Staying active in winter

[Owlie]

I'm trying to find ways to stay active that don't involve a gym (money's tight, and I hate them). I may be getting a trainer for Christmas, but until that shows up...
If it can be done indoors with minimal equipment purchases, so much the better. I'm dealing what I suspect is Raynaud's, so I'll be staying indoors if it gets much below 40...ie, most of the winter if I can't get beefier gloves.

Thanks in advance!

[NbyNW]

There's always Pilates matwork.

Jumping rope is pretty good too, you don't need a lot of space, maybe just enough ceiling clearance for your rope. And I bet a jump rope is cheaper than any machine you could buy.

I'm not a fan of gyms, either, but they're a necessary evil if I'm going to swim. Which is a goal of mine this winter. (There, I've shared it, now I have to do it!)

Oh, and do you get much snow? I shoveled some snow this morning and it was a great workout.

I've decided if we get a good amount of snow this winter (right now we only have about 4-5 inches) I'm going to build some snow furniture in our backyard. At least a table and a couple of chairs. Trouble is that our snow is so dry it doesn't stick together very well, it's tough to make even a snowball, but I digress . . .

My best advice for working out at home, is try to have a space that you devote to it. If you have a mat, roller, small weights, resistance bands, or any other kind of toy, they should be organized and close by. Your space might be in front of the TV, which is not ideal, but if it's the space you have, set it up so that it works for you, so that you don't have to go through a bunch of hoops in order to start your workout. Getting started is sometimes the hardest part.

[jessmarimba]

Do you have netflix? There are some interesting yoga/pilates/other workout dvds and streaming programs.

[malkin]

Hand warmers for your pocketses.
Then you can go for a walk outside while your fingers think they are on vacation in a warm tropical place (which they kind of are).

[Crankin]

I let my gym membership go about a year and a half ago. I did do a 10 week yoga/meditation class once a week at a studio, but other than that, I've been on my own.
I bring my bike in, sometime in December and do a semi-structured training program (i.e., I modify some of the stuff) on the trainer. I have several DVDs, with core work, yoga, functional weight training. However, I do still do a lot of stuff outside, which keeps me sane. Snow shoeing, nordic skiing, hiking, running. I second trying out the chemical hand warmers, to see if you can get outside, even if it's just to do a quick fitness walk. Last year, we bought a treadmill, which I use for intervals, with running/walking, or hill climbing. I figured it was worth it, since I do use it even in the warm weather, if it's raining hard/thundering out.
I know you can't spend to buy a treadmill, but what about getting some aerobics DVDs or buying a step and doing some step aerobics with DVDs or from the TV? You can get quite a good work out with a step routine and it's a nice change from riding.

[indysteel]

Shiva Rea yoga dvd's. Which one depends on your experience.

Sorry for the hijack, but which of her dvds do you like? I just got one that I think is called Daily Energy Yoga Flow. I've only done the Fire and Earth segments. I liked it generally, but there were lots of asanas I wasn't familar with, even though I have a fairly advanced studio practice.

To answer the OP's question, though. I've had pretty good luck using fitness DVDs at home. I worked out all through law school with a handful of Kathy Smith step aerobics videos and used Gilad's as well. He's a little cheesy, but I actually like his routines. You might tool around Amazon and see if anything jumps out at you. You can usually pick used DVDs up for a fraction of retail. Winter is a good time to work on core strength, so Pilates and yoga are great in that regard.

[Owlie]

Duh, handwarmers! I'll see about getting some, so I can go for walks or short bike rides (when I'm back home). Now, where do I find them?
Great idea on the jump rope. I have plenty of ceiling clearance, and I have time to do it while the people upstairs aren't home! I'll also check to see what the library has in terms of DVDs. I found cheap yoga mats and weights at TJ Maxx last year, so I can check there for some things.

I have DDR and WiiFit to change things up a bit back home, and I'll see about getting a DDR pad for DBF's Playstation.

Keep them coming! Even if they don't work for me, they might work for someone else.

[GLC1968]

Goodwill and Salvation Army stores (and yard sales) are great places to find used weights/mats/steps and fitness DVD's.

A REALLY great resourse for fitness DVD's is Collage Video. They have good prices, good shipping and excellent customer service. More importantly, they have excellent detailed reviews and previews of all their workouts, so it's a great place to do some research even if you buy elsewhere.

I was super fit before I bought my first road bike from using predominantly home workouts. There are some amazing workouts out there!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Brisk walks can keep you pretty warm. (Tip: real wool helps, you can get some cheap in thrift shops too.)

i do fitness walks, snowshoeing, ....and I go to contra dances in my area for an incredible 3 hour workout twice a month, complete with lots of laughing and fun!
Here's what contra dancing looks like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9L0dz3qmsc
One 3 hour dance actually gives me a much bigger workout than a 50 mile bike ride!

[NbyNW]

The in-laws gave me a giant pack of handwarmers and footwarmers for Christmas last year, from LLBean. I still haven't used them all!

I think Costco carries them as well.

[bluebug32]

I'm avoiding the gym this winter too, but still want to do yoga/pilates. I was surprised by how many yoga workouts my Direct TV has. I did a search for yoga and then programmed a few to record. Now I've found one that gives me just what I'm looking for.

[Becky]

My county's recreation program has yoga and pilates workouts- no gym membership required! The facilities aren't fancy, but the instructors have been really good and, at $6 per class, it's a bargain!

Might be worth looking around in your area...

[NbyNW]

Just had another thought: our dog keeps me pretty active year round. Especially on days when I don't wanna get out of bed.

[Zen]

Indeed.No excuses there. Once you get out and going it's not bad at all as long as you're well dressed.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Like they say- there is no bad weather....only bad clothes.