BHealthy Blog

10 Indoor Alternative Workouts to Try This Winter

By Jeremy Ray, BS, CPT, Fitness Center Coordinator, Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock A slight change in the weather is no reason to abandon your workout routine. So once cold weather sets in, take your training session inside. We’ve rounded up our favorite calorie-busting indoor workouts to get you through the season. In addition, try a few fun alternative exercises to keep your muscles toned and increase your aerobic stamina. 

1. Basketball

 Basketball is a lot more than just an exciting game to play. It’s a great mind and full-body workout. You can play it at a moderate or strenuous intensity to gain strength, flexibility, and endurance.

2. Bowling

When trying to decide between seeing a movie and bowling, choose bowling! You will be using and building muscles, improving your balance and increasing your hand-to-eye coordination. So get out there, grab a few friends and burn some calories!

3. Dancing 

Whether you dance with your spouse or children, dancing keeps your body moving to burn extra calories and optimize healthy weight management. So take a dance class with your spouse, or have fun dancing at home with your kids to get exercise without feeling like you’re working out! There are a variety of apps and dance classes online, from ballet, salsa, and tap dancing to hip-hop.

4. Hula Hooping

This simple piece of equipment can boost the fun factor in your fitness routine and give you an excellent workout at the same time. Hula hooping is a great way to burn calories, improve balance, strengthen core muscles, and boost cardiovascular fitness. It’s inexpensive, easy to start, and you can do it anywhere.

5. Indoor Rock Climbing 

Indoor climbing and bouldering make for a fun workout – you’ll feel your legs, core, upper body and forearms working hard. It’s an excellent all-body alternative workout. A few hours can zip by; before you know it, your body is filled with a happy ache of a top activity.

6. Mall Walking

Mall walking is a form of exercise in which people walk or jog through the long corridors of shopping malls.  This activity eliminates the common excuses for not exercising due to the weather, safety, and lack of walking companions. 

7. Martial Arts (Taekwondo)

Martial arts are a full-body workout. Consistent practice increases mobility, improves your body’s pressure response, and increases muscle. Taekwondo is one of the best exercises as it works most of the main muscle groups and increases core body strength. The practice requires strong punches, hard kicks, and good breaks.

8. Roller Skating or Ice skating 

Roller Skating is an activity that doesn’t feel like a workout but can boost aerobic endurance and lower body strength. Skating works for nearly every muscle group in the body, and like any workout, skating is excellent for cardiovascular health – it increases blood pumping and heart rate. Consider ice skating if you want to embrace the winter workout theme. 

9. Stair climbing 

You’ll be hard-pressed to find a better workout that combines cardio and strength, is low-impact, and is challenging. As a result, you’ll raise your heart rate, burn fat, and engage your muscles more intensely than you would be treading on flat ground. 

10. Swimming

Swimming is a form of exercise that can benefit individuals of all ages. This full-body, low-impact exercise is also excellent for all body shapes and sizes. Swimming has numerous benefits, including reducing stress, improving strength, and supporting heart health.

Winter workouts can mean something other than spending hours in the gym or on the treadmill. Instead, incorporating alternative exercises will break up the monotony and keep you motivated. So find the workout that suits you best, gather the necessary equipment, and get ready to sweat through the winter season.