Exercise at home to maintain your goals

Don’t let cold weather or lack of a gym membership stop your body movement

Let’s face it. When the temperature drops, your motivation to do anything likely takes a dip, too.
You don’t want to get out of bed in the morning because it’s warm underneath the covers. You’d rather snuggle under a blanket on the couch and watch a movie than drive to a theater.

And then there’s exercise. When it gets dark earlier or you see snow falling and the frigid wind whipping outside, it’s just easy to stay inside instead of going for a walk or driving to the gym. Guess what? That’s OK because there’s plenty you can do at home to stay fit, physically and mentally.

“The darker, colder days can lead to stress eating and less movement,” said MESSA Health Promotion Consultant Rhonda Jones. “Having an exercise routine at home can remove the barrier of getting dressed and driving to a gym.”

There are many options to bring movement and exercise into your home, and you don’t need a treadmill to do it. If you have stairs, use them to add cardiovascular training to your routine. You can walk or run the stairs for 1 minute and do a strength move like bicep curls for 30 seconds and then repeat, said Jones, who is also a certified fitness trainer.

If you’re working on gaining strength, you can do bodyweight exercises like push-ups, lunges or squats. Want to add a little more weight to your lunges? Use regular household items such as water-filled milk cartons or cans.

Sometimes you may need a trainer for guidance. That’s not a problem because you can search for free exercise classes or a fitness guru on streaming services and YouTube.

Chores such as vacuuming, scrubbing and mopping add up to a good workout, too.

And don’t totally count out the outdoors. Even though it’s cold outside, it’s still important to get fresh air and sunshine. The cold could even boost the results of your workout.

Exercising increases the release of neurochemicals, which helps us feel happier and motivated. So, stay moving this winter. You deserve it.

You can also build your own workout using this guide from MESSA Wellness.