During the winter we eat more and exercise less. If the balance of food intake and activity output is out of control, one may notice a weight gain. Staying active is the key to staying fit and have an overall body wellness. If you are not active you’ll tend to gain weight because your body doesn’t burn off as many calories. One of the best ways to ensure you stay active during the winter is to join a gym and workout with a friend to help motivate you.
Regular exercise will make you feel more energetic, which should make is a little easier to get out of your warm bed on cold, dark mornings. Your body’s defenses will also benefit. Moderate exercise can strengthen the immune system, thereby reducing the risk of coughs and colds. Many health and wellness center and fitness centers have a variety of indoor activities you can participate in. These range from volleyball, squash, basketball, swimming, running and more.
You can also incorporate weight training into your fitness regimen. Go for walks at the mall with a friend. You may want to buy a pedometer from a sporting goods store. You can use it to count your steps. This will help motivate you to walk more. Also to help motivate yourself, try joining a fitness class with a friend, such as yoga or Pilates. Get some hand weights or stretch bands to use at home for resistance exercise. You can get fit while you watch your favorite TV show or listen to music.
Try doing a little more each week. Use cans of food if you don’t want to buy weights. Buy or rent an exercise DVD. An exercise DVD makes it easier to exercise at any time, any season. Research some DVDs online and find the type of exercise you would like to do at home.
If you have limited space try a Yoga or Pilates DVD because it involves a lot of mat work, which is great for apartment living. If you have more space, try a Zumba fitness DVD or even a fully body workout that incorporates strength training. If you have an MP3 player, you can download audio routines from the Internet. This can be a fun way to stay in shape at home. Take the stairs and fit in walk breaks whenever you can. Either at home or in your office or factory building, spend as little as 5 minutes at a time climbing up and down the stairs for a very intense and efficient workout. This will give you extra activity, even on a busy day.
Do active housework like sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, doing laundry, or washing the windows? You can stay active while you keep your home looking good. Also utilize this time to play with your kids indoors. You may also like to stay active outdoors. Bundle up and go for a brisk walk around the block or take your kids to the park. Wear several layers to keep the heat in.
When you’re not getting as much exercise through reduced activity over the winter, it’s important that you monitor the food that you eat carefully. If you don’t, you may ingest more calories than you burn off, which results in overall gain in weight. This may mean that you have to temporarily reduce the portion sizes that you eat or exercise moderation. Although this can be difficult during the winter months, it will help to maintain your overall weight and fitness level when you don’t have the chance to be as active as normal.
