2 . There is a mountain of great ski opportunities not too far from Boston. Road-trip to one of these fantastic ski mountains this winter.

Blue Hills Ski Area

A ski day trip doesn’t get any easier than the Blue Hills Ski Area. It is the only snow sports facility in the metro area. Skiing and snowboarding are spread over its 60 skiable acres, 90% of which are equipped for snowmaking. The vertical drop is 309 feet and there are four lifts serving the 16 trails, most of which are for advanced skiers. There are lessons for kids and adults to help you get there.

Crochet Mountain Resort

It’s famous for signature “Midnight Madness” events and daily night skiing. It has an 875-foot vertical drop and 23 trails across 75 skiable acres. A great mountain for skiers, half its terrain is graded for intermediates with the rest being split between advanced and beginner terrain.

Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort

It’s the only one of ski resorts to be 100% powered by renewable energy sources. Skiers will find a 1,150-foot vertical drop, 45 trails, 3 terrain parks and 9 lifts across 167 skiable acres. The whole family can take lessons, enjoy dining or buy a ticket and go for a ride on the 3,600-foot Mountain Coaster!

Smugglers’ Notch

Smugglers’ Notch has a 2,564-foot vertical drop, 78 trails, 5 terrain parks and 8 lifts spread across 1,000 skiable acres. Known as a full-service family-oriented resort, it offers plenty to do off mountain like ice skating, arts and crafts workshops and an indoor swimming pool!

3 . Overcoming barriers to exercising

If you’re having trouble beginning an exercise plan or following through, you’re not alone. Detailed exercise instructions and workout plans are just a click awav. But knowing how and why to exercise was far from enough. Making exercise a habit takes more.     1    

While practical concerns like a busy schedule or poor health can make exercise more challenging, for most of us, the biggest barriers are mental. Maybe it’s a lack of self-confidence that keeps you from taking positive steps.     2     . We’ve all been there at some point. There are steps you can take to make exercise-more fun and active.

You don’t have to spend hours in a gym or force yourself into dull or painful activities to experience the physical and mental benefits of exercise.     3     In fact, adding just modest amounts of physical activity to your weekly routine can have a profound effect on your mental and emotional health.

Research shows that self-sympathy increases the likelihood that you’ll succeed in any attempt. So, don’t blame yourself too much for your current fitness level.     4     Instead, look at your past mistakes as opportunities to learn and grow.

    5     Try not to be discouraged by what you can’t accomplish or how far you have to go to reach your fitness goals. Instead, focus on consistency. While the improvements in mood and energy levels may happen quickly, the physical payoff will come in time.

4 . Physical exercise can play an important role in mental well-being and can even relieve symptoms of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. While the physical health benefits of exercise are frequently discussed, the link between exercise and mental health is often overlooked.     1    

Physical activity distracts you from negative thoughts and emotions.     2     Exercise can also be used to enhance well-being in people who already feel mentally healthy. Increased physical activity has also been found to promote quality sleep.

    3     Exercise can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy state. You may feel a significant boost in your mood as your clothes look more beautiful on you and you seem to look more elegant.

Exercise can be a good source of social support. The benefits of social support are well-documented.     4     So whether you join an exercise class or you play softball in a league, exercising with others can give you a double dose of stress relief.

Have you ever noticed how your body feels when you are under stress? Your muscles may be tense, especially in your face, neck and shoulders, leaving you with back or neck pain, or painful headaches.     5     Exercising is an effective way to break this cycle.

If you are just starting out with an exercise program, it’s important to consult with your doctor to determine the best form of exercise for your physical condition.

5 . It’s really a challenge for people to find consistent motivation to exercise regularly. Wishing not to hit gyms, you can invent tons of excuses. However, out of most people’s expectation, a certain amount of physical exercise every week can stop your IQ from declining.

IQ, to a large degree, is determined by genes. It has long been established that genes account for about 70 percent of IQ. And environmental factors, like diet, quality of education and brain stimulation, affect the other 30 percent.

