While many Canadians view the colder months as the time to take a break from worrying about maintaining their beach body, it’s never a good idea to slack on your exercise routine. Not only will it hurt your health, it’ll be a lot harder to get back in shape next summer if you let your health routine go completely off track. Here’s how to stay active instead of heading into hibernation mode.
Get inside. While you might not be as willing to work out in the park or go for a run outside, you can and should move your workouts indoors. A treadmill might not provide the same beautiful view but it gets the job done and keeps you fit and your energy up throughout the draining winter months.
Try hot yoga. Maybe you’ve tried yoga before and felt it wasn’t for you—but you probably haven’t tried hot yoga in cold weather. There’s nothing as refreshing as sweating it out in a hot yoga class on the bleakest, coldest day. It will almost make you forget you’re in the middle of a Canadian cold burst.
Schedule your workouts. The lack of motivation that cold weather brings can make it hard to force yourself into a workout routine or stick to the one you previously had. The key is to schedule it into your day. Mark that hour into your Google calendar just as you would meetings and doctor appointments so that time is scheduled and non-negotiable—nothing else can happen during this time but your workout.
Find a workout buddy. If all else fails, there’s nothing better to keep you motivated and off the couch like an obligation to a friend. It’s always easier to maintain a routine when you have someone else expecting you and relying on you to spot them, so find a friend who already loves their workouts, or one who is looking for an accountability buddy as well, and keep each other on track throughout the bleakest days.
