Tuesday, December 14

Walking, Running, Dancing, and Jumping in a Winter Wonderland:Tips for Winter Workouts

Every year, it’s so tempting to just curl up on the couch and eat your life away during the winter. Well, it is for me, at least. But instead of succumbing to my body’s natural desire for fat storage, I have decided to push through this terrible cold front and work out.

Since I didn’t work out on Saturday and Sunday, I knew Monday had to break the streak. It was so cold outside, but I wanted to go for a run. Taking all my skills for staying warm that I gained from my daily article reading, I dressed super warm but still comfortable for my workout.

I was outfitted with a hat, scarf, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, and sweatpants to brave the 40 degree weather. I did my walk one song, run one song workout. Ok, so maybe it was more like jogging. The wind was blowing against me like a hurricane, but I trudged on. Fifty minutes later, I was glove and scarf free, feeling super energized and loving the winter weather.

Monday night, I went with my grandfather to his ballroom dance class’ annual Christmas party. Very surprisingly, I had a great time, and got a workout out of it! We danced the night away, burning extra calories while staying inside. It was super fun! And quite entertaining.
Posey-pose in front of the tree. Ready for my night on the town.
She's really not Devil dog. I promise.
My and Papi. Cute, huh?
Tuesday’s workout was a combination of things. Since I was in the dancing mood, I did some Zumba. Here are a few of the videos I did:
After that, I did Dancer’s Ab Workout.
Apparently, my sister thought it would be funny to take a picture of this...
I followed this up with a few upper body exercises with 5 lb. weights. Once it warmed up to a toasty 29 degrees, I took the poopers for a little walk. I figured, since I wasn't doing any really intense exercising, I could afford a longer workout.

Being in the winter weather does not mean you can’t work out. Now, if you are in 20 degrees or lower weather, you might want to consider some indoor workouts like workout videos or strength training. If you do decided to workout outside, you should:
  • Dress in layers- You can always take them off if you get hot!
  • Keep your head and hands warm- your blood rushes to your core to keep your organs warm when you're cold. Also, most of the heat escapes through your extremities. 
  • Wear reflective/bright clothing- If you are exercising at night, be careful of slippery surfaces and make sure people can see you!
  • Keep wearing your sunscreen- Cold does not equal UV free!
  • Stay hydrated- It's easy to forget to drink water when you're cold, but this is important!
Here are some non-video or strength training ideas for getting exercise without the getting chilly:
  • Have a little dance party- An hour or two of dancing, and you’ve had an awesome workout.
  • Dance in your room- Seriously. You might feel dumb, but once you get into it, it’s so fun.
  • Jump Rope/Jumping Jacks- Alternate jump rope for 5 minutes and jumping jacks for five for 20-30 minutes. This will work up a sweat and you can even do it in front of the TV!
  • Step ups- Find a step in your house and step up and down (like step aerobics) for 30 minutes.
  • Stairs- If you have stairs in your house, use them! Go up and down while listening to music.
Don’t use the excuse that it’s cold outside not to work out. There are so many other options that there’s no reason to let your fitness slip!

2 comments:

  1. i love this one, so true: we tend to hibernate during winter:) will retweet this!

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  2. It's so easy to hibernate, but I always feel yucky after the fact. Working out just makes me feel so great. Thanks for the tweet!

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