up on the chairlift.
• Cross-country skiing: The gliding motion makes it low-impact. Using your upper body, arms, legs, and core makes it a supreme strength and toning exercise. Because it's so good for your heart and easy on your joints, people enjoy it into their 90s.
• Skating: It also uses a gliding motion that's easy on your joints. It actually enhances your joint flexibility. You'll be moving in directions that don't apply to regular walking and getting great aerobic exercise as you gradually build up your heart rate and respiration. You'll also dart around in quick bursts, which is a fantastic anaerobic exercise to build up your muscles. So get out and hockey it up or take that pleasure skate!
• Snowshoeing: You can walk or run on them over snow that would otherwise cave in and leave buried up to your waist. (If you want a REALLY TOUGH workout, try walking around like that.) Because it keeps you on top of the snow, you can cover a lot of ground and see a lot of nature. But that doesn't make it a stroll in the park. There's enough drag over the surface to burn up to 50% more calories than you would walking the same distance. Meanwhile, you're building up muscular endurance as you work your flexors, quads, glutes, hamstrings and calves.
• Cold Weather Hiking: We've discussed the benefits of forest bathing, which is more relaxed and nature-focused than the driven pace of a full-on hike. However, the effects of forest surroundings work the same – increasing the physical benefits of a good, brisk walk. It's even better if you take your hike in the mountains. Participants in a 2017 PLOS One study said they found it more pleasant and less tiring than a treadmill workout.

Old Familiar Fun in the Snow

Wish you were a kid again? It might be your sense of propriety and not your years that you need to overcome. Every winter, you can find plenty of snow to build forts, snow people, or snowballs to fling about.

Put on your warm, waterproof clothing, then flop down and make a snow angel. Take a downhill plunge on a toboggan, tube or other gravity/good push-propelled vehicle. If you've got kids, use them as an excuse. They'll understand what you're getting out of it.

If you want more excuses, here's a bunch of them:

• You're getting a great cardiovascular workout that just feels like you're enjoying yourself.
• You'll be stimulating brain function.
• You'll activate your imagination.
• You'll bring back childhood memories and optimism that can lift the burden of adult problems off your shoulders for a while.

Winter's Calling You to Come Out and Play.

If you remember your childhood correctly, you'll recall what came before all that romping in the snow. There was the getting roused out of bed and the bundling up your parents made you do. As adults, we can make our own choices, and we often decide to forego the inconveniences that come between us and getting on with life.

It's easy to stay indoors in your pyjamas and wait for winter to just end already. But you'll miss out on all the invigorating, emboldening, and just plain fun benefits of the season.

So go out and make a friend of winter. You'll miss it when it's gone.

Warm Up to Winter Contest

Have you entered our WARM UP TO WINTER CONTEST on our Facebook and Twitter pages yet?

It's that time of year again – and we're giving away some awesome prizes! Enter to win a $3,000 trailer purchase credit plus weekly prizes like trailer rentals, Koenders snowmobile sleds, gas cards, and more! Draws are made at the end of every week until our Grand Prize Draw on February 4th. Enter now – and good luck!

For countless winters, Canadians have instinctively taken to the outdoors. That habit has given us a national sport, long average lifespans, and a reputation for friendliness, hardiness and adaptability.

Most of us went out without the knowledge of studies documenting the good we were doing our minds and bodies. Fresh air, being active, and the natural beauty of our country were reasons enough.

Even if we find ourselves spending less time outside, the door is always open. So here’s some information for those who’d like to regain the joy of winters past and those yet to fully discover what the season offers. It’s our way of encouraging you to get out and enjoy the glories of a great Canadian Winter.

PART 2: SAFETY

In Part 2 of this series, we went over the mental and physical benefits of getting outside in winter. But, of course, our coldest season brings some hazards beyond the usual sniffles or minor frostbite.

However, that's no excuse to avoid winter altogether. Here are some common-sense tips for balancing safety with the joys of outdoor winter activity.

Don't Let Jack Frost Bite You.

