How to Stay Fit in Winter? Experts Advice

Sticking to an exercise plan in the winter months can be a challenge. With a winter chill in the air, it's hard to motivate people to go outside or walk to the gym. Many may feel lost when it comes to keeping in shape as winter sets in. Here is how to stay fit in winter you should follow.

How to stay fit in winter?

How to stay fit in winter? 

1. Pick what works for you

Choose the workout and activity that are motivating enough to keep doing consistently. Some go for running, others prefer soccer or climbing. As recommended by experts, you should ideally do both aerobic activity and strength training for the best results.

After choosing your workout, you should set goals and work to accomplish them.

2. Running

Running or walking up and down the stairs can be a great high-intensity cardio and leg workout. It is one of the best tips to stay fit in winter. One option for those starting out is to add walking intervals every few floors. For example, leave the stairwell and walk the length of the hallway and back before resuming your ascent. Try climbing two steps at a time, sprinting a few flights, or doing jumping jacks between floors to raise the intensity.

3. Ice Skating

If someone asks me how to stay fit in winter, I would recommend ice skating. This is a great aerobic to burn the excess calories in the body, minimize the diseases of bones, joints, diabetes, as well as increase the process of blood absorption. This sport won't take too much effort compared to cycling or jogging. With just 30 minutes of ice skating a day, you can get benefits of equal 60 minutes of running daily on the treadmill.

How to stay fit in winter: Ice skating

4. Indoor workouts

If you are afraid to go out for a jog or go to the gym, you can switch to a home workout routine like doing yoga or biking. These will help you maintain flexibility, burn excess fat, and boost your immune system to combat diseases in winter.

If you have limited space, try indoor aerobic routines following Youtube videos. You can also incorporate weights, a skipping rope, or a stability ball into a great full-body workout.

A tip on how to stay fit in winter is to mix some resistance training with some high-intensity cardio for the best fat-burning workouts. 

• Also read: Healthy tips for rainy season

5. Mall Walking

Another great way to stay safe in winter is walking inside your local shopping mall. For the average person, a one-hour walk can help us burn 300 to 400 calories.

You can also challenge your leg muscles and burn extra calories by climbing stairs or walking up escalators.

6. Dancing

For even more fun and less structure, turn up the volume on some of your favorite songs and dance. Dance to your two favorite current songs and three you haven't heard since "back in the day" and you've got yourself a 20-minute workout while dinner is on the stove. This is also one of the most useful tips to stay fit in winter.

Tips on how to stay fit in winter

7. Boost vitamin D

Regarding how to stay fit in winter, we are recommended to increase the intake of vitamin D boosting vitamin D. As suggested by recent research, taking up to 4,000 IU of vitamin D can benefit weight loss. So, it’s great to boost vitamin D by doing exercises or eating food that is rich in vitamin D such as egg yolk, red meat, soybeans, etc.

8. Eat more fruit and veg. 

It is really important to continue to include your five portions of fruit and veg in your diet, even though you feel like filling up on comfort food. Grab a clementine or satsuma instead of reaching inside the box of Quality Street.

9. Drink more milk and dairy products. 

Cheese, yogurt, and fromage frais are great sources of protein, vitamins A and B12, and calcium which keep our bones strong. Choosing semi-skimmed or skimmed milk or low-fat plain yogurts is one of the best tips on how to stay fit in winter. 

Do you know how to stay fit in Winter?

10. Focus on diet

Eating a well-balanced diet will help you achieve your fitness goals. Along with daily exercise, this is key to giving you energy, fueling your daily activity, and making you feel better physically. These tips from Healthline will help you fuel yourself correctly for exercise, staying fit, and eating a well-balanced diet.

11. Stay hydrated

It’s important to stay hydrated and drink water on a daily basis. If you are working to get fit and exercise on a daily basis, water is essential for optimal health. Are there any tips to stay fit in winter?

12. Avoid alcohol

Alcohol is loaded with calories. And since "many holiday celebrations involve drinking, it's easy to take in a lot of calories without being aware that you are," says Scott Isaacs, MD, clinical instructor of medicine at Emory University and medical director at Intelligent Health Center. Drink a glass of water or a diet soda before and after each alcoholic beverage to help pace yourself and to dilute calories.

How to stay fit in Winter: Avoid alcohol

For those who ask how to stay fit in winter, they probably have a special concern about their health in general and weights in particular. 

13. Hire a personal trainer

During the winter months, you’re recommended to hire a personal trainer. He/she may keep you motivated to get to the gym and push you safely through a workout even when you might not be interested in it.

14. Buy new training gear. 

Investing in new clothes can be a great incentive to exercise because you'll want to use it. Moreover, you can't wear the tank tops and shorts used during your summer workouts, so make sure to layer up.

15. Try a new workout 

Trying a new workout tends to create excitement longer than the old workout you've been taking up for months.  

So now you’ve found the answer to the question “How to stay fit in winter?”

Why do we gain weights in the winter?

It’s no surprise that many people gain weight during winter. There are many factors that trigger weight gain, ranging from lack of vitamin D to body temperature. Take a look at the following main ones.

Midnight hunger

In winter,  the drop in blood sugar makes us crave fat more than usual. Many people tend to  take more calories and fatty meals at dinner or before bedtime

So, if you do not know how to control your eating habits to compensate for inactivity, you may have an excess of calories, leading to more weight gain.

Too much sleep

When the cold takes over and the sun starts setting at 4 p.m., all you want to do sometimes is curl up in a warm blanket. How to stay fit in winter becomes one of the most concerning questions. Due to the cold weather, people tend to sleep a lot, causing the amount of the hormone leptin in your body to decrease. Meanwhile, hormones work to regulate appetite, control metabolism, and burn excess fat. This leads to increased weight during winter.

How to stay fit in winter: Experts recommendations

Lack of Vitamin D

That lack of vitamin D is associated with weight gain. In the summer months, vitamin D is synthesized at about 90% because of the sun rays, but this rate is very low in the winter.

Less water intake 

Another reason for weight gain in the winter months is due to not drinking water. The water becomes unwillingly cold hence it prevents us from drinking it. But low water consumption does not only cause weight gain, it also causes fatigue and carelessness.

Lack of exercises

How to stay fit in winter if you are too lazy to do exercises. One of the main reasons for weight gain is the lack of exercise. A lack of physical activity causes fat to accumulate more.

"The human body is mechanically and biologically designed to move and use as much as possible," said Gil Amsellem, a physiotherapist. Physical activity doesn't lose weight, but it does help stabilize it. Fat can be reduced without losing weight.

Conclusion

How to stay fit in the winter? Do you go to the gym or stay close to home? Do you have other tips that weren't mentioned here? Leave a comment below and let us know!