How To Stay Active In the Winter

When cold weather arrives, don’t automatically go into hibernation mode. Learn how to stay active in the wintertime (and throughout the year). 

As daylight hours shorten and outdoor temperatures plummet, you may be tempted to abandon your daily workout and snuggle up with a toasty blanket. When you are hankering to hibernate this winter, take advantage of several tips for staying active and fit throughout the cold-weather season. 

Engage in recreational sports.

If you enjoy the camaraderie that comes with recreational sports, winter provides abundant opportunities. Many city parks, recreational programs, and community gyms offer pickup basketball games or sponsor indoor badminton, volleyball, or pickleball leagues. Playing recreational sports throughout the winter helps guarantee regular workouts, and you might expand your social circle (and possibly your professional contacts) by making new friends and acquaintances.

Make your workouts virtual.

When you subscribe to television and movie streaming apps, you have immediate access to a variety of virtual workouts you can do privately from the comfort of your own living room. Browse the libraries of these and more streaming services, and you’ll find a plethora of virtual exercise classes in formats ranging from 10 to 30 minutes that are made for viewers with varying fitness levels, including: 

• Barre classes 
• Body toning sessions 
• Back and core training 
• Full-body workouts 
• High-intensity interval training (HIIT) 
• Low-impact workouts 
• Strength training sessions 
• Pilates workouts 
• Yoga classes 

Utilize physical fitness apps.

Whether you’re attempting to maintain your current fitness levels or meet new exercise objectives, physical fitness apps for smartphones and additional mobile devices can provide numerous benefits during the cold-weather months. Because you can download many of these apps for free, you may only need to purchase a nonslip exercise mat and don comfortable clothing to get started. Choose from hundreds of apps featuring dance workouts, strength training, toning and sculpting, and more. In addition to supplying workouts, physical fitness apps can help you set reasonable exercise goals and track your progress through programmable inputs and reminders.

Walk your way to fitness indoors.

If you enjoy walking to maintain fitness, you don’t have to stop in the wintertime. Consider these creative indoor strategies: 

• Map out a walking route through your home or apartment and keep pace with your favorite upbeat playlist. 
• Put on a comfortable pair of walking shoes, invite a friend, and walk through your local mall (many open their common walkways extra early in the morning, especially for this purpose). 
• Consume a quick meal and spend the remainder of lunchtime walking the hallways and stairwells of your workplace.  

Join a community health club

A community health club presents multiple possibilities for maintaining fitness levels year-round, and some even provide special memberships or breaks on joiner fees in the wintertime. Water aficionados can enroll in swimming lessons, engage in lap swimming, join a water polo league, take a water aerobics course, or frolic in the pool with the family.  

Additional fitness opportunities an indoor facility might provide include: 

• Pilates, tai chi, yoga, or martial arts classes 
• Kickboxing or Zumba sessions 
• Fitness boot camps 
• Indoor rock wall climbing 
• Access to strength training equipment and free weights 
• Use of exercise equipment like rowing machines, ellipticals, and spinning bikes 
• An indoor track for running or walking 
• Options for personal training, fitness expertise, and nutritional advice 

Stay toasty, strong, fit, and flexible with hot yoga.

Consider taking a hot yoga class to maintain muscle and stay fit and flexible throughout the winter. Hot yoga offers a variety of advantages for your mind and body, which can include: 

• Better balance and muscle strength 
• Enhanced flexibility of joints and muscles 
• Reduction of joint and muscle aches and pains 
• Improved optimism in depressed individuals 
• Decreased stress and anxiety 
• Greater control over body weight 

Remember to get your doctor’s approval before you participate in a hot yoga class, particularly if you’re pregnant or have a preexisting health condition.

Embrace the weather and pursue outdoor pastimes.

A variety of outdoor pursuits contribute to wintertime enjoyment, but make sure you outlast the elements with the proper clothing and by dressing in layers. To stay warm and dry, purchase winter apparel made from waterproof fabrics with synthetic insulation, and keep hand and foot warmers available in extra-chilly temperatures. To stay visible in periods of low light or in snowy and blustery conditions, select outerwear and headgear with reflective accents.  

Consider these ways to exercise outdoors in the wintertime: 

• Take part in sledding or ice skating. 
• Gather a group of friends for a hockey or broomball game. 
• Enjoy downhill skiing, cross-country skiing, or snowboarding. 
• Wander through the mountains or forest on snowshoes. 
• Forego a snowblower and shovel your driveway and sidewalks. 
• Find a plowed road or pathway and go for a cold-weather run. 

Benefits of exercising outdoors in the winter

Although you’ll endure chillier temperatures, exercising outdoors in the winter offers some unique benefits, which can include: 

• Increased energy levels due to invigorating, cooler air 
• The potential for a more efficient workout and greater calorie burn than in high-temperature weather 
• A possibility for vitamin D absorption on sunny days and diminished symptoms of seasonal affective disorder (SAD) 

Please note: The information contained herein is for informational purposes only and does not contain or constitute medical advice or a medical opinion. Always consult with your qualified and licensed medical professional prior to beginning or modifying any diet or exercise program.