If winter is putting a chill on your favorite activity, now is the perfect time to heat up your fitness routine with some excellent winter sports.
Winter can also be great time to work on things like strength and flexibility, so once you're out and enjoying your summer sport you'll be all the more ready.
Cross-training - varying your fitness routine with different activities - is a good idea any time of the year. It improves overall fitness and reduces the risk of injury because you're not using the same set of muscles in the same way every time. And it makes workouts more fun so you don't risk burnout from doing the same old thing.
Winter sports offer natural opportunities for runners, cyclists and others to cross-train. Instead of hitting the pavement, hit the slopes. Also, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing offer great winter workouts, and wonderful calorie burners.
For those who want to move their workouts indoors, there are any number of ways to maintain cardiovascular conditioning. A runner can keep running, of course, by getting on a treadmill, just as cyclists can keep pedaling on a stationary bike or wind trainer. But there are also swimming, skating, aerobics classes, elliptical trainers, dance classes and much more.
Aerobic conditioning, however, is only one element of a well-rounded fitness routine. Strength training and flexibility should be included as well. As a general approach to health and fitness, balancing your program is really the way to go, and winter is the perfect time to seek that balance.
You can incorporate flexibility into your routine on your own with some simple stretching exercises. Or you could join the growing number of people who are taking up yoga and Pilates.
For strength training, pick calisthenics, free weights or weight machines. Keep your sport in mind when tailoring your program. Golfers, for example, should focus on hips, lower back, shoulders and stomach.
Working on flexibility four or five days a week and strength training - done with quality and intensity - two or three days a week. If you don't know where to start, find help.
The trick is to not fight winter but embrace it. If there's bitter cold, put on the proper apparel and brave the elements or stay inside and enjoy something new: a dance class, perhaps. If there's snow, strap on the snowshoes.
Have a look at some other activities you can find close to home. And remember what you eat prior to any of these activities is key to a safe and effective workout!
