When temperatures dip, it’s natural for our activity levels to take a plunge, too. It’s understandable—going on a long walk or run may not be very appealing when it’s icy or snowing.
Maybe you used to commute to work by bike during the summer, but in the colder months you opt for your car or public transportation.
Still, as you enjoy this cozy season, it’s important to find ways to work around the weather and get some exercise. According to the CDC, a prolonged lack of physical activity may contribute to sleep disorders, mental fatigue, high blood pressure, and other ailments. You can try home workouts, indoor fitness events in your area, or even embrace the surprising benefits of safely exercising outdoors in winter conditions.
Indoor activities to help you stay strong this season
Yoga is a great fitness activity for winter because you can do it just about anywhere, there’s a low barrier to entry, and there are plenty of resources both in person and online to help you motivate yourself.
If you’re at home, you can watch popular YouTube channels like Yoga With Adriene to learn the basics or get a quick routine in. But if you want that authentic, interconnected feeling that yoga classes offer, try a Meetup group like Cathedral Yoga at Saint Mark’s Cathedral, Seattle. This community of nearly 200 members meets weekly in a stunning and historic cathedral, providing classes open to everyone on a pay-what-you-can basis.
If you want to step up the intensity a bit, you can try other equipment-free exercises at home, such as push-ups, planks, sit-ups, and squats. For a relatively low amount of money, you can invest in some light equipment for calisthenic workouts, such as an ab roller, a pull-up bar, and resistance bands. If you’re ready to make a serious commitment to your home workouts, you could purchase a Peloton for top-tier conditioning exercises or a set of dumbbells and an adjustable bench for strength training.
Embrace the cold weather with winter sports
Some people like to meet the cold head-on and stay active during the winter through alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing, ice skating, and other seasonal fitness hobbies.
The only drawback with some of these winter sports is that they can be hard to organize. Fortunately, Meetup has dozens of massive communities dedicated to solving this problem!
Check out groups like Portland Ski & Snowboard, NY Ski & Snowboard Club, or even Hiking, Skiing, Snowboarding, Culture & Eating in Zürich, Switzerland! Each of them has more than 5,000 members, so you’re bound to find some fun events that work with your schedule.
Apart from the undeniable fun of it all, winter workouts have unique benefits on the human body. According to Harvard Health Publishing, exercising outdoors in the cold can improve endurance, burn more fat, and prevent seasonal affective disorder. To ensure your safety, they recommend wearing layers, protecting your extremities, and remembering to use sunscreen—it’s easy to forget that you can still get burned in winter.
Maintain your motivation through group accountability
Giving up is much more difficult when you’ve got friends to join you, challenge you, and support you throughout your fitness journey. Join groups like Central Park NYC Ever Walk or Pasadena Low Impact Walkers Group to meet a social crew that will keep you active. You can also check out online platforms like World Walking that unite you with fellow walkers from around the world and add your progress to the community’s total step count (a staggering 85 million steps so far). Not only is this gamification a fun way to motivate yourself, but it also makes you feel as though your individual exercise is part of a larger purpose.
It may be slow-going before you land on a method that works for you, but the real challenge is sticking with it week after week. Stay accountable to your goals by easily creating your own Meetup group and inviting others to participate in a regular exercise schedule. You’ll see—there’s a reason for the phrase “strength in numbers.”
Last modified on December 18, 2023
