The Best Exercises to Prevent Winter Weight Gain

Who hasn't struggled with keeping off the excess pounds and used the excuse, but it's Winter - I always gain a little weight! We have some exercises to help you prevent winter weight gain for good.

Is it that time of the year again? The air becomes cool, motivating you to work out less, and there’s plenty of food around to make anyone fat. Leftover Halloween candy, Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas cookies… it’s enough to drive anyone insane.

Gaining weight when it’s cold isn’t uncommon whatsoever, but that doesn’t mean you have to succumb to it. As long as you control your eating and incorporate these workouts, you should keep the fat off, all while burning more fat as well.

1. Total Body Circuits Using Weight

If people want to increase their muscle mass, they typically concentrate on one body part per day. At the gym, it’s always ab day, leg day, arm day, chest day, and so on. That’s fine, and doing that can help to burn fat too. But if your goal is to burn fat, not gain muscle, you may want incorporate some total body circuits into your routine.

They switch up your body parts, so that your body doesn’t become used to workouts. By keeping your body guessing, this makes it burn more calories and fat. You’ll maintain the toned look as well.

Ellipticals and rowing machines can play a part in this total body regime - don't forget to check this site out for the latest elliptical guides and information!

2. Jumping Rope

Ah, jumping rope. It’s the staple of playground fun. But these workouts won’t give you childhood nostalgia. If you jump rope for too long, you’ll be worn out in just minutes. It’s a great exercise to take care of your entire body, and all you need is a jump rope. But you need practice.

A good idea is to start by jumping rope a minute, then allowing a one minute rest. As you go on, you can build up the amount of times you’re spend jumping rope. You can jump rope for two ten minute intervals, with one minute of rest in between. Get to that stage and you are going well - trust me!

3. HIIT

Short for High-Intensity Interval Training, this is one of the best ways to lose fat in the shortest amount of time. To do this, you need to exercise for a short period but with a high intensity, your rests being short. You can do this anywhere as well. The gym, on elliptical machines, or when you’re running. This way, you have no excuse. I've got an article all about HIIT.

4. Walking with an Incline

Walking can burn fat, can be done by almost anyone, and you can do it indoors or outdoors. If you want to maximize its benefits, however, you need to walk up an incline. Find the steepest hill you can walk up, some stairs, or something with a slope. If it’s too cold outside, try a treadmill. You can build up its incline gradually until you’re burning those calories like crazy.

5. Spinning

What’s spinning? It’s a class that you can take, and not only is it intense, but it can be quite fun. It’s difficult to find an exercise that is fun that is also high-intensity, so this is a rarity. With spinning, you can manipulate your own resistance and speed. You don’t have to emulate what the instructor is doing if they’re not on your level. Your feet will ache the next day, and your legs will be sweat magnets, but it’s worth it.

6. CrossFit

You’ve probably heard about CrossFit, but what is it? It’s an exercise program that takes a selection of exercises and combines them all into one intense strength conditioning package. You can do cardio, strength, and even Olympic lifts, all giving your body the variety it needs. You’ll get more results this way than with any other program out there.

7. Rowing

Your best bet for winter rowing is obviously with the machines at the gym or home rowing machines, but they’re worth it. You burn way more calories an hour than if you run, spin, or use skipping rope! It uses your entire body, and at a much better intensity than walking. Yet it’s less stressful on your knees than running. A good way to get into rowing is to start slow and work at building it up from there. Hey - listen to music or watch TV while you exercise - it helps.

8. Swimming

If you don’t have an indoor pool around, it’s going to be difficult to do this in the winter unless you want to die from hypothermia, but if there’s a place with a warm indoor pool, this is the perfect exercise. Not only does it burn about 600 calories per hour, but it’s low impact and doesn’t harm your joints.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you’ll burn calories by lazing in the pool. You need to make sure that you swim in laps with little rest. Winter swimming can be a great way to unwind - and enjoy some heat!

9. Stairs

You can walk or jog up any flight of stairs to make this work. However, if your gym has a StairMaster, all the better. What is the StairMaster? It’s sort of like if an escalator and a treadmill had a baby. You continuously climb stairs in a never-ending loop. You also need to keep a steady pace. If you stand still for too long, it’ll drop you onto the floor, so beware.

10. Cardio Circuit

Just like you mix up certain exercises to gain more muscle, you can combine different cardio exercises to burn as much fat as possible. Basically, a cardio circuit is when you spend time on different cardio machines. Do a bit on the bike, then do a few minutes on the treadmill, and then finish it off with the elliptical machine. Do all these in the most effort possible, and you’ll be shedding the fat in no time.

Most of these exercises are stuff you do in the gym or outside. But if it’s too cold and you don’t want to pay for a gym membership, or just don’t like people, there are still exercises you can do in the comfort of your own home.

Planking

You’ve heard of this, more than likely. It’s the ultimate ab exercise, making crunches look like a joke. Basically, you hold yourself up on your forearms and toes and keep yourself there for as long as possible. The magic about planks is that you can do it anywhere, so there’s no excuse. Build up your planks to a minute, and soon you’ll be seeing some great results.

Squatting

Like planking you can do these anywhere, and you should perform them at least once a week. They’re a fantastic lower body workout that will shed the fat. Place your feet shoulder-width apart with your arms stretched out in front. Almost as though you’re sitting in a chair. Stand up, squeezing your butt to help out. This exercise will take care of your buttocks, quadriceps, and hamstrings, so you’ll be able to take out a few birds.

Walking

You can do this at home if you have a treadmill, or just do it outside - revolutionary I know! Even if it’s too cold, there are indoor places that are public where you can walk. Once again, walk for about 30 minutes, and do an incline if possible.

Bodyweight circuits

This is like the cardio circuits, but even more intense. These can be done without any equipment, and will burn your fat much faster than ordinary cardio alone. Do a variety of sit-ups, pushups, burpees, jumping jacks, and more. Combine them into a fast-paced marathon for about 20 minutes, and you’ll start seeing results.

These exercises will definitely help prevent winter weight gain, but you also need to remember that exercising is half the battle. Eat properly, exercise frequently, and you’ll be able to keep your body, or even get a new one. Don't let the winter be an excuse for letting yourself go - before you know it, the summer will be back and you'll be looking for that beach body!