Winter Walking and Home Workouts: Wellness in Winter

We know it’s hard to maintain your healthy habits on those cold, short winter days. But, it’s not impossible. In our Wellness in Winter series you can hear directly from healthcare and fitness professional GoGetFit users on what they do to stay active year round.

In the first piece of the series, we talked to Emily Jones, a clinical assistant at the Healthy Heart Institute in Red Deer.

Okay, before we get to the cold stuff, what are some of your favourite summer activities? 

I actually love to run outside, bike ride - I do lots of long distance rides - and hiking! I only do that in the summer usually; winter’s a bit too much. And also tennis, which I just picked up a couple years ago. I guess this was my second summer playing tennis. It's much harder than it looks!

And what do you do when the weather changes and it gets more difficult to do your summer activities?

I definitely still continue to bundle up, walk the dog, or just go for a walk with myself through the trails that I would walk through even in the summertime. And I like to skate if it’s not too cold! If it's windy, like -30, then I do a lot of home workouts to get my heart rate up. At the end of my bed I just put a yoga mat out and I'll do weights or HIIT workouts for a high-intensity 30 minutes or so to really get the heart pumping. And, I try to increase the intensity of home activities, too. So if I'm doing laundry, I try to go up and down the stairs extra quickly with my baskets and such. 

What do you like about home workouts?

Rather than freezing during the drive to the gym and then rushing back home after and getting changed for work, it’s much easier to just roll out of bed and get right to it at home. Every way that you can make it easier for yourself increases the chances that you’ll stick to it! Getting accountability and support from friends is great, too. I often do HIITs with my friend Jasmyn and we really help each other stay consistent.

So how do you get mentally and physically prepare yourself for these activities when it's cold outside?

I definitely bundle up so that I’m not regretting it after 15 minutes. I make sure my hair’s tucked up in a toque, my gloves and scarf are on, and I’m wearing two or three pairs of socks. The more bundled I am, the more I enjoy it! Oh, and always music or a podcast. Listening to something keeps you going a little longer. I actually just got into podcasts recently.  

What's your favorite podcast right now?

I'm listening to The High 5 Habit by Mel Robbins, she's great! It’s all about being a little more supporting of yourself. You know, when you get a high five from a teammate playing soccer or another sport, it gives you a boost of encouragement and you feel good. Mel talks about the importance of doing that for yourself. She says, for example, give yourself a high five in the mirror first thing in the morning when you wake up. So I've kind of been getting into that! I’m only a quarter way through the podcast now, but it's interesting what it does for you. 

That is a really upbeat way to start your day!

It is! You worry so much about other people and what you can do to help them, but a lot of the time that means putting yourself on the backburner. So it’s important to think about your needs, like what you can do for yourself, how you can motivate yourself and so on. 

What advice would you give to someone who's trying to be more active during the winter?

Don't be discouraged and buy the right equipment - make sure you're warm. If you're cold all the time, it's kind of hard to be excited about going out! And then if you do find it too cold, just do something indoors in the comfort of your home or at a gym or wherever you go for a class, like yoga. You'll find that your body feels so nice and warm after. 

And what do you like about using GoGetFit?

I like how it holds you accountable. You can plan ahead; you can put all your days in, saying I want to do 30 minutes here, this 45-minute activity here. Then when you start your week and it’s already super busy you’re not forgetting that you have this scheduled in. It’ll just pop up asking, “Are you ready to go? Do you have your shoes ready?” The accountability is definitely a big motivator. And I’m also a big list person, so being able to check off that you completed an activity and that you felt good and worked hard makes you feel pretty great!

How often do you say, on average, you're able to get your activity in in a week?

I'm pretty good with at least three activities a week that I've really solidified in the last little while. It’s kind of perfect because I work full time and am doing some upgrading for school. But, as I move forward, I definitely want to increase that number; being active just makes me feel so much better. And I definitely prefer moving in the mornings!

Do you have any major motivators or inspirations for maintaining an active lifestyle?

My grandpa is definitely my biggest inspiration to be active. At 65, he still walks his dog every single day rain, snow, or shine. I introduced him to GoGetFit because he’s so active but still beats himself up about not doing more. He’s always saying, “I need to lift weights more, I need to do this, or I only did 30 minutes of weights and 30 minutes of cardio.” Meanwhile I’m thinking, “That’s awesome! You need to log it!” If you know a 65-year-old man can walk that much and be that active, especially for his dog, it really motivates you to get out there, get your heart rate up, and do your activity.  

Anything else you'd like to share about your activities and adventures?

Physical activity doesn't have to be this intense, scary thing. It's fun. And the more you do it, the more you're going to thank yourself when you get older. You hopefully won’t have as many aches and pains and issues because you've started creating healthy habits early on. That's my biggest thing, really. It's important to do this now while I'm in my 20s because it makes me feel better, it clears my mind, and it also encourages the people around me to get started. Everybody has stressful times in life. Things get difficult sometimes. So you might not always be able to get your walk in every single day. But, to know that the next day you can go for a walk and breathe it out and that everything will be okay, it helps you get through things. You’ve got to look after yourself!