Here are some tips from the Mayo Clinic and other leading experts on best practices for keeping fit out in the snow:

• Talking to your doctor before starting any exercise regimen is always a good idea.
• Create a schedule and stick to it. Consistency is essential all year round. However, during the short days of winter, finding the right time for working, sleeping, exercise and eating are vital. Healthy, balanced meals will help keep you energized while the sun's up. That will help you make the most of your exercise, which will help you restore your circadian rhythm. Proper sleep and a consistent sense of time will help you stave off SAD and the physical, mental and behavioural problems that come with it.
• Check the weather – especially if you have heart issues, lung problems or asthma. Remember, the colder it is, the harder it gets on your lungs and respiratory tract. Respiratory symptoms and lung function begin to change at -15 C, according to University of Alberta exercise physiologist and associate kinesiology professor Michael Kennedy. He advises slowing down if you go out on bone-chilling days. Indoor exercise may also be an option.
• Dress in layers. As you exercise, your body will naturally warm up. So instead of taking off a big coat and instantly switching from too hot to too cold, you'll be able to adjust your clothing insulation like you'd change your thermostat at home.
• 
• Choose the right gear for winter running conditions. That includes reflective clothing for those dark morning runs and good shoe traction for icy conditions. In addition, a skiing, snowboarding, or snowmobiling helmet could offer vital protection if you do have a slip.
• Keep hydrated. Drinking water or sports drinks before, during and after a run is a good idea, even if you're not feeling thirsty. Colder weather doesn't eliminate the threat of dehydration through sweating or even breathing.
• Stay properly nourished. Carbohydrates are a great source of the energy you'll need. You can get them quickly from a pre-run banana or glass of orange juice. For longer runs, you'll want to bring along fruit, granola bars or other snacks to keep your strength up and your body warm.
• Run against the wind on your way out. That way, you can get the "wind resistance" benefits of your run while you're fresh. You'll also have the wind behind you on the way back. Not only will it give you a push, but it will also protect you from a chill after you've been sweating.
• Take time to acclimatize yourself. Don't burst out of the door running or immediately jump on those skis or snowshoes. Instead, spend a little time getting used to the cold around you and do a slow warm-up before you take off. This practice will help you build up your metabolic rate gradually and safely.
• Consider making it a walk. Running isn't the only way to cover ground and keep up with your fitness.

Wind Up Your Exercise Wisely

After a good workout in the cold, you might not want to wait to go back inside. Instead, you'll want to resist that urge, according to Associate Professor Kennedy. Rewarming is an exertion unto itself, and you don't want to inflict it suddenly on your chilled airway. Instead, it's best to cool down slowly while gradually reintroducing your body to a warmer environment.

If you've driven to a skiing or snowshoeing area, driving home with the heat off can help your airway slowly regain its surface liquid before going into your home.

Once You're Back Indoors

You can warm up further with a hot beverage and a meal that combines protein and carbs. Options include hot cocoa, chicken noodle soup, a tea latte made with dairy or soy milk, whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and banana, or oatmeal with warm milk, raisins and walnuts.

Eat it within 30 minutes of your re-entry to properly replace your spent fluid and glycogen resources. In addition, the walnuts offer an added refuelling benefit. Along with foods like almonds and lettuce, it can provide the melatonin that helps you get a great night's sleep.

Just remember that doing something out in the snow is not all work and no play. Exercise is great, but just going out and having a blast can do wonders for you as well. So, in Part 4, we conclude with a refresher on winter fun – and how to have it.

Warm Up to Winter Contest

Have you entered our WARM UP TO WINTER CONTEST on our Facebook and Twitter pages yet?

It's that time of year again – and we're giving away some awesome prizes! Enter to win a $3,000 trailer purchase credit plus weekly prizes like trailer rentals, Koenders snowmobile sleds, gas cards, and more! Draws are made at the end of every week until our Grand Prize Draw on February 4th. Enter now – and good luck!

For countless winters, Canadians have instinctively taken to the outdoors. That habit has given us a national sport, long average lifespans, and a reputation for friendliness, hardiness and adaptability.

Most of us went out without the knowledge of studies documenting the good we were doing our minds and bodies. Fresh air, being active, and the natural beauty of our country were reasons enough.

Even if we find ourselves spending less time outside, the door is always open. So here’s some information for those who’d like to regain the joy of winters past and those yet to fully discover what the season offers. It’s our way of encouraging you to get out and enjoy the glories of a great Canadian Winter.

PART 2: BENEFITS

In Part 1 of this series, we discussed the mental and physical costs of staying cooped up all winter. Then we showed how other cold-climate regions get out and make the most of our coldest season. We also mentioned the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or “forest bathing” – seemingly nothing more than an observant walk in the woods. But its proponents argue that their time in nature is much more than a pleasant pastime. Researchers agree with them – pointing to documented benefits. For instance, the aromatic scent of evergreen trees wafting airborne essential oils that can boost your immunity for weeks.

