Just because you might have to stay inside due to the cold or pandemic-related restrictions doesn’t mean that you can’t stay active. There are actually many exercise and activity options to help you get moving this winter. Here are five ideas for indoor exercises or activities that can benefit your health. As always, check with your health provider before embarking on any new exercises, especially if you have chronic health conditions like diabetes or heart disease.
1. Walk Indoors
When you walk outdoors, you can socialize and check out the scenery. However, outdoors walking is also subject to the weather, and maybe there are times when you just don’t feel like taking the same walking route. You need to get creative with your indoor exercises and sometimes that means bringing the outside in.
It may sound funny, but you can still get a workout by walking indoors. Put on a favorite show, and walk while you watch! Make sure to wear your sneakers and keep up a moderate pace. For a challenge, use two-minute intervals to pick up the pace every five to ten minutes. Use an activity tracker to help monitor your steps. Stretch for a few minutes after your walk.
2. Explore On-Demand Exercise Videos
If you have YouTube, then you have access to literally thousands of choices for indoor exercises this winter right at your fingertips! From yoga to cardio to dance and lots more, YouTube offers many free options. Some potential videos to check out: Great 20 Minute Workout for Seniors and Beginners (see below), Senior Gold Dance Fitness Aerobics, and Yoga for Seniors. If you like a particular video made by someone, you can always subscribe to their channel so you know when they’ve released new videos.
3. Practice Balance
Balance exercises go a long way toward helping you to avoid falls which is why they make our list of indoor exercises for winter. That’s important because one in four Americans over age 65 fall each year, according to the National Council on Aging. In fact, falls are the number-one cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries among those over age 65. You may not always think about doing balance exercises because we hear so much about cardio workouts and other types of exercise. However, tai chi, yoga, and even dancing all can help improve your balance. Here’s a video from the Mayo Clinic that demonstrates balance exercises. Although you may eventually want to do balance exercises in person with an instructor, you can at least get started at home.
4. Try Chair Yoga Indoor Exercises
You’ve likely heard about yoga’s many benefits: It can improve your breathing, balance, and strength and put you in a calmer state. Yoga isn’t limited to those who are the most flexible. If you have limited mobility, you can still do chair yoga and enjoy yoga’s benefits. Here’s a 10-minute chair yoga flow video from AARP. There are even videos on doing yoga in bed!
5. Learn How to Breathe Better
Breathing is so basic, we take it for granted. In these days of anxiety and stress over the pandemic and political turmoil, you may find yourself breathing a lot more shallowly than you think. Learning how to breathe properly has so many benefits for your health and while it might not feel like something that should be on a list of indoor exercises, it is incredibly important. It can lessen anxiety, reduce pain, and improve digestion. Breathing exercises also could benefit those who have had COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University. Deep breathing techniques are often part of yoga classes, but there also are videos online that focus specifically on breathing.
Bonus!
While you may be feeling a bit trapped over the winter, hence why you’re on the prowl for indoor exercises, don’t forget that Spring is right around the corner! There are always great things to look forward to and we recommend you take a peek at these ways to stay healthy in the Spring because the flowers will be blooming before you know it!
