Indoor Workout Routines for the Winter

Most people who exercise do so either before or after their workday, which means either early in the morning or in the evening. However, during the winter months this usually precludes us from exercising outside due to darkness and/or cold temperatures. As a result, we are then left with yet another choice: exercise indoors or not at all during winter and I’m here to convince you to choose the former.

I firmly believe the key to any indoor (or outdoor, for that matter) exercise routine is establishing a, well, routine. Establishing an exercise routine isn’t all that difficult. Simply look at your normal, daily schedule, which probably changes on the weekends, and find a time that is most convenient for you to exercise on most days. Then, block that time off on your daily schedule and if you don’t have a daily schedule, make one…every day.

Writing down what you have and hope to accomplish each day goes a long way to ensuring you do just that. It’s there, in black-and-white, staring you in the face and for most of us, we would rather create the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing those tasks rather than a sense of failure that comes with leaving them left undone.

Once you’ve determined what time of the day to exercise works best for you, do your best to honor that commitment. Yes, emergencies will arise that force you to alter or schedule or skip a day, just ensure that they are, in fact, emergencies. For example, do not skip a day simply because you have a dentist appointment or must take the cat to the vet. Occasionally rescheduling your workout time is essential to maintaining that routine. Do not allow trivial things to derail your exercise train.

Yet another choice you’re required to make regarding your indoor exercise routine is to determine what types of workouts to engage in. I always choose the ones that I enjoy most and allow me to multitask…sort of. In the warmer and brighter months, I tend to run and bike outdoors.

I used to do this in the winter months as well, but I’ve found that as I’ve grown older, the relationship I once had with the cold has become irreparably damaged. Therefore, I run or bike indoors during the winter while (mostly) watching educational documentaries. However, an occasional mindless streaming series, such as Wednesday, finds its way onto my workout screen.

As I’ve mentioned before in my posts, there’s no need to engage in marathon training here, unless you have one coming up in the spring. Most medical experts recommend a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate cardiovascular exercise per week, that’s just 2.5 hours or 30 minutes a day, five days a week. You can do that, right? Of course you can. You probably spend at least 30 minutes per day playing Candy Crush or some other inane game.

Health experts also recommend that you engage in weight training at least two days per week that work the major muscle groups, such as your quads (thighs), glutes (butt), pecs (chest), biceps/triceps (arms), lats (back) and abs (stomach). And no, you do not need weights or a Bowflex to work these muscle groups. There are plenty of body resistance exercises that accomplish the same thing, such as squats, push-ups and crunches. Here’s a list of 50 for you to choose from.

As for indoor cardiovascular exercises, equipment, such as a treadmill or stationary bike make it easier but is not required. In fact, here’s a list of 20 indoor cardio exercises you can cycle through for 30 minutes each day that require minimal equipment. Simply pick the ones you enjoy and can perform for multiple repetitions.

There are, of course other choices. You could purchase a stationary bike or treadmill, or you could join a gym (Planet Fitness is quite affordable) that has various pieces of cardio equipment. You’ve simply got to then find ways to motivate yourself to get to the gym or use that equipment you just purchased. But that’s a topic for another post.