Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA from Pexels
If you’re a man who finds it difficult to stay in shape over the winter months, you’re not alone. Because it’s cold and sometimes snowy, you probably don’t have too many opportunities to go outside for leisurely activities such as fishing, running or bike riding.
Being unable to do the outdoor things you love can put a damper on your motivation, making it a challenge to put your health first. It’s easier to sit inside in front of the TV with snacks and wait out the winter. Unfortunately, leading a sedentary lifestyle for several months can cause weight gain and lethargy. Don’t let the cold weather take a negative toll on your body. Instead, consider trying these three tips to stay fit this winter.
1. Make Healthy Food Choices
The temperature shouldn’t determine what you consume. Even if you feel like eating a tub of ice cream in the summer to cool down or drink 10 cups of cappuccino in the winter to stay warm, it’s important to avoid these cravings and indulge in a healthy diet year-round.
A healthy diet contains fruits, vegetables, whole wheat and lean meats. However, some foods add extra nutrition for those colder days of the year. For example, root vegetables such as beets and carrots provide vitamins A and C, oatmeal is high in zinc and water-based soups with vegetables give you extra protein. Plus, eating soup is a great way to warm yourself up on a frigid day.
If you have allergies or food sensitivities, you may need to alter what you eat accordingly. For instance, if you have issues processing gluten, you should look into what has gluten in it and exclude those products from your diet.
Losing weight is easier for men than women. This fact has a lot to do with males having more muscle mass. Since muscle tissue burns more calories, you’re at an advantage to lose weight easier than the ladies, so you might as well get a head start before bikini season arrives.
2. Try a Winter Sport
If you enjoy exercising outside in the summer, give winter sports a shot. You can always bundle up in extra layers to stay warm. You may find that skiing, ice skating, snowboarding or sled riding are actually great activities for exercising – and they are fun! Between walking up hills and learning to steer, you’ll experience a demanding yet rewarding workout in the snow.
3. Create an Indoor Training Routine
You don’t need fancy equipment to get a good workout. If the weather is too bad to go to the gym or outside, stay home and try yoga, pilates or Tae Bo. You’ll find plenty of online videos that will guide you through each of these workouts if you’re not familiar.
If you’re interested in building muscle instead of burning fat, try adding push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges or planks to your routine. Winter is the perfect time to focus on strength training since you can’t do a lot of outdoor cardio. Consider buying a set of weights to keep at your house for the ultimate muscle workout.
Weight training has several benefits for men. It boosts testosterone production, decreases depression and lessens concentration issues. Weight lifting also strengthens bones, lowers blood pressure and minimizes the risk of having a stroke.
Additionally, taking only 30 to 60 minutes weekly has been shown to support mental and cognitive health. A few minutes of weight training each day releases hormones that put you in a good mood and boost your self-esteem.
As for thinking skills, people who weight lift tend to have a larger hippocampus, which is the part of the brain that deals with memory. Therefore, older males should definitely add this exercise into their routines to keep their minds sharper for longer.
Staying in shape over the winter isn’t impossible. It may take a little extra self-discipline, but once you get into a regular routine, you’ll have no problem leading a healthier life.