When the weather starts to turn cold, exercise takes a backseat to snuggling up with family and indulging in indoor activities like games and movies. If you’re at a loss for how you and your family can stay active during the cold weather, here are a few easy ideas to get some winter exercise.

Indoor Swimming Classes for Kids

The winter is actually a great time for kids to begin swim lessons or brush up on swim basics they might have learned over the summer. Indoor swimming is a cardio-intense workout that kids won’t think of as exercise, and building early swim skills could someday save your child’s life. If you live in Houston, Swim Jim offers swimming classes in your area all year long.

Online Workouts for Adults

Online workouts are catching on in a big way. There are plenty of new websites popping up dedicated to providing free online workout routines in fitness areas like Pilates and kickboxing, which can be followed at your own pace.

Family Yoga

Yoga is a great indoor exercise activity for the whole family. Many yoga studios and instructors now offer family yoga classes, and simple stretching and flexibility poses are generally easy and engaging enough for children to enjoy along with their parents.

Ice Skating for the Whole Family

Embrace the winter weather with indoor ice skating. Ice skating classes are a fun weekly way for kids to burn off some of that pent-up energy, or you could make a special weekend day of it with the whole family. The bonus to family ice skating is that your kids will get a kick out of watching you fall.

Fitness Programs on DVD

With a few small accessories such as a weight set and exercise ball, you can achieve gym-quality results from the comfort of your living room. Exercise DVDs for kids are engaging and interactive, frequently incorporating basic building blocks of learning and music into easy fitness routines.

Interactive Video Games

No parent wants to see their kid spacing out in front of a video game screen for hours, but interactive game sets are actually a constructive way to get the whole family laughing and playing together. Check out dance games in particular for a hilarious way to get healthy.

 

While winter can be a great time for cozy hibernation, it’s also important to maintain a consistent level of healthy physical activity. Staying active through the colder weather will help your family maintain a healthy immunity during flu season, fight winter depression and stave off holiday weight gain.