It’s not easy to stay active in winter but I always try hard to do what’s right for my health. I get bored with doing the same workouts so I always like to try something new. This winter is no different. I always look for different ways of staying active although I do stick with certain activities that are easy or convenient to do. If you are looking for some ideas on how to keep active when the weather is cold, see what I’ve been doing below.
Home workouts
Before Christmas, I really got into T25 workouts by Shaun T (an American fitness trainer known for his home workouts).
I enjoy Shaun’s workouts as he is so motivating and really pushes people to do more. My goal was to do 3 Shaun’s workouts per week for about a month or so which I did. This helped me lose a little bit of weight just before I went to Slovenia for a Christmas break (I gained that weight back during the festive season, but oh well!)
What I really like about T25 workouts is that they only take 25 minutes and at the end, you get a really good workout (you burn lots of calories!). They are great for those who are short on time or who don’t want to spend too much time exercising (as they’d rather do other things).
You can find all kind of workouts from Shaun T but the exact programme I’ve been following is called T25 Focus Alpha (available from Amazon as part of the package).
Shaun’s workouts are really tough so I would recommend that before doing them (if you decide to try them), try doing some light cardio for a few weeks first (cycling, elliptical trainer, light jogging). You will enjoy T25 workouts more if your fitness levels are not too bad when you start. Although you can still do them anyway, also if your fitness is not that great, just stick with a modified (easier) version first. Here is one of the workouts for you to check:
01. Focus T25 Cardio Alpha-1 from goldgnom on Vimeo.
Now, I still do Shaun’s workouts but not as often. I aim for 1-2 a week but I will see how that goes and maybe if I feel like it, I will do them more often. But now, my focus is on something else – on weight training (or also called, strength training)! Yes, this month I started lifting weights as there are so many benefits behind this so I thought to give it a go and see what it does for me. I am not totally on my own with this though, I am using an online personal trainer who devised a training programme for me which I am now following.
I do the weights workouts at home since I already have all the dumbbells and a bar (from my partner!), so, very convenient. I will be reviewing an online personal training service that I use on my blog very soon so stay tuned if you want to know more what it’s like. But so far, so good. My personal trainer is very helpful, really knowledgeable and I cannot wait to learn more tips from him. I am planning to send him some videos of my workouts so that he can make sure I am doing the exercises correctly. So it’s really good I can do this and since everything is done online (via chats, emails and videos), the cost of this service is much less compared to the personal trainer you would see in person.
Walking
Walking is one of my favourite activities in winter and it really doesn’t matter if it’s cold, I just wrap up and go. I love going for long walks especially when the weather is nice. I aim for at least 1-hour walk, 3 times a week. I normally do more than 1 hour, sometimes 1 hour and 30mins.
I usually walk in my local area, making use of any green patches and parks but I really want to go and do some proper hiking in the Peak District or another hilly area near where I live. It’s just that the weather always puts me off. And when it rains it gets really muddy the next day and the thought of walking in the mud and puddles is really not that attractive to me… Although, saying that, I would still love to do more walking and not long ago I found some Meetup groups dedicated to walking in my area so I am thinking of giving them a go.
Skiing
This winter was the first time after many many years that I actually skied again, yay! It was in December actually and only for a few days, but still, I was active.
Just to mention that I am not the best skier (still on blue slopes!) and currently I am trying to master parallel skiing but I do enjoy it. We went skiing in Slovenia and now that I am back in the UK I am thinking of trying indoor skiing. There is an indoor ski slope in Manchester called Chill Factor and would love to go there one weekend. Skiing is actually quite fun (when you master it) so definitely want to do more of it this winter. Can you spot me skiing in the video below? This was my first slope practising parallel skiing and then I moved on to a slightly steeper one…
Other activities and future plans
So, my main ways of keeping active this winter are home workouts, walking and then occasional skiing (need to plan that out though!). I am still open to any other activities that I may have an opportunity to participate in. For example, I saw that I can play table tennis for free in my local shopping centre so I cannot wait to give that a go. And then, if anything else interesting comes my way, I would probably give it a try.
Going forward, I really want to get myself back on my bike and I will try to do this soon, weather permitting. But I really cannot wait for the winter to finish as I can then enjoy the outdoors properly without the rain and cold. I am also thinking of my next active holidays as I think in winter it would be a good time to plan this.
What about you? How are you being active this winter? And do you have any plans for when the weather turns warmer?