And that’s just the beginning of the mental and physical benefits winter holds for you.

Scientifically Proven

Studies indicate connecting with nature can help lower your body mass index (BMI) and lessen your risk of obesity and related conditions. A Central European study of late spring and winter forest bathing showed blood pressure levels dropped as well.

Findings suggest it may reduce the prevalence of chronic illnesses including diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Studies further show it speeds recovery from other ailments. There’s even research indicating that it bolsters NK (natural killer) cells in their battles with cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

It’s also shown to be as good for your mind as it is for your body – improving your memory, mood, motivation, energy, attention span, focus, creativity and problem-solving. Forest bathing has been attributed the power to enhance spiritual benefits like mindfulness and gratitude.

A Symbiotic Relationship

The relatively new field of Environmental psychology puts much stock in the notion that time in nature helps us resolve internal, interpersonal and societal ills. It holds that human beings are more readily adaptive to natural environments than man-made ones. Other tenets include:

• Natural light quickly helps reduce stress levels, lower blood pressure, and boost our immune system
• Strong connections to the environment make us more aware of it and how we fit into it.
• Humans can always improve the environment they live in.
• We’re active adapters to changes in society and the environment. We can reshape our social identities and affiliations to the physical space we occupy.
• You can read more about our relationship with nature here.

Of course, many like to add a little physical exertion to their enjoyment of nature. That, too, can be an invigorating experience – if it’s done correctly.

Exercising in Winter

Short days and chilly weather can discourage you from going out for that daily jog or brisk walk. But once you get out and do it, you can adjust to the difference and reap a long list of benefits.

Your body will thank you for awakening a metabolism that just wants to sleep in. It will help keep your figure trim even throughout the feasting holidays. Outdoor exercise pumps up your heart health and lowers your blood pressure all year long. But in winter, the cold acts as another form of resistance.

Meanwhile, the sun sends down buckets of vitamin D – even in winter – bolstering your bone strength and immune system. Studies indicate it also aids weight loss and helps protect us from the flu, multiple sclerosis, and heart disease.

You won’t have to tax your heart rate as much as you do in the summer, meaning less sweat and more energy. And who wants to sweat in all that winter clothing? The weight of those layers helps you become stronger and fitter at the same time.

The Heart-Warming Effects of "Chilling"

Piling on those clothes can take a load off your mind. Going out to exercise is an ironic escape; You’re breaking free of a debilitatingly oppressive winter by fleeing into a refreshingly liberating one.

Same winter. Different perspective. Instant change.

This isn’t purely philosophical. Science has proven exercise makes you happier by releasing delightful endorphins. It ends your day with a relaxing sleep, which helps you greet the next day with more energy and enthusiasm and a sharper focus.

The air in natural areas like park trails along rivers is high in negative ions. In this instance, it’s believed that negative is better than positive – especially when it comes to emotions. An Australian study backed this belief – showing runners who ran outdoors reported more mood elevation running outdoors than on an indoor treadmill.

Further research has indicated:

• Vitamin D helps battle anxiety and depression.
• Exercise can improve your response to stress
• Exercise may help your brain produce new cells – boosting performance and clarity

With winter exercise, the “how” is as important as the “why.” Its many benefits come with some sound advice on keeping your time outdoors, safe, productive and enjoyable. That’s in Part 3 of this series.

Warm Up to Winter Contest

Have you entered our WARM UP TO WINTER CONTEST on our Facebook and Twitter pages yet?

It's that time of year again – and we're giving away some awesome prizes! Enter to win a $3,000 trailer purchase credit plus weekly prizes like trailer rentals, Koenders snowmobile sleds, gas cards, and more! Draws are made at the end of every week until our Grand Prize Draw on February 4th. Enter now – and good luck!

For countless winters, Canadians have instinctively taken to the outdoors. That habit has given us a national sport, long average lifespans, and a reputation for friendliness, hardiness and adaptability.

Most of us went out without the knowledge of studies documenting the good we were doing our minds and bodies. Fresh air, being active, and the natural beauty of our country were reasons enough.

Even if we find ourselves spending less time outside, the door is always open. So here’s some information for those who’d like to regain the joy of winters past and those yet to fully discover what the season offers. It’s our way of encouraging you to get out and enjoy the glories of a great Canadian Winter.

PART 1: APPRECIATION

“Like it or not, winter is here,” the saying goes. Unfortunately, too many of us choose “or not, “ and that’s a shame when winter has so much to offer.

