Winter has arrived, and depending on where you live, you might be dealing with snow, ice, freezing temperatures, and a strong desire to stay inside under a warm blanket. But for some, winter brings a whole new set of activities that can’t be enjoyed any other time of the year. Either way, winter is upon us.
For those who love staying active but aren’t fans of the cold, it can be challenging to keep moving at this time of year. If snow isn’t your thing but you still want to stay active, you might need to try winter sports, engage in outdoor hobbies, modify your summer activities, or find ways to be active indoors.
The best way to figure out what to do in winter is to think about what you enjoy doing in the summer. If you love hiking, canoeing, or swimming, you might find winter sports like snowshoeing, skiing, or ice skating appealing. These activities not only keep you active but also help break the monotony of winter.
Rather than cranking up the heat and staying inside all winter, consider trying a new sport to keep yourself interested in the outdoors and staying active with something enjoyable.
Some activities are more intense than others, but you don’t necessarily need a full-body workout to stay active. Winter-related outdoor hobbies can provide low-impact exercise and get you out of the house. Making snow angels, building snowmen, and sledding are fun, relatively active winter hobbies. You can also try metal detecting, which offers low-impact exercise for people of any age.
Ice fishing, bird watching, and photography are other outdoor hobbies that require you to spend time outside and keep moving, even if the exercise isn’t intense. If you’re someone who usually spends an hour a day hiking or walking your dog, activities like making a snow angel or bird watching might not be fulfilling, but they’re still good options to get outside and stay active.
Just because it’s cold doesn’t mean you can’t keep doing the summer activities you love—you might just need to tweak them a bit. Camping, jogging, bike riding, and rock climbing are all traditionally summer activities that can be adapted for winter. Even surfing is possible with wetsuits designed for cold weather.
Staying active outdoors doesn’t have to stop because it’s cold; many activities can be adjusted for winter. For example, you could snowshoe to a winter camping spot, jog in warmer clothes, use wider bike tires, or find a different rock climbing location to enjoy your beloved summer sports.
For some people, braving the cold isn’t an option. If the freezing outdoors isn’t for you, staying inside doesn’t mean you can’t work out. You can join a gym, buy a home workout machine, do Wii workouts, or focus on easy at-home exercises. While outdoor winter activities are fun, they might not always fit easily into a daily workout routine.
Instead of bundling up to snowshoe, some people choose to stay active indoors. You can do a set of crunches, pushups, and lunges around the living room, or practice at-home yoga to stay active and warm.
The key is to keep moving during these cold months, which can be the hardest time to stay active. For those who prefer activities over a gym routine, it’s easy to lose motivation. With options like winter sports, outdoor hobbies, modified summer activities, and indoor workouts, staying active during the winter is possible, even if it’s just getting out and doing something rather than binge-watching Netflix under a blanket.