Winter is upon us, and depending on where you live, you might be dealing with snow, ice, freezing temperatures, and a strong desire to stay wrapped in a cozy blanket indoors. However, for some, winter brings a host of activities that aren’t available during other times of the year.
If you love being active but aren’t a fan of the cold, staying active during winter can be challenging. If snow doesn’t thrill you but you still want to be active, you might need to explore winter sports, outdoor hobbies, modified summer sports, or find ways to stay active indoors.
To figure out which activities suit you best in winter, think about what you enjoy in the summer. If you love hiking, canoeing, or swimming, you might enjoy winter sports like snowshoeing, skiing, or ice skating. Not only do these activities offer fun, but they also help you stay active and break the winter monotony.
Instead of cranking up the heat and hibernating, try a winter sport to keep yourself engaged with the outdoors and having fun. Some activities are more intense than others, but you don’t necessarily need a full-body workout. Winter hobbies like making snow angels, building snowmen, and sledding can get you outside and keep you somewhat active. Metal detecting in the snow offers low-impact exercise for any age.
Activities like ice fishing, bird watching, and photography require you to spend time outdoors and move around, even if the exercise isn’t strenuous. If you’re a summer lover who enjoys hiking or walking the dog daily, activities like snow angels or bird watching might not be fulfilling, but they’re options to get outside and stay active.
You don’t have to stop enjoying summer activities just because it’s cold. With some adjustments, you can continue camping, jogging, bike riding, and rock climbing in winter. Even surfing can be done with the right winter wetsuit. Staying active outdoors doesn’t have to end with the cold; many activities can be adapted for winter. Snowshoeing to a winter camping spot, jogging with warmer clothes, using wider bike tires, or finding a different rock climbing location are ways to enjoy summer sports in colder weather.
For some, braving the cold isn’t an option, and staying indoors is the only choice. But that doesn’t mean you can’t work out. Joining a gym, getting a home workout machine, using a Wii workout, or focusing on at-home exercises are all ways to stay active. While outdoor winter activities are fun, they might not be suitable for daily workouts.
That’s why some people prefer indoor exercises, like doing crunches, pushups, and lunges around the living room, or practicing at-home yoga to stay active and warm.
The key is to keep moving during these tough winter months. Especially if you prefer activities over a gym routine, it’s easy to lose motivation. With options like winter sports, outdoor hobbies, modified summer activities, and indoor workouts, you can stay active during winter instead of just binge-watching Netflix under a blanket.
