Who says that the cold weather means you stay indoors? There is no reason why the winter can’t be a fun time for family just like the summer. Here are some ideas for having fun in the winter air.

1. Go sledding. The big hill could be in your back yard or somewhere else in the neighborhood. Grab the sleds and head for the top. Sledding is one thing that adults can do and still feel like a kid. Everyone loves the feeling of their heart in their throat as they go speeding off towards the bottom of the hill. Hardware stores sell out of sleds so get yours early.

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You’ve worked all year to get in shape. It could have been a New Year’s resolution that got you started. When winter hits, the weather gets cold and gloomy. Learn to ignore the gloom and doom and stay on track to better health.

During the warmer weather, it is easy to get physical activity. We work in the garden, go for walks in the evening, bike ride with the family, and spend lots of time outdoors. When someone wants to go, we jump up and go. There seems to be more energy in our steps.

The main motivation is looking good in great clothes. There’s nothing wrong with that. We all want to look our best for as long as we can. The by-product of looking good is that we can achieve great health benefits. Unfortunately, when winter rolls around, all we desire is to curl up on the couch in big sweaters and slippers. It’s not cute but it’s comfortable.

But, that big sweater gives us a false sense of security. We can’t see how much damage we could potentially be doing by eating and maintaining a sedentary lifestyle. It is okay to want to slack off a bit on the exercise but totally dropping things is a no-no.

Here are a few tips to help you stay motivated during the winter months. To start, set a regular time to work out and stick to it. You may not feel like meeting a friend at the gym for a class but you can pop in a DVD or VHS tape and sweat at home. Instead of cranking up the car and braving the cold, you stayed comfortable and worked out anyway.

Maybe the busyness of the holidays has you skipping workout sessions. Exercise is cumulative. Every little bit adds up. Fifteen minutes in the morning plus another fifteen minutes in the afternoon equals thirty minutes of physical activity that day.

Physical activity doesn’t have to be an hour of jumping up and down to a routine. It could be reading a magazine while walking on the treadmill. Dancing around the room, as you vacuum and clean, counts as exercise, also.

Talk to a friend or workout buddy even if you can’t get to the gym with them each day. Use the telephone to keep each other motivated. When the weather leads you to slouch on the couch, phone a friend and get a pep talk until you jump up on your feet and get going.

Listen—you’ve worked mighty hard all year. Why throw it all away during the season of frivolity and food? It won’t be easy to stay motivated, but friends can help. Stick to the routine as much as possible and you won’t feel the after effects of a long indulgent holiday season – you’ll be one step ahead when January rolls round too.

(ARA) — With the cost of everything so high these days, people are looking for ways to trim their budgets. Among the most obvious places to cut back, eliminating that morning cup of coffee, bringing a lunch from home instead of dining out and canceling those services you can really do without — like cable TV and that gym membership you don’t really use much anyway.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t stay active, however. Numerous studies have shown that regular exercise is a critical part of staying healthy. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), regular exercise helps people maintain a healthy weight and delay or prevent the onset of diabetes and heart problems.

Regular activity is so important, in fact, that the Federal Government recommends American adults get at least 30 minutes of exercise five times a week. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to head down to the gym, which can be more of a chore than a fun activity, not to mention expensive.

Here are some ideas for getting that 30 minute workout anytime, anyplace:

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For many, there’s nothing like a little outside pressure and accountability to motivate success. When you tell others, they’re likely to check in with you regularly to see how you’re doing and if you’re close to success. Here are a few groups of people you might want to tell your goals to, to motivate you to succeed:

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When winter hits, most people just want to bundle up, and stay inside with a cup of hot tea and, close the curtains and wait for spring. Who wants to go through the painstaking process of bundling up to go outside to get exercise? While dressing for winter can often be a workout in itself, it isn’t enough to stay healthy over the winter months. And, even if you manage to keep a healthy diet over the winter, it isn’t enough to maintain your overall health. Exercise needs to be a part of your lifestyle, no matter what time of year it is. So, what better time is there to join a gym, than when winter hits and tries to enforce months of hibernation?

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If you take a good look at kids today, you can see a very disturbing trend. Childhood obesity is becoming a huge problem in many countries, with a lot of children actually being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This used to be a disease that was only seen in older, overweight adults. It’s our responsibility as parents to watch our children’s weight, and encourage them to maintain a healthy body weight. It’s important to encourage them to exercise often, to not only help them lose the weight, but to be healthier overall as well.

Follow these tips to get your child up and exercising:

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Okay, so winter has hit, but you’re determined to keep fit and remain faithful to exercising. That’s great, but what if you can’t actually afford a gym membership, or all of the fancy, expensive home gym equipment? Should you just say, “Well, forget it! At least I was willing to try!”? I guess you could, but it really isn’t necessary. There are some great options out there that are available to those who want to keep exercising during the winter months, without having to take out a second mortgage on their homes.

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As if it isn’t enough that we need to exercise to stay healthy, did you know that exercising at home can actually be dangerous if not done properly? You won’t have a trainer watching and guiding you, and you’re on your own to figure out any equipment you may be using. Well, it doesn’t have to be dangerous, as long as you can follow some basic, simple rules which will allow you to have a safe, even enjoyable, exercise program in your own home.

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Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to afford all of that fancy equipment used in the gyms? Well, as nice as it sounds, it just isn’t an option for most people. And since exercise is so important, you need to find exercises that are effective and don’t require any equipment at all.

Now you have no more excuses! Here are 10 great exercises that you can do at home, without the need for any equipment:

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Everyone has started out on an exercise program full of excitement and determination, only to find the excitement start to fade after a few days. What started as something you were sure was going to change your life, has began to make your life a nightmare, trying to keep the enthusiasm at a high enough level to continue exercising. In order to stick to an exercise program, and make it work for you, you need to find a way to keep that original motivation. Here are some tips to help get you motivated, and encourage you to stay that way.

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