IQ can be put into two types — “fluid” and “crystallized” intelligence. The former refers to the ability to reason and think flexibly, while the latter refers to the build-up of knowledge, facts, and skills that are acquired throughout life. The two have a dynamic relationship: fluid IQ decides how much information you can take in and how fast you can take it in, which means a higher fluid IQ contributes to your crystallized IQ. They keep growing until your early twenties, when they both reach the peak. Unfortunately, this will not keep the same for the rest of your life. Fluid intelligence declines rapidly with age.

What causes this decline? It all comes down to your cardiovascular (心血管的) system. It calls for a large amount of oxygen for the brain to function well. The less exercise you have as you get old, the less oxygen your heart provides to supply your brain. Exercise also promotes the release of certain chemicals that are critical to the brain’s health, bringing about better concentration and memory.

Taking proper physical exercise can help to prevent IQ from declining as you get older. Why not choose to hit the gym for the sake of IQ intelligence?

7 . Pickleball, which combines elements of badminton, Ping-Pang, and tennis, has two characteristics that make it a good choice for older adults. It’s slower than other racket (球拍) sports, and it’s easier to learn.

With a play area about a quarter the size of a tennis court and a plastic ball that doesn’t bounce as high or as fast as a tennis ball, you don’t have to run as much or as quickly. The bats are lighter and shorter than tennis rackets, making them easier to swing and control. There are fewer rules than tennis.

Plus, pickleball is more social than many types of exercise and it’s fun. In one study, participants rated pickleball 150 percent higher for enjoyment than walking. “People are finding it’s not boring,” says Cedric Bryant, PhD, chief science officer at the American Council on Exercise, who has played pickleball for more than 20 years. “It’s not something they’re doing just because they should, but because they enjoy it and want to do it.”

Pickleball is an effective workout, and like walking, you can adjust the intensity to your preferences. A friendly doubles match can qualify as proper exercise. A competitive singles match is likely to be tighter.

And pickleball offers plenty of health pluses. After six weeks of playing an hour of pickleball three times a week, older adults improved their cardiorespiratory (心肺的) fitness and blood pressure, according to a study published in 2018 in the International Journal of Research in Exercise Physiology. Another study found that the activity may keep you mentally sharp. “You’re making a lot of quick decisions while engaged in a physical task,” says study author David Bolton, PhD, assistant professor at Utah State University in Logan. “It is effectively training cognitive (认知的) ability.”

But it is not without risks of getting injured. Don’t just hit the court and go right into having a game. A warm-up is the best defense against injury, so take at least 5 minutes to prepare your body.

9 . I can’t leave my house because there’s 45 cm of snow on the ground, I’ve had some time to think about my running goals for the coming year. Setting running goals is a great way to stay motivated to run, and the start of a new year is the perfect time to think about what you want to achieve. Here are some tips for setting reasonable goals:

Choose practical goals. Never set a goal that you can’t achieve. For example, you’re not going to cover 5 km in 25 minutes with your best personal record being 35 minutes. Your chances of achieving your goals will be much better if they’re practical.

Don’t take on too much. If you have too many goals, you’ll burn yourself out and may not achieve any of them, leaving you feeling disappointed and unsuccessful. Instead, just focus on a few key goals and the steps you need to take to reach them.

Set small, easy goals. If you have a great goal, make sure that you have small, easy goals along the way, so that they can help you make progress and prevent you from getting frustrated. If your goal is to complete a 10K, first try to run a 3K or 5K, and then 8K every time. An added advantage of setting these small, easy goals is that even if you don’t meet your final goal at last, you’ll still achieve other success along the way.

Pick some fun goals, too. Not all your running goals have to be performance-related. Come up with some creative goals, such as running a race on a holiday, running a race for charity, reading a book about running, and making some new friends while running. Non-performance related goals can keep you from feeling unsuccessful even if you give up some of your other goals.