Eight exercises you can do at home this winter

Sometimes you just don’t have the time or the desire to go to the gym. Whether it’s cold and dreary outside or you are pressed for time, you can still have a great workout at home during the winter. All you need is a little creativity and some motivation.

Here are some exercises and activities that will get you sweating and burning calories:

1. Walking: Walking is a simple form of exercise that can be done by people of all fitness levels. You can walk around the inside of your home, and if you want to make things more challenging, walk up and down the stairs.
2. Yoga or pilates: Doing a yoga or pilates program at home has become a popular exercise option for people of all ages and fitness levels. There are many DVDs you can find at stores or at your local library, and there are countless YouTube and other online videos you can subscribe to.
3. Cleaning: Cleaning is a physical activity, and you can make it more of a calorie-burning activity by increasing your pace and adding some fitness elements into your cleaning process. Vacuuming, carrying laundry up and down the stairs, and all the bending, stretching and lifting often involved in cleaning is good for you. So, if you don’t have time for the gym or simply want to stay in, doing some cleaning is a great way to be active.
4. Body-weight lunges or squats: You don’t need weights to get a good leg workout. Exercises such as lunges and squats (without weights) can be challenging, especially if you increase the number of reps you do.
5. Shovelling: If you live in an area that gets a lot of snow, you probably already know how much of a workout shovelling can be. Shovelling is a great way to burn calories – just make sure you are lifting properly. You can even make it fun by turning it into a circuit or an interval-style workout.
6. Planks: Want to strengthen your core? Planks are a challenging exercise for people of all fitness levels. Try different plank positions to keep things fun.
7. Push-ups: Classic and effective, push-ups remain one of the best exercises you can do. There are many variations, and since they can be done almost anywhere, they should be part of any home-based exercise program.
8. Burpees: Remember these from gym class when you were a kid? Burpees are a great full-body workout. Doing a few rounds of these and other body-weight exercises will definitely get you sweating.

Adding some or all of these exercises into your home workout routine will help you keep in shape, even if you don’t make it to the gym this winter.