Now that we’re in the midst of winter, it gets harder and harder to keep up a healthy lifestyle. On top of the fact that the holidays bring a wide variety of goodies that are great for our taste buds and horrible for our health, it also gets more difficult to stay active, on a day-to-day basis, because exercising out in the freezing cold is nobody’s idea of fun. However, there are plenty of workout routines that you can engage in when it is cold and snowing outside, so that you can keep up your exercise until the sun comes out and it’s worth it to take a morning run, again! Here are some indoor workouts to do during the winter…
Weight training
One classic way to exercise indoors is to start doing weight training. If you’ve ever wanted to start any type of strength training regimen, then getting a set of weights and using them a few times a week is a great way to keep in shape throughout the winter months. If you need any help learning what reps to do and knowing what target numbers you should be hitting (or what your diet should look like for strength training), then you get help from an online trainer, or use one of the countless online tools that help determine
Dancing
Exercise doesn’t have to be all business; it can also be quite fun, if you are doing something that you’d love to be doing, anyways! Most types of dancing actually burn quite a few calories when you are doing it. Aerobic dancing, which is heavy on movement, is able to burn almost 450 calories per hour. Not only can you do this in the comfort of your own home, but if you go out to dance on the weekends, that can totally count as your workout for the day.
Use a rowing machine
Rowing machines have become increasingly popular in recent years. This is because they are able to give you a full-body workout that is both a cardio and strength exercise. There’s very few other types of exercise that are as complete as rowing. You can purchase a wide variety of different rowing machines that range in price, but they’ll all help you accomplish a fulfilling workout in the winter months. On top of that, rowing is a low impact exercise, which means that it doesn’t put wear-and-tear on your joints to do every day. Here are some other
Set up a boxing bag
You’d be surprised to learn how many calories you can burn by boxing. Simply setting up a boxing bag and attacking it for 12 3-minute increments, with 1 minute off in between those increments, can burn nearly 700 calories. That means you could burn almost 700 calories in an hour, while building upper body strength and increasing your lung capacity. If you want to set up a bag in your garage or basement to do some boxing workouts at home in the winter, just remember that you need to continuously move your fight while you punch the bag, just like a real boxer.
Pushups, sit-ups, etc.
If you need some simple exercises that are easy to do for just a couple minutes throughout the day, then simply set a few timers to remind yourself to do basic resistance workouts that you only need yourself and the floor/wall. This can mean doing 10 pushups periodically in the morning or evening, using your desk to do sit-ups, or just taking a minute to do a wall-sit. These little exercises add up to a lot more activity throughout the day, and keep you active without having an intense workout routine to stick to.
Yoga
If you want a workout that can be very intense or incredibly relaxing, depending on what you prefer, then yoga is an excellent option. Yoga is a great workout that keeps your body feeling limber, fresh, and healthy, while also relaxing your mind. Yoga is also another low-impact workout that isn’t going to have a negative effect on your joints. The low-intensity of certain yoga routines also makes it a great option for people who are just starting to build an exercise routine.
