The Commerce Times

Fight the cold… get outside

Courtesy of sxc.hu

January 20, 2010 0 | By Ruby Choudhury

The most common New Year’s resolution people make is losing weight or getting fit. Gyms are packed with determined people, positive they’ll keep their resolutions this year. But inevitably the pressures of life interfere — school, family, work, friends, weather — and motivation wanes. For some, the fact that it’s winter is excuse enough to give up. Here are some ways to keep motivated. You don’t have to hit the gym to get your exercise in. The key thing to remember is to just stay active. Learn to love the winter weather and take advantage of outdoor activities available in the city.

Ice skating

Skating is not only fun, it’s a great form of cardiovascular exercise. You can burn anywhere from 250 to 810 calories per hour and tone the lower body muscles, such as the quadriceps and hamstrings and the core and back, which are naturally engaged to stabilize the body. So call your friends up and grab your skates! Toronto has many skating rinks scattered throughout the city. Visit http://www.toronto.ca/ parks/recreation_facilities/skating/outdoor_ice_rinks.html to find a skating rink near you.

Tobogganing

Have fun for free (and workout without realizing it). All you need is a snowy hill and some plastic. Invest in a fancy sled or go old school with a garbage bag. Experience the rush of adrenaline going down the hill and the high of endorphins released from the cardio workout you get from running back up. Not an easy feat in the snow. To really get your heart pumping, race your friends back up to the top.

Play in the snow (or clean it up)

Some more free social outdoor activities that are dependent on snow include building snow forts, igloos, snowmen or having a snowball fight. A not-so-fun activity that provides a real workout is shoveling snow. While running through snow is a fantastic lower body and cardio workout, shoveling is a total body-toning workout. Beware of injuries; use your legs to lift. Learn more about proper snow shoveling techniques by watching this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp_Rwbp8S1k&feature=related

Staying in

If getting outdoors is not for you, there’s lots you can do indoors as well. Stairs, workout DVDs and dance parties are great ways to avoid the cold and get your heart pumping.