10 tips for staying active over Winter

Winter can be a time when we neglect many of our health and wellbeing goals. Cold, wet days and the end of Daylight Saving makes us feel like hibernating, leading to potential Winter weight gain and a drop in fitness. 

Embrace Winter and use it as a time to improve your health with our tips on how to stay active over the colder months.

1. Take the stairs. Avoid lifts. Stair climbing is a great exercise to work your glute muscles as well as your aerobic capacity. Why not run up the stairs two at a time? You will be surprised how quickly you improve.

2. There are plenty of exercise apps to help keep you motivated. They are perfect for exercising indoors or in your backyard. You don’t need a lot of equipment, just the determination to get moving. And what’s more, most of them are free.

Some examples are:

• 30 Day Squat
• Daily Workouts
• 7 Minute Workout
• RopeSkipping

3. Clean your house. Don’t wait for Spring to give your home a good clean. Put some music on and turn those cleaning tasks into a workout! It will make housework seem less like a chore. Clean your windows, rake the leaves. Every bit of activity is good for you.

4. Try a Winter fun run and raise some funds for charity at the same time.

5. Go for a walk at lunchtime. It may well be dark when you head to work and again coming home in the evening - so why not go for a brisk walk during your lunch hour? Remember to take your runners to work in the morning.

6. Join a gym. Get a personal trainer to develop a program that has a good mix of cardio and weight training.

7. Indoor sports are abundant. Why not try something you’ve never done before? Table tennis, badminton, indoor rock climbing and ice skating are all great options or you could rug-up and take the family for a bush walk.

8. Give Clinical Exercise or yoga a try – both are perfect for maintaining good strength and stability.

9. Set some goals. You are always more likely to achieve something if write it down and review it regularly. It could be anything from 10 pull ups to your first 5km run – tell your friends and celebrate each achievement. 

10. Eat well. Staying healthy with a good diet will help motivate you to get out there and exercise.

There are plenty of reasons to avoid exercising and staying active over Winter but with the right attitude and a little creativity, you can maintain the fitness you worked hard for over the warmer months. It will surely help to stave off those winter blues.

Author

Tom Hindhaugh - Director and Senior Physiotherapist - Back In Motion Bayswater

Tom graduated in 1994 and worked for three years in hospitals and private practices prior to starting work at Bayswater Physiotherapy Centre. In 2001 he took over the ownership of the practice. Tom has undergone full training in Clinical Exercise and also specialises in sporting injuries, neck pain and headaches.