If there’s one thing we understand it’s the slump of the winter months. Cold weather and grey skies tend to dull energy levels and make any outdoor activities feel impossible. Not only is it great for your mental health to stay active and get regular exercise, but we need to keep our immune system up in the colder months. Getting out and doing things is a great way to get regular physical activity in the winter season and accomplish fitness goals. Winter weather is often dreary but we have a few ways we like to stay active during this time of year. We hope these tips and tricks help boost your mood and assist in establishing a workout routine on these shorter days.
At Home Work Outs
Firstly, my favorite way to get my heart rate up is with at home workouts. We have a whole fitness post linked here full of studios that have online classes. My personal go-to at the moment is Isaac Boots’ workouts. The daylight hours are very short and physical health is something I have always felt was incredibly important. Finding those at home routines that work for you are a great goal to have. These should be classes and routines that you look forward to, rather than dread. So this might mean that you try out a couple classes at a different fitness level to find the one you love. Even 30 minutes a day can really help!
Classes with Friends
Secondly, one way we like to stay on top of being active is by going to classes with friends. This will not only hold you accountable but it’s like you’re hanging with your besties. No one can cancel, we all make commitments and we hold one another accountable. A fitness class is more fun with your friends anyway! Afterwards, we usually get coffee or lunch so we make a couple hours out of it and have found it to be a fun way to kick seasonal affective disorder and keep active. The social connection with the bad weather is really helpful, too! It’s always a great day when we see our friends.
Habit Stacking
There is a lifestyle trend called habit stacking. It’s essentially where you have a list of things you need to do and they are accompanied by rewards. For instance, if you need to get up, make your bed and put the dishes away but you really want to go on your phone set a timer and get those chore done so you can use the remaining time on the timer to scroll on your phone. This can also work with staying active. If you really want to go shopping or sit and watch tv, maybe challenge yourself to something active beforehand. You get your steps in and it’s great for your mental health.
Outdoor Winter Activities
Outdoor winter activities are a fantastic way to get an exercise routine in! Things like cross-country skiing if you live in a ski town, ice skating, sledding or snowboarding are forms of physical fitness but they keep you active outdoors. Kick those winter blues in fun way! We don’t get snow all year, in fact we don’t get it that often anymore so we should take advantage of it while we still can.
Daily Goals
Finally, one small way to stay active in the winter is to set daily goals. These are things that you feel as though you need to accomplish each day. If your goal is to hit 5k steps a day, maybe walk the kids to an activity or school or try doing half on the treadmill and the rest chores around the house. There’s no right or wrong way to stay active and combining physical activity with household tasks it a double win. Staying active improves sleep quality, heart health and creates overall healthy habits.
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