Get Motivated and Fit — Indoors — This Winter

Has your motivation to move gone the way of the summer sun? Before you swap your outdoor exercise routine for winter hibernation, consider this: In addition to the health benefits exercise offers, research shows that physical activity helps improve mood, reduce anxiety, and may work to keep depression from returning. How’s that for beating the winter blues?

Citing a number of studies, including a 1990 meta-analysis of 80 studies on exercise and depression, the American Psychological Association says exercise — aerobic and anaerobic — “is an effective, cost-effective treatment for depression and may help in the treatment of other mental disorders.”

With the colder months upon us, conjuring up the motivation to exercise outside in the elements can be difficult. But there are many ways to work at staying fit indoors — and they don’t have to involve expensive gym memberships. Consider the following suggestions and maintain a year-round exercise routine. It will help you lose weight, stay healthier and more energetic, and sleep and feel better. And you never have to leave the warmth of your living room.

Make room. While you don’t need your own gym, you do need room to move freely and stretch without hitting walls and furniture. Clear temporary space by moving furniture to one side of the room, or set up a corner of a room where you can keep a mat and a few free weights.

Exercise to the tube. Like to multi-task? Get caught up with the day’s events and burn some calories at the same time. March in place or use resistance bands while watching the news on TV. Some people complain that they don’t have the time to work out, but experts argue that if you have time to watch television, you have time to exercise.

Clean the house. Housework and other nesting chores can be strenuous. Think about the energy needed to scrub floors, carry groceries upstairs, and change bed linens. A 150-pound person burns 238 calories an hour mopping and vacuuming, and 272 calories an hour sweeping the garage. Gauge how many calories you burn doing such activities by using any of the calorie burning calculators available online.

Invest in free weights. Strength training with free weights or resistance bands boosts metabolism by building lean muscle, and muscle burns up to 50 calories per pound each day. Strength training also helps build and strengthen bone, reducing risk of fractures. Be sure to include an exercise for each major muscle group, including abdominals, calves, chest, back, thighs, shoulders, and arms.

Go virtual. Borrow your child or grandchild’s Wii video game console and play a virtual sport with a buddy. (Unlike many video games, Wii videos require actual movement by participants.) You also can search your local library’s collection for an exercise DVD that appeals to you, or go to YouTube.com for a workout video to get physical with.

Be active at work. The U.S. Surgeon General’s Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans call for 150 minutes per week of moderately intense activity like brisk walking. Increments of at least 10 minutes of exercise count toward that goal, the guidelines say. To help achieve this, make small changes in your daily routine at work such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking to a colleague’s office instead of sending an email, and using the restroom farthest away from your desk. Also, consider getting a headset so you can pace while you’re on the phone. Spending too much time on your derrière? Sitting on a well-inflated fitness ball will help tone and strengthen your core.

Mix it up. If you want to stay motivated in your commitment to exercise, be sure to vary your routine in the beginning. That’s the advice from Jordan Etkin, a personal trainer and Ph.D. candidate at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, who conducted a study with her advisor on motivation and exercise habits. She found that variation in routine helped participants because it gave them distinct ways to pursue their goals. As they neared their objectives, like losing 25 pounds, they zeroed in on fewer routines and weight-loss products they felt were more likely to help them be successful. The study, "The Dynamic Impact of Variety among Means on Motivation," will be published in the Journal of Consumer Research in April.