As children, we went outside and played in the snow and on the ice. As adults, we largely resent those frozen things as inconveniences or even threats. That outlook causes us to dread winter when it’s coming, endure it while it’s here, and celebrate its departure. Combined with our own physiological response to changing seasons, it’s caused us to suffer all manner of problems.

The Cost of Avoiding an Entire Season

One of the biggest problems – and often the root cause of several others – is seasonal affective disorder (aptly abbreviated as SAD). It can happen in spring and summer but is more common during fall and winter. While it can cause depression at any time, it also drains you of energy and bedevils your moods in the winter.

It can make you feel down all day, diminish your interest in your favourite activities and knock your circadian rhythm (AKA internal sleep clock) completely off-kilter. Sufferers have trouble concentrating, and might feel anything from sluggish and irritated to worthless and hopeless, so it’s something you’ll want to nip in the bud.

Even if you’re just feeling a little groggy and grumpy, you’re still bringing on negative physical effects. You’ll eat more – with a greater craving for carbohydrates. Unless you have a way to burn them off, you’ll gain weight. The extra weight can deepen those negative feelings and throw higher cholesterol levels and blood pressure onto the heap.

Too much sedentary time at home can start to feel like a prison sentence. Which, in an odd way, is a good way to look at it. It will spur you to break out.

Change the Way You Look at Winter.

Admittedly, winter can send some cold winds, pile its snow up deep, and create white-knuckle driving conditions. However, taking winter as a whole season – and only at its worst – is a recipe for anxiety, isolation, depression, and physical illness.

We need to reclaim our childhood wonder for the season. Few things are more beautiful than a winter landscape on a sunny day, and few things are fresher than a breath of winter air. There are plenty of clear days to bundle up and enjoy both. Some days, you won’t even have to bundle up that much.

It’s more a feeling of befriending winter, rather than conquering it. To accomplish that, you need to venture out into its worst elements. If you do, stay warm and don’t venture out too long or too far. Then you can come back in, put your slippers on, and sip your cocoa triumphantly, like an old sea dog who’s rounded the horn.

How Other Countries Warm Up to the Cold

Photo by Robson Hatsukami Morgan (unsplash.com)

Getting outside in winter is nothing new. Cold climate areas around the world have been doing it for centuries. The UN consistently rates Norway as one of the happiest countries on earth. Yet, during their long winter, its citizens see an average of only 6-8 hours of sunlight during the day – and that’s in the south.

The northern Norwegian city of Tromsø, where the polar night lasts for three weeks, hosts an internationally-known half marathon in the darkest part of January. (They also host an outdoor film festival that month.) Its citizens are ski-crazy, walking uphill on skis then schussing down, guided by the light of headlamps. When it’s always dark, this is an anytime thrill. It’s also not unusual for families with small children to have a winter campout on a frozen lake.

Meanwhile, Yakutsk, Russia posts a frigid average winter temperature in the minus 40s. Houses are built on stilts so the amount of heating needed to make them liveable doesn’t melt the permafrost underneath them. Still, the city’s outdoor markets stay open year-round. Wired magazine reported that although the Siberian winter yields some days that can quickly send you scurrying indoors, kids still get out and ice skate.

Commune With Nature.

Photo by Tobias Bjørkli (pexels.com)

Just as Yakutsk isn’t constantly cold, Tromsø isn’t completely pitch black. During certain times of the 15-day night, the sun manages to turn the sky a deep cobalt blue, known as the ‘polar twilight’. Even better, it’s occasionally animated by dancing Northern Lights. When full daylight finally dawns again, it reveals a beautiful city ringed by islands and fjords – a sight that no doubt contributes to the local population’s vigour.

Time in nature’s beauty is another internationally revered commodity. The Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku – “forest bathing” – can be as simple as a walk in the woods or a three-hour guided eco-therapy tour. The point is consciously connecting with what’s around you through a concentrated use of your senses.

If it sounds a little new-agey to you, consider that science confirms several of its benefits. We’ll address those in Part 2 of this series.

Warm Up to Winter Contest

Have you entered our WARM UP TO WINTER CONTEST on our Facebook and Twitter pages yet?

It's that time of year again – and we're giving away some awesome prizes! Enter to win a $3,000 trailer purchase credit plus weekly prizes like trailer rentals, Koenders snowmobile sleds, gas cards, and more! Draws are made at the end of every week until our Grand Prize Draw on February 4th. Enter now – and good luck!