How to Stay Fit During the Pandemic Winter

So did you have the classic experience of getting dressed and wondering why all your clothes feel so tight? Not only did we have the classic holiday gains, but if you remember you’ve also been in quarantine for about a year if not more. The summer gave us some break to be outside and be active, but for those of us who are not “hard core workout people” the cold is often a reason to stop your exercises for a while or reduce your gym days. 

Without access to a gym, and if you’re not one of the lucky people to have a stationary bike, treadmill, elliptical, what are you supposed to do? Well nothing isn’t the answer for a couple of reasons. We know that mental health and physical health are linked. If you’re feeling isolated, depressed or just lacking motivation, exercise can be a great solution. And I know, it takes motivation to exercise, but holding yourself to this commitment could be the best gift you give yourself this year. For many of us stuck at home, working at home, or simply retired at home, we need to establish routines to keep ourselves sane. Exercise can be a great way to develop a new healthy habit even in the cold winter months!

Okay so if you’re from a warm place, you have no excuses (just kidding but think about living in New England for the winter.) Get out and walk! If you’re living in a cold place, you can still get nicely bundled in your winter gear, and if you’re from New England we know you have winter gear, and get out for a walk! You actually burn more calories in the winter because your body is working harder to keep you warm. Walking for 30 minutes a day will improve your cardiovascular system, walking for an hour or more can actually improve your immune system! Not only are you getting physically active, but this will clear your head in a positive way. For those brave souls who are runner or joggers, get out and do it! With some warm clothes, you’ll feel so accomplished getting out for your jog/run and defying the elements. 

If you’re not too keen on the outdoor stuff and you don’t have exercise equipment at home, what can you do? Get creative! I’ve found my favorite YouTube fitness people and follow along with their videos. This way you don’t even need to think about it, just do it! You can take a dance class, bodyweight fitness class, yoga class, pilates, barre and more! Search through YouTube and see what you can find. There’s hundreds of great free exercise options. Get yourself the basics on Amazon or another online shopping service: yoga mat/workout mat. Yup that’s it! I can say from personal experience that I’ve stayed fit with running and home workouts (no equipment) for two years now. Often getting into balance exercises where you are focusing on movement and mobility are actually the best ones for you. You can build strength while building balance. It will protect you next time you step on that sheet of ice on the sidewalk! Yoga is a fantastic way to strengthen and stretch your body, all of which we need after all the sitting inside. Yoga is for all ages, shapes and sizes. The best part? You can mess up, fall over, fumble through it and guess what? No one has to see! 

Some other equipment that might be helpful and won’t require you to create a home gym is resistance bands. They are cheap and can add a great strengthening aspect to your home workouts. Then you can go to YouTube and search for resistance band workouts. Boom! You can also find stability balls or pilates balls to help you with balance and core strengthening. They are also cheap and easy to use. Not interested in getting new things until you know you’ll stick with it? Great! You can use props in your home such as a chair for seated exercises (again you can find workouts on YouTube.)

Carving out at least 30 minutes a day for your workout will give you peace of mind that you’re taking care of yourself and giving to yourself in a healthy way. This is your time to breathe and focus on yourself. Set aside a time of day that just belongs to you. Stick to it, it takes about 6 weeks (2 months) to set a habit into place so if you falter along the way, it’s okay just stick with it! If you want to have some social aspect to help you stick with it, make a pact with friends and you can video call while you workout or agree to the videos and days/times you’ll workout. Then you can call each other while you sit on the couch later to discuss your workout.

We’ve learned how to do many things differently during this Pandemic and that applies to exercise too! Don’t feel trapped by the weight gain of the lockdowns or holidays, you can make a change if you want to. Your body and mind will thank you!