When winter hits, the days get colder and shorter. Stay motivated with winter routines at home to keep you fit and healthy. While we get how tempting it is to wait until spring, it’s incredibly important to keep your momentum going. Exercising all-year-round keeps you in shape, plus you don’t have to catch up when the weather turns warmer. Not to mention that being active fends off sickness and colds, burns off holiday gatherings, and keeps you energetic and happy when the sun’s warm rays are absent.
Studies show that taking a break can impact your health by:
- Decreasing your cardiopulmonary fitness in just three to eight weeks of being sedentary
- Losing all the improvements and momentum you’ve built throughout the year
- Making it easier to be a couch potato
- Making it more difficult to lose the hibernation weight that winter brings
As we know, an object in motion stays in motion, and it is tremendously more challenging to get back into step than it is to remain active. Lots of studies prove that routine exercise improves your mood, controls your weight, counteracts stress, improves your sleep, and lowers your risk of depression.
It doesn’t matter what you choose to enjoy for winter routines at home. There are plenty of ways to have a healthy and happy cold-weather season.
We have several fun suggestions if you’re short on ideas for a fitness routine that allows you to enjoy beautiful results regardless of how icy and chilly it is outside. For those considering COVID-19 protocols in their city, indoor classes and gyms may not be the best option. This is completely understandable. There’s plenty you can still do!
Winter Routines at Home Anyone Can Try for Free
Yoga
Yoga is a therapeutic and restorative way to keep your body in shape at any time and can be done in a yoga studio or your living room. Yoga can help you manage chronic joint care, depression, respiratory issues, and much more.
All you need to do is stream videos on YouTube or other apps. There are many ways to take a yoga class without paying anything.
Also, you can maximize your workout by incorporating resistance bands and dumbbells.
Take a Lap
If you don’t have your own pool, there are many community centers that offer a great way to get your body moving before summer comes around. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that low-impact workouts improve your overall well-being and reduce your risk for chronic illnesses. Water has a natural buoyancy that can help people with sore joints or who have difficulty moving exercise longer than they would have.
Workout Your Legs With Ice Skating
Interested in an exciting way to burn major calories? The University of Rochester Medical Center reveals that ice skating can allow you to burn 500 calories per hour! Not only is this a high-intensity workout fun, but it also tones your glutes, core, and legs, along with stabilizing muscles that help you stay coordinated and balanced.
Fly High With Aerial Yoga
Aerial yoga is a full-body experience that reaps the benefits of a yoga session with the added advantage of blood flow to your muscles, joints, and more. Plus, you elevate your heart over your head, which isn’t a natural occurrence. You also open up your chest, stretch further, deepen your poses, and gain more flexibility. If you suffer from chronic pain, especially in your back, neck, and shoulders, you can find relief while strengthening your body.
Just because it’s chilly out doesn’t mean you have to press pause on your fitness routine. There are many valid options that you can explore to find the perfect exercise routine.
For more winter workout ideas, read on!
