5 Tips to Stay Active In Winter!

It's the most wonderful time of the year, winter has arrived! It's one of the most beautiful and yet challenging seasons to stay active in with the colder temperatures, lower daylight hours, icy weather conditions, etc. that persuade you to want to stay inside and keep warm. It is recommended by experts that adults need at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity in their physical activity. Many of our daily walking, jogging, running or wheelchair rolling counts, but we need to make sure were doing at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week to ensure we maintain our health. All of our activities count, but if you want to see more positive changes happen to your body pushing yourself to do more physical activities, eating healthier and stay consistent with your plan are crucial to see, track and maintain these changes. Staying active is the best way to improve your mental and physical state as you feel more relaxed, energetic and focused on reaching your goals. Get active with these six active tips below:

1. Workout Inside:

Find or create an area where you can do activities like running, dancing, streching, weight lifting, etc. which in turn will help to strengthen, build and tone muscle. Turning on the TV, watching youtube videos, participating in Live Zoom or Instagram classes are all great ways to start getting active, but make sure your watching workout and exercise content. As other content, can become a distraction and take time away from your workout routine.

2. Clean Your House:

As the weather keeps you from going outside, housework such as sweeping, mopping, dusting, vacuuming, etc. are all activities that require movement that count towards your activity goals. By doing chores your able to stay active, become more organized and your stress is reduced as things that you needed to get-done are now completed. Walking and running up and down the stairs at your home is a great workout for your body as your heart rate increases.

3. Volunteer in Your Community:

Offer to help out people in your community by shoveling snow or walking dogs for neighbors that will give your body the physical activity it needs. When volunteering, remember to follow the social distancing guidelines to keep yourself and everyone else safe.

4. Take Nature Walks:

Prepare in advance by checking the weather forecast to get information on what the next several days are forecasted to be like to better prepare for outings and activities for the week. Dress appropriately by monitoring the weather and plan what you need to wear in advance. When the weather is nice and calm, try to schedule time during your day to get outside and go for a nice walk around the neighborhood, park or area to get some fresh air.

5. Play Sports:

Enroll yourself into different winter sports such as hockey, curling, skiing, snowboarding, ice skating, etc. to get physically active. Team and individual sports will keep you on your feet as you're getting a proper cardiovascular workout. Any winter sport will require you to use core muscles and especially the lower half of your body, which will improve your flexibility and balance for the long-term.

Giving your body the right amount of physical activity will get you closer to achieving your health and fitness goals, while also improving your memory and mood in the process. Remember to dress in several layers of warm clothes and wear items that can be easily removed as your body becomes warm. The layers will guard you against the cold weather conditions and still allow you to keep moving.