Staying Active in Cooler Weather

mtwadmin - Fri, October 22, 2010

I’m just going to say it.  Fall is here.  In New England, that means as we hoist our sweaters, scarves, and ubiquitous knee-length goose down parkas up from storage, we are looking ahead toward, at the very least, five months of inclement weather.

This change in the seasons generally means goodbye to the hiking, biking, running, and ultimate frisbee playing that keeps so many of us in tiptop shape during our scant summers.  Far as I can tell, winter activities in Boston are fairly limited to pot-lucks and barroom basketball-game watching while downing enormous, bloody cheeseburgers and drinking beer.  It follows therefore that the Coveted New England Summer Physique might turn into a the Burly New England Winter Paunch. 

I did a brief Google search for some tips on how to stay active and healthy during a no-joke winter, but I just kept getting the same tired old “Join a gym,” or “Buy a treadmill/exercise bike to ride while you watch TV.”  But both of these options are expensive and depressingly boring.  Surely us resourceful New Englanders can do better than that.

Of course, I’m always going to suggest yoga, which, despite what Lululemon will have you think, can be done for free, in the comfort of most homes.  That’s me and my obsessions, though.  There’s a ton of things you can do to get your body moving that don’t involve attaching yourself Matrix-like to a machine and performing mindless repetitive movements for extended periods of time while staring blankly at a screen of flashing light or a wall. 

For instance, did you know…
...you can ride a bike in cold weather?  It’s strange but true!  Gloves help.  So do tires with tread if it gets snowy.  Just be extra careful if the streets are slick.

...dancing can be a fun social activity for the indoors?  Boston’s full of clubs, and I don’t just mean nightclubs.  MIT has a swing dancing club.  Haven’t you ever wanted to be tossed in the air by a theoretical physicist?  Get yourself out there.

...lots of everyday things that aren’t sitting in front of the computer or TV burn calories.  Cooking, cleaning, building snowmen, shoveling, raking leaves, apple-picking, building bonfires, etc.  Get creative.  Get off your bum. 

I’d love to hear some of your ideas for things to do in the fall/winter that keep you happy and healthy.  Leave a comment and tell me what you think.