10 Tips for Staying Active in Winter Weather
Please welcome blogger Selena Baity from The Freckled Fit Girl to the SPIbelt blog! She’s guest posting today with 10 tips on sweating it out in the colder months.
If I controlled the weather it would be 85° and sunny year round, but I don’t, and inevitably fall and winter still rear their ugly heads every year (no offense if you’re a fan). Once the days get shorter and daylight escapes us, I tend to get the winter blues and want to hibernate. So what do we do to stay active when all we want to do is wear our jammies and snuggle on the couch with our 4 legged friends?
Here are my top tips for staying active during the winter months.
- Soon it will be dark early and getting motivated to get dressed and leave for the gym will be hard. I’m a big advocate of at home workouts. Why not stay home and get your sweat on. There are a ton of at home workouts that will get your heart rate pumping, the sweat dripping and you can do them all in your PJ’s if you want.
- If you prefer the gym, sign up for a class you been wanting to try, but were too busy during the summer months. Who knows, you may find you really enjoy it and incorporate it into your regular fitness routine.
- If you’re a runner, use this time to stretch and get your muscles and body back in tip top shape. Yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates or my favorite, PiYo a combo of Pilates and Yoga.
- If you’re like me and are still training for races in winter, bundle up and get outside. If you’re not a fan of running after the sun sets for safety reasons, contact your local running or sports store and join a running group so you’re not alone or hit the treadmill.
- There are, of course, all the winter sports that so many wait all year for: skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice skating. If you have the luxury of living an hour or two from the mountains, plan a day trip, take the kids sledding and build a snowman.
- We Spring clean, why not Winter clean and clean out those closets and garages. One hour of household chores burns 200 calories.
- Bundle up, call a friend and go for a walk or take the pooch and kids. Walking is great cardio and good for any fitness level.
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Go for a Hike. There is nothing more refreshing than an early morning hike. Seeing the dew on the fields, maybe a little fog, deer grazing, it’s really awe inspiring all the beauty we have around us if we just slow down to enjoy it.
- Go to the beach. Obviously not to soak up the sun, but you’d be surprised how nice the weather can be sometimes in winter and even if it’s foggy, you’re still getting fresh air, exercise and it’s really rather beautiful when it’s foggy.
- My last tip, take this time to set goals for yourself. I’m a believer in always having goals. Set small ones and large ones. The smaller ones you can work on meeting during the winter months and larger ones can take you into Spring and Summer. Challenge yourself to lose a few pounds, run a mile without stopping, run a 5K, whatever it is, write them down and start checking them off.
