5 Indoor Workouts For When It’s Just Too Cold Outside
When it’s snowy, rainy, or below zero outside, the last thing you want to do is put on pants, let alone put on some sneakers and head to the gym.
Though we know the benefits of exercise are endless — and we know how good it will ultimately make us feel — Netflix and sweats just seem so much more appealing on cold winter days. Which is why it’s important to keep an arsenal of handy, easy-to-do indoor workouts at the ready for those freezing temps.
Stick to those New Year fitness resolutions by trying out these simple-yet-effective indoor exercises that you can do all winter long.
1. Jump Rope
Jumping rope is one of the most effective full-body workouts you can do. First, it’s an awesome aerobic exercise. Ten minutes of skipping rope is said to be about the equivalent to running an 8-minute-mile. Even jumping at a moderate rate burns 10 to 16 calories a minute. Plus, because you’re using your entire body to jump, including engaging your core, legs and arms, you’re building strength from head to toe. Grab a timer, clear the room, and get sweating!
2. Bodyweight Training
Bodyweight training is a really efficient form of exercise that gets fast results. Combining cardio moves, like jumping jacks and high knees, with strength exercises, including everything from push-ups to lunges to squats, you’ll build lean muscle mass while also improving your heart health and mood. With no equipment necessary, there’s really no excuse not to work out. (Sorry.)
3. Yoga
Craving a less intense workout? Then grab a mat and commit to an at-home yoga session. Yoga not only improves strength and flexibility, but it’s also known to alleviate fatigue, stress, and anxiety. There’s a number of yoga classes online for all levels of skill, so find your favorite and carve out some Zen time. Your mind and body will thank you.
4. Dancing
Remember when you used to dance it out with your friends in college? Well, little did you know that dancing is an amazing form of low-impact cardio. Dancing for 30 minutes can burn between 130 and 250 calories, about the same as jogging for the same amount of time. Not only is it a fun calorie burner, but dancing is also known to boost your mood (which is essential during the winter blues). So turn up your favorite playlist and dance, like you’ve never danced before.
5. Use What You Have
Sometimes all it takes is a little creativity to turn your living room into a gym. Don’t have free weights at home? Use a couple of cans or water bottles instead. Running up and down the stairs in your home is not only a great way to instantly raise your heart rate, but it will also tone your glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves, and abs, making it an overall effective whole body exercise. Pillows make a perfect uneven surface for exercises like bridges or squats, and you can even use paper plates as sliders for added resistance for planks and burpees.
When there’s a will, there’s a way.
The Takeaway
Sneaking in a sweat session doesn’t have to mean braving the cold, after all. With minimal to zero equipment you can create a fat torching exercise routine that will leave you feeling energized and refreshed without ever having to leave the house again. That is, until spring.
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