During these cold winter months it can be hard to get moving and exercise. Those of us who are cold wimps (me!!!) abandon our outdoor exercise routines and can struggle to find a cold weather exercise routine that we can stick with. While you are waiting for spring, here are 5 tips for cold weather exercise to get you moving again.
5 Tips for Cold Weather Exercise
1) Bundle Up
Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you have to totally abandon your outdoor exercise routines. Dress in layers appropriate for the temperature and go running anyway! While running in cold weather can initially cause a burning sensation in your lungs or throat, covering your face with a scarf or face mask can help raise the humidity in the air as you breathe and relieve that burning feeling faster. One advantage to running in the cold is that cold air is denser and has more oxygen that warm air. (You should of course be wise and not push yourself to run in the cold if you have cold trigged asthma)
2) Join a Gym
The gyms tends to be packed the first half of January, but by February they are much less crowded and often still offering discounts. You can take your exercise routine inside with treadmills, classes, swimming, indoor tracks, and more. Just make sure that if you join a gym you actually go! Having a workout buddy can help with accountability.
3) Go Online
The are tons of workout videos and programs online that are tailored to working out in your living room. This youtube channel has a great series of free yoga classes. All you’ll need is a good yoga mat. Another great option if you want something more personalized is a new program from Fitbit called FitStar, it gives you workouts and coaching tailored to you for $8 a month (you can access some of the workouts and features for free).
4) Use your House
You don’t need a stair master when you have a flight of steps! Use the features of your home to get your exercise in. Run steps, walk circles, you can even put a pull-up bar in a doorway. And while you’re running those stairs you might as well carry that laundry up with you 😉
5) Wait till Spring
This is an option and one that many choose to take. There’s nothing wrong with using the winter season to rest and work on building health in other areas of life. Just be sure to stay as active as possible. If you don’t use it your lose it. So find some way to stay active and stretch on a regular basis so you don’t lose the flexibility and cardio vascular strength you’ve built. The FitBit app is a great way to track your activity. And once it warms up get back to your exercise routine.