Winter workouts

Our long and cold Canadian winters present certain challenges to my workout routine. On most days, biking is not feasible, either due to intense cold, or snow/ice/slush covered roads. Being that I'm sort of stuck indoors for most of my exercise routine, I vary my weekly workout format to include more strength and endurance training, increasing those type of workouts from 2-3 times per week to at least 4 times per week.

Cardio workouts take a back seat in winter for me, though I still use my indoor recumbent bike at least twice a week. Walking can be a good option for those that prefer something more moderate, a good pair of boots and warm jackets is plenty more than enough for most winter days.

As I do a fair bit of ice fishing, spending time outdoors at least once a week, while drilling ice holes and hauling gear around on frozen lakes and rivers by foot, does give a bit of additional cardio training.

One of the added benefits of cold weather is the ability to stay cool enough to push an indoor workout to the next level. While certain routines may have me sweating buckets in an air conditioned room in the summer, during the winter, a fully opened window will often drop the indoor temperature to where it's cold enough to see my breath, thereby allowing me to keep pushing with more intensity.

For those that enjoy fitness training in the great outdoors, various activities such as snowshoeing, cross country skiing and ice skating can make for easy and enjoyable winter workouts.