I don’t know about you, but December to January is a difficult time of year for this body. The Holidays, as they do every year, come and go. But I can’t say the same for the extra pounds – of food and wine; of butter, flour, and sugar. A cold snap has come over Northeast, confining my partner and me to our living room. And as that familiar winter chill sets in, I once again find myself a few pounds heavier and a little more out-of-breath on the stairs.
Winter always disrupts my routines. Motivation wanes, overtaken by the primordial urge to hibernate. It’s just too tempting to spend a few extra minutes in bed, watch another episode or two on the couch, or spoon an extra bit of sugar in my coffee.
But I have to keep moving.
Because exercise is never more beneficial for us than it is in Winter. Aside from the obvious need to drop our holiday pounds, exercise helps us fend off colds, influenza, and… other viral pathogens. It helps keep us happy and upbeat, giving structure to our days and helping to regulate the hormone cycles which govern our behavior. And aside from the holiday weight gain, I now have an impending ski trip to Breckenridge to contest with (and for which my legs are vastly underprepared.) So, here’s how I’m beating the Deep-Freeze this year:
Cardio Alternatives
I’m a distance runner and have been for roughly two years now. The 5K and 10K are familiar friends. But right now, it’s in the low ‘teens outside, and no runner’s high or endorphin rush is pulling me out there. No way.
But I can’t just not do cardio. It’s the best, most efficient way to drop pounds. So these are my indoor alternatives:
- Jumping Jacks
- Burpees
- Running Stairs
- Mountain Climbers
Your downstairs neighbors might complain. But don’t let that interfere. We’re all stuck inside. What else are you supposed to do here?
Calisthenics
Militaries and sports teams of the world have long recognized the benefits of calisthenics (or, in common-speech: bodyweight exercises) for building strength and range of motion.
Now, I like lifting weights when it’s warm out. In the summer, the gym becomes a social hub. I’ll enjoy a run, to-and-from, for a little extra cardio. But, especially when there’s snow on the ground, a 30-minute round trip walk to the gym feels unsustainable. It’s a bitter slog to show up to that windowless room, put in set after grueling set, and walk back out into the cold. I can change my habits, but I can’t change my tendencies. I hate going to the gym in Winter.
That said, I try to take advantage of this natural, seasonal aversion to the gym by using December to March to work on basic calisthenics. And no matter my baseline conditioning, I’m always surprised at how difficult they end up being — squatting 5×5 sets with 225 on the bar? No problem. Jumping around in a stupid little square? Somehow, excruciating.
Pick any four exercises below, perform 20 reps each, and cycle through 3 times. Mix and match to your liking, and avoid working the same muscle groups on consecutive days. Do it three to four times a week, and watch how quickly your body adapts.
- Push-ups – flat, or with lifted legs for a shoulder workout
- Crunches – with raised legs
- Sit-ups – with feet on the floor
- Tricep dips – using a chair for lift
- Russian Twists – with or without weight
- Scissor Kicks, Flutter Kicks
- Planks
- Squats
- Lunges
- Calf Raises
Yoga
I like yoga best. It’s relaxing, routine, and low-impact: the perfect warmup and cooldown to my day. And, of the options listed in this article, it’s the only one that has instant benefits. After a morning flow, I walk away from my mat with a tangible boost in alertness and enthusiasm. And after a good bedtime session, I can count on falling asleep and staying asleep that night.
Not to mention: it doesn’t really feel like exercise (until the balancing poses, that is), and it acts as a diagnostic test for the body. A thorough yoga session should reveal exactly what hurts, where it hurts, and help us take compensatory action in our other exercises to protect those injured and sore areas. It’s crucial to perform this kind of self-maintenance, especially in the early stages of a new workout routine when we are especially susceptible to injury.
So, this Winter…
Skip the frozen toes! Say goodbye to foggy sunglasses, the line at the squat rack, and those nasty locker room showers. There are plenty of alternatives. And while they require more discipline from us, we are rewarded with more time in our lives and a habitual association between our home and our health. All you have to do is get off the couch, get on the floor, and move around! Doing anything is better than doing nothing.