Health

Many use the wintertime as an excuse to retire from their workout regimen and enjoy the season's guilty pleasures—like sweatpants, hoodies and delicious holiday food. These guilty pleasures may be fabulous but they often leave many sluggish. This is especially true when it comes to hitting the slopes. It's important to maintain good health year round but it's even better during the cooler climates to avoid injury from a day skiing or snowboarding. AZFoothills.com spoke with Direct of Athletic Performance at Zone Athletic Performance in Scottsdale, Garrett Shinoskie, to learn how to prepare oneself for winter sports.

If there’s a basic truth about life, it’s that breathing is a good thing. Yet Victor Kunisada, now in his 70s, cannot remember a time when breathing was not a problem.

“I had asthma all my life,” he said. “Then, when I was in my 40s, I was diagnosed with COPD.”

COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, is an umbrella diagnosis that includes a boatload of respiratory and lung problems. “Of course, it didn’t help that I smoked for about 30 years,” Kunisada said.

Respiratory patient Victor Kunisada shows his winning Poker strategy while...