Staying active... even when it's 19 degrees in NY (Blog Hop Week 5)

I have to be real with you - this is one of the biggest things that I struggle with whenever I'm living in the northeast. I've never liked the cold and I can't wait to live somewhere warm again! But regardless of what temperature it is outside, I know that I need to stay active. The body was made to move and it's so important for health on various levels.

The big question that I find myself asking regularly is: 
How do I make time for activity in my life, especially here in this "concrete jungle" of a city, while my favorite activities would ideally involve sun, warm water, sand, trails, courts, balls, bikes, or really any combination of the above.... 

Clearly I can't enjoy those right now in NY. 

And I'm not like my friends in Seattle who would say, "Hey, you just have to learn to like doing your favorite activities in the bad weather, or else you won't get to do them!" (yeah, seriously -- my co-workers would bike to work in the rain... people would be out golfing in the rain... jogging in the rain... playing soccer in the rain... nothing stopped them, it was amazing!) But I don't have that kind of fortitude for all-weather athletics. I need to find alternative activities that don't involve being uncomfortable out in the elements!

So what is it that is going to motivate me to leave my warm apartment and go outside to do anything at all this winter? Most of the time lately I don't want to even walk up the block to pick up food, that's how cold it is here!

I've found a few things to be helpful to stay active during the winter:

1) Pick something to do that I enjoy enough to motivate me to leave the comfort of my home to go do it often!

Since most outdoor activities are off the table at the moment, I got a membership to a climbing gym around late-fall so that I could stay active indoors this way. I've always enjoyed the challenge of this fantastic form of exercise, and I can see skill improvement week over week -- that's the type of activity that really keeps me coming back for more! 

It's very important for me to enjoy what I'm doing so that I will want to stay consistent on a regular basis. I already know that I would be set to fail if I made a plan to go out for a jog every morning, since my lungs can't stand running in the cold weather. So instead of setting an unrealistic goal that would be awful to have to try and do, I set this goal which has been a pleasure to stick to!

2) Build activity into my everyday routine so that I can exercise with a purpose.

Of course I do still have to leave the house sometimes - errands and such - food and friends - like it or not there is a lot to do in life that requires me to confront winter in the face. Living in NYC allows a lot of flexibility in how we commute, so I get loads of exercise just walking from point A to point B in this city. Especially around the lower east side where there aren't many train stops, walking 10 blocks to get somewhere (both ways) is normal. So fortunately or unfortunately, I find myself walking a LOT in this city in all types of weather. 

The good thing about this type of exercise is that because it is in-route to where I'm going anyway, it doesn't really feel like I'm losing time from my busy day to "go exercise" and I can rationalize spending a little extra time (even if I don't have that much extra time) to go out of my way to walk somewhere instead of ride the whole way there. 

3) When it's too cold to go outside at all, have an indoor Plan B in place!

For me, staying active every day helps keep my mind sharp and I have way more energy overall. Whenever I go a whole week without exercise I start to feel tired and down. So even if I can't (*won't*) go outside every day, there are still some things I can do inside the apartment. I use resistance bands and do some other calisthenics, even just for 10-20 minutes to keep up my circulation and energy levels.

I'm a big multi-tasker, so I will often do this while talking on the phone or while catching up on a TV show, so that I can entertain myself while getting a little bit of exercise in just to help maintain my energy.

That has been one of the most important things that I have noticed has made a difference for me - sticking with something, even if I'm not seeing an immediate result or even if I'm questioning its worth, I remember the big picture and what I know about myself and what I need to do in order to stay focused and feel good. 

So if you're wondering how YOU can stay active -- I'd suggest this:

Listen to all of the arguments that may pop into your head against exercising, really think about all the good reasons why you cannot be active regularly, and pay close attention to them.

Next, take a different voice - not your own voice, but perhaps the voice of a pleasant yoga-instructor or coach that you'd like to imagine - and give yourself advice about how you can work around those barriers. 

Once you identify your personal barriers to exercising and embrace them as the legitimate hurdles they may be, you can start to problem-solve and let that coach within you tell yourself how you could work around those challenges and start making some type of enjoyable physical activity a regular part of your life. If the experience of others has anything to say about it -- after a few weeks of sticking with it you will feel better than you do today!