Finding motivation when it is dark and cold during the winter months can be a challenge. The benefits of moving our bodies most days of the week go far beyond burning calories.
Getting in daily exercise can help beat Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD is defined as “depression associated with late autumn and winter and thought to be caused by a lack of light.”
Daily exercise will also help warm you up, energize you and help you make healthy decisions throughout the day. The problem is finding exercise that you look forward to when you are a person who does not enjoy the cold.
Here are some great ways to exercise in the winter.
YouTube Videos
Any of Leslie Sansone’s
walking workouts are great!
If strength training is more your speed try
this,
this, or
this.
Or you can search specifically what you are looking for. Try searching for things like Zumba, Yoga, pilates, or upper body strength workout.
Snowshoeing
If you have snow shoes and want to know where to go, check out the trail website
here.
If you need to rent snowshoes, check out
Beaver Creek Reserve.
Ice Fishing
You can even make ice fishing a decent amount of workout. Instead of driving out to a spot, try putting your equipment on a sled and walking a mile to your site, then when you are done, you can pack up and walk back. 1 mile is approximately 15 minutes of exercise. 30 minutes is the minimum recommendation 5 days per week, so walking one mile to and from an ice fishing spot will get you to that goal!
Take the Family Sledding or Ice Skating
Aim to get outdoors with the family and go sledding or ice skating for at least 30 minutes if it’s not too cold for the little ones. This will get you a good amount of activity and you won't even realize it. Try to go up and down the hill enough that you can feel your heart rate rising and staying up for at least 10 minutes at a time. Same concept with ice skating-try to get your heart rate up for at least 10 minutes at a time.
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to stay active throughout the winter months. It may be that you must get a little creative with it, but your body and mind will thank you later!