Warm Up to Winter Workouts

While the weather outside may not inspire you to pull on your workout gear and go for a run, there’s no reason not to continue a fitness regimen throughout the coldest and darkest months of the year. In fact, the exercise you do in winter provides the foundation for your spring and summer training by working alternate group muscles, learning new skills and gaining strength. Unfortunately, over 30% of people stop exercising over winter, a time when the cold helps increase the body’s metabolism and burn more calories. While a short rest period can re-energize the body, over resting the body has a negative effect and ultimately makes it harder to restart your fitness regimen.
   
One solution is to take your workout indoors to a gym, which provides excellent opportunities for improving strength, and learning new skills through personal training, fitness and dance classes and indoor swimming, all of activities like running and cycling. You might also investigate a fitness challenge, like a marathon or 5K walk, for the upcoming spring or summer to help direct your workout.
   
Another plan is to embrace winter and enjoy the diverse sports that provide intense, challenging and calorie burning fitness fun. Here are some ideas to get you started:

Snow Hiking:

Take a walk in deep snow and give your heart and legs a great workout. Make sure to wear insulated boots to keep your feet warm and dry.

Cross-Country Skiing:

This aerobic exercise can be done just about anywhere: a field, a park or a specific course. It gives you a full body workout with special emphasis on the biceps, glutes, hamstrings and triceps.

Snowshoeing:

Snowshoeing, a hybrid of cross-country skiing and running, is becoming one of the most popular winter sports with high tech gear that is low impact on the joints. As you progress in intensity, you will improve your overall stamina and leg muscle tone, making it an excellent winter conditioning sport for runners.

Snowboarding:

Snowboarding, once associated with young kids, is popular today among people of all ages and is a less expensive option than downhill skiing. It provides an overall body workout with emphasis on the glutes, abs and arms.

Downhill Skiing:

Still the most popular winter sport, downhill skiing requires strength, coordination and flexibility and provides a high intensity experience. Expect to be sore the next day because you will work every muscle in your body.

A few tips for winter sports:

• Wear sunscreen and sunglasses, especially in snowy conditions
• Start warming up inside about ½ hour before you exercise
• Make sure you stretch before and after your workout
• Wear a few thin layers of breathable fabrics, preferably made for winter sports
• Change out of workout clothes as soon as possible into dry clothes
• Pay attention to signs of frostbite – numbness, loss of feeling, stinging – and warm area up slowly
• Cover your mouth and nose to help humidify and warm air
• Move your early morning workouts to the sunnier afternoon

With these winter workout ideas you can stay fit and healthy while having fun during the cold months.