Winter has arrived, and depending on where you live, you might be dealing with snow, ice, chilly temperatures, and the urge to stay cozy indoors. However, for some, winter opens the door to activities that aren’t possible during other seasons. The cold season is here…
If you love staying active but aren’t a fan of the cold, keeping up with your activities can be tricky. You might need to embrace winter sports, engage in outdoor hobbies, adapt summer sports, or find ways to stay active inside.
To figure out the best winter activities for you, think about what you enjoy doing in the summer. If you like hiking, canoeing, or swimming, consider winter sports to keep yourself moving. Activities like snowshoeing, skiing, or ice skating are winter versions of the summer fun you love. These activities not only break the winter monotony but also help you stay active.
Instead of cranking up the heat and hibernating all winter, try out a sport that keeps you engaged with the outdoors and helps you stay active.
Some activities are more strenuous than others, but you don’t always need a full-body workout. Winter-related hobbies offer low-impact exercise and get you out of the house. Making snow angels, building snowmen, and sledding are enjoyable winter hobbies that encourage you to spend time outdoors.
You can also try metal detecting to find lost objects in the snow, which offers low-impact exercise for any age. Ice fishing, bird watching, and photography are other outdoor hobbies where you’ll stay active even if the exercise isn’t intense.
A summer enthusiast who loves hiking or walking the dog might not be satisfied with just making snow angels or bird watching, but these options can help you stay moving outside.
Cold weather doesn’t mean you have to give up on your favorite summer activities. You might need to modify them. Camping, jogging, bike riding, and rock climbing can be adapted for the winter months. Even surfing is possible with wetsuits designed for winter conditions.
Staying active outdoors doesn’t have to stop because of the cold. Many activities can be adjusted for winter weather. For instance, snowshoeing to a winter campsite, jogging in warmer clothes, using wider bike tires, or finding a different rock climbing location are ways to enjoy summer sports in colder weather.
If braving the freezing outdoors isn’t for you, staying indoors is always an option. You can still work out without stepping outside. Joining a gym, investing in a home workout machine, doing a Wii workout, or focusing on at-home exercises are all good options. While outdoor winter activities are fun, they might not be ideal for daily workouts.
For those who prefer to exercise indoors rather than bundling up to snowshoe, setting up a routine with crunches, push-ups, and lunges around the living room or doing at-home yoga can keep you active while staying warm.
The key is to keep moving during these challenging months. If you don’t want to follow a gym routine, it’s easy to fall into a less active lifestyle. With options like winter sports, outdoor hobbies, modifying summer activities, and indoor workouts, staying active during winter is possible. Just getting out and doing something can be a better alternative to binge-watching shows under a blanket at home.