Don’t you just love the New Year? It’s full of new opportunities, new enthusiasm, and new commitments to change your life for the better.

One common goal around the New Year is to get healthier through exercise. If starting a new exercise routine is part of your self-improvement plan this year, here are seven tips to help make it easier.

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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.

Although the cold, winter months invoke wonderful thoughts of cozying up by a warm fire, and waiting for spring to come, our bodies would certainly not thank us. The other seasons make exercising seem simple, even fun, because you can get the exercise you need without even thinking about it. You can go for long walks, go swimming, play outside with the kids, rake leaves — you have so many more options when the weather is warm.

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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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Summer is the time to take part in all of the great outdoor activities that are available. You can go hiking, swimming, biking or just take a stroll around your neighborhood. It’s easy to get the exercise you need in the summer, often without planning it.
However, when winter comes, people tend to get out of shape. Who wants to go out and exercise when it’s cold? It’s so much easier to find excuses, and put off our exercise routines. When it’s cold outside, no one wants to work out outside, and if you don’t have a gym membership, you need some kind of exercise equipment at home, right?

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