Winter is coming, which means at least three holidays you’ll be stuffing your face for. Since your body holds onto fat in cold weather, you’ll find out just how dedicated you are to staying fit. You don’t have to go all Rocky III and train outside in the frozen tundra, but he did have the right idea. Whether you exercise inside or outside doesn’t matter. What matters is that you don’t get behind. Remember this: achieving beach body status is easier when you start in December instead of April. Now, here is the Hero guide to staying fit over the holidays.
Running
Embrace the cold, let it sink into your bones. Then run. Not long after you start you won’t notice anything other than the heat coursing through your body. You’ll even want to take layers off. The feeling of accomplishment you get after running is tripled after going in the cold. Or you can find a treadmill and run like a hamster.
Running stairs
You can do this at your apartment, local high school stadium, or home. If you run at home make sure you aren’t annoying any relatives in town. No one likes a grumpy grandpa.
Bodyweight workouts
You’re not always feeling up for the gym, or want to pay for a membership. Neither reason is an excuse to sit around like a sloth. If you have a room, good chance you do, there are more than a handful or exercises you can do without stepping foot in the cold. Try all fifty of these if you really want to push yourself- http://greatist.com/fitness/50-bodyweight-exercises-you-can-do-anywhere
Gym
Yes, this is obvious, but there’s more to a gym than weights. Join a basketball league and get a run in, or start playing indoor volleyball. Adult sports leagues get you active and competing. Gym memberships spike after January 1st. December should be slower, giving you time to grab any weights or machines you need to add size to those legs! By the time the New Year’s Resolution Squad shows up you’ll be a regular.
Swimming (indoors)
You’ll have to head to the gym for this, unless you’re lucky and have one at home. Swimming laps is a great low resistance exercise. That means you can stretch your workout longer than usual. Which is good, because you might not swim like Michael Phelps but you might eat close to his claimed 12,000 calorie diet.
Skiing or Snowboarding
If the gym was as fun as skiing everyone in America would be in shape. It’s not though, but skiing is still one hell of a workout. Your location plays a factor, but chances are there are small ski lodges closer than you think. Personal trainers that work with pro skiers say you drill your quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, thighs, abs, back, and arms when you ski. Now try to think of a reason not to go.
Chopping Wood
Winter isn’t winter without wood burning fires. You can buy precut wood, or you can respect yourself and do the job on your own. You can burn between 400-500 calories an hour by splitting logs. Your cardio and core will take the brunt of this workout, and your beard should grow substantially. You don’t need to wear flannel and you should be extra careful when swinging an ax. Chop the wood, not yourself.
Shoveling Snow
You don’t need to be a twelve year old working for spare change to shovel snow. Take advantage of this winter gift by using the snow as a reason to workout. You’ll improve your cardio, but also blast your legs, back, core, arms, and shoulders as you’re constantly bending and lifting. A Harvard study estimates you burn over 200 calories per thirty minutes of shoveling.
Go Rock Climbing (indoors)
Few things test your body harder than rock climbing. It hits pretty much every area— arms, back, shoulders, chest, core, and lower body. You’ll wake up the next morning with sore muscles you didn’t know were there. Numerous personal trainers recommend rock climbing as a way to shake up your routine and spark muscle growth. Your first couple times out, be wary of blisters. They’re part of the process and will eventually callous over.
Eating Right
This sounds counterintuitive over the holidays. Indulge yourself all you want when it’s appropriate. Eating fast-food everyday over the break shouldn’t be your holiday tradition. When you find yourself stuffing your face and not working it off later that week, don’t wonder why you’re the only one wearing a t-shirt at the pool come summer.
Cleaning
This is only for men who really want push themselves. This isn’t about vacuuming and calling it a day. This is about vacuuming, then sweeping, and then mopping. Clean your sink, kitchen counters, and stove top. Don’t forget inside the oven and microwave either. Hero Clean’s All-Purpose Cleaner has your kitchen covered. If you manage to knock all of that out, head to your living room. Vacuum again, then use the Spray Cleaner to dust every surface. Still have energy? Clean everything in your bathroom; sink, toilet, bath, shower, floor. Then to top it all off, do your laundry. Hero Clean has detergent for that too. This section is the most important one if you have guests staying at your place. When you’ve completed making your home spotless, you’ll realize it was more of a workout than you expected.