Baby it's cold outside! Living in Seattle we have pretty timid weather. It doesn't usually get unbearably cold here - but it gets really grey, dark and rainy, and that can be depressing - depressing is NOT motivating. Over New Years I was visiting family in Logan Utah. I decided to get up one morning and go for a run.... that's when it hit me what a lot of you suffer through in the winter time. This picture is what my weather app was telling me was going on outside. Um.... 1 degree? That's not going to happen. My lungs would be frozen before I hit the first marker. So I had to get creative and workout in the basement. The kids joined in, we had a great workout, and had a lot of fun. Don't let your workouts suffer in the winter. Here are 5 great ways to keep yourself active and in shape when the weather is less than desirable.
1. MALL WALKING. You laugh, but the hubby and I have done this several times. Grab some friends and start doing laps in the mall. It's inside so you stay warm and dry, it's safe because it's well lit on those short days when running in the dark is your only option and it's super social. Just make sure you save the shopping until you log in your miles and stay away from the food court.
2. TRY INDOOR SPORTS. One of my favorite activities in the winter time is racquetball. I don't play it when the weather is nice because I want to be outside, but in the winter I am down at the community center often, smacking that ball around. The community center offers a lot of indoor sports that you don't need a membership for, just pay as you go bases: racquetball, drop in basketball and volleyball, and wallyball (indoor volleyball played in a racquetball court) are some of our favorites.
3. HIT THE JANE FONDA. There are so many exercise videos out there that I wouldn't even know where to begin. You can old school it with the likes of Jane Fonda and Richard Simmons, or go hard core with a new program like P90X and Insanity. There are also A TON of workouts just on YouTube that you can stream right to your TV. Turn the living room into an exercise class and sweat it up with an exercise video.
4. GET OUT WITH WINTER SPORTS. Being inside got you down and your getting cabin fever? Then hit the outdoors with the plethora of winter sports available. Skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and ice skating will all get your heart rate up and break a sweat. Even bundling up and taking a beautiful winter walk will do the brain and heart some good. You won't even notice that's it's freezing outside.
5. TRY SOMETHING NEW - TAKE A CLASS. There are a lot of fun classes that you can take to keep yourself active while learning a new skill. Dancing, hot yoga, and even pole dancing can really tax the muscles and keep you moving. A lot of times Groupon will have great deals this time a year on indoor classes like these, so keep your eyes out.
Winter time is hard to stay active and motivated. Use it as a time to just maintain and stay moving, don't worry too much about progress. As long as you are working hard enough to keep the fitness level you have, you can build and reach new goals when the weather starts turning around.
