Exercising in winter – is always a big NO, and when it’s about going to the gym, that NO sounds even longer. Even though you are a fitness freak, winter for you means spending some extra time on the couch and the cozy blanket. You think this little cheat will not affect the calories you recently burnt in summer and fall… right?

In winter, you will not get the chance to show your well-toned abs, but that does not mean under your jacket you will be hiding the baby fat. That’s so unfair!

Well! Here lies a twist! No exercising definitely means putting on weight, but as it is winter, you will be fit and slim like before. Sounds unrealistic? Maybe! But the impacts of our winter activities which we enjoy in the snow parks are nothing less than your gym workout sessions. In fact, you will be able to burn even more calories with winter activities. Take a closer look and stop worrying about the burning calories during winter!

Top 8 Winter Workouts That Aren’t Exercise at All

Winter is the time to get cozy and warm under the blanket but it’s also the time to go out with friends and enjoy the chilling nature. We have the top winter workouts that are actually fun winter activities but offer the same results like the gym exercises. Let’s take a look.

Skiing

For those who love adventure and wait for winter, Skiing is probably their most preferred activity. Skiing up the hill requires much effort, to be more specific, Skiing is not less than a session of deadlift.

Skiing strengthens your hamstrings, quads and glutes. It is like a full-body exercise because to ski up the hill you will be using your arms and legs with much force. It will engage your triceps, shoulders, upper arms, and wrists as well as your lower body like thighs, shins, ankles and hill.

You will be able to get a toned structure in all your body parts. Apart from reducing stress from legs and other joints, uphill Skiing will help you to burn hundreds of calories even if you are not a professional.

For Skiing, you will have to bend your bodies in some angles, which can relieve you from the long-term pains. You will be able to stretch your oblique, hips, and thighs to a great extent, which will allow the muscles to grow. Along with this, your postures will be improved. After Skiing, you will have better stamina and energy level.

For Downhill Skiing, you will need balance, and it will be better for the beginners to skip this one. However, downhill Skiing is comparatively more effective in terms of exercise, and by doing this for one full hour, you can burn near about 500 calories.

In case you have any problem in your knees or hips, trying uphill Skiing will be good, but downhill Skiing can be a bit risky.

Ice-Skating

The position of Ice-Skating comes right after Skiing regarding winter workouts. You can’t deny that the Ice-Skaters have great glutes. When Skiing is a full-body exercise, Ice-Skating will tone your lower body, especially your hips. You will be able to understand the knees and shin are getting released from long term stress after Ice-Skating.

Ice-Skating is for those who do not want to take the risk of Skiing but still want light exercise during winter just because they don’t want to put on weight.

You will be able to burn 250 calories per hour by doing this even though you are not a professional. Also, Ice-Skating is as effective as 20 minutes of Leg Press.

Snowboarding

The previous two activities always have more participants due to their popularity. Also, these two need a little training too. In this case, you can do Snowboarding. For this, you will have to board down the mountain like a surfer. If you are a beginner, you will not have a great balance, so you will have to try on the least height for this.

The posture you have to maintain on the snowboard will shape up your hips and reduce the fat from your thighs.  Your lower body is highly active at the time of doing this, and your arms are used for balancing. The professionals will be able to burn nearly 300 calories by Snowboarding for an hour. Beginners who just learn the balance will burn 100-150 calories, which is equal to 100 squats and sit-ups.

Snowshoeing

If you do not want the high energetic workouts like Skiing and Ice-Skating, or Snowboarding, Snowshoeing is for you. Actually, it is very peaceful to walk in the snow, but it is not that easy because you will have to put a great effort at the time of pulling your foot from the snow. It will keep your knees and spine stronger, and your hip muscles (iliacus and psoas) will be well-built due to this.

In case you have fatty thighs, you will feel the pressure right after starting this. If you are obsessed with Leg Press, the results of Snowboarding will definitely satisfy you.

By doing this, you will be able to reduce 150-250 calories as a beginner in one hour. But if you feel that Snowshoeing for one hour is a bit difficult, you can adjust it to 30-40 minutes. You don’t need to force yourself to do these for 1 hour.

Sledding

Sounds childish? Maybe it is just a fun activity. But you may not know that it is good for your physique too. You will be amazed to know that the benefits of Sledding are almost equivalent to the benefits of a cardio workout as the oblique and arms create a great force at the time of trudging up and down the hill.

By this simple pull and push, you can actually tone your arms greatly. If slim and toned arms are your dreams and you have done enough pushups and planks, you can do Sledding as a variation during the winter. Shockingly, Sledding for just half an hour can burn up to 150-180 calories.

Trail Running

All these activities mentioned above will need some equipment, and if you are not adventurous, you will not have those. If this is a problem for you, you can try Trail Running. Running has uncountable benefits, and we all probably know that and running on the snow is even more effective because it requires more strength. You will get toned abs and stress-free oblique by Trail Running and that too without hundreds of squats and crunches. Also, it is equivalent to 45 minutes of walk on the treadmill.

Make sure your clothing and shoe are accurate; otherwise, you may have problems. Running on the snow for 30 minutes will help you to burn 200 calories. In case you have any breathing issues, you have to skip this.

Snowball Fight

It is very common to have a Snowball Fight in the nearest snow park, and we generally think that snowball fighting has the least relation to fitness.  But after knowing the benefits of this, you will love this fun activity.

The effort you put at the time of making the snowball is very effective for your arms. At the time of throwing the balls at the opponents, your arms get an excellent stretch. Any long pain will be reduced from the arms, and it is good for the shoulder blades too. In order to shape up your chest, it is a great workout.

Snowball fighting is considered as effective as doing the freehand exercises and pull-ups, which will reduce 100 calories per hour.

Shoveling Snow

Well, it may sound a bit odd, but yes, Shoveling will also help you to burn calories. If your arms are chubby, you will get visible results within one week. However, initially, you may have pain for a few days. But later, you will have the satisfaction of toning your arms and clearing up the path by this.

Shoveling is a great workout for your upper body which will shape up your arms, chest and shoulder. If you are shoveling with your friend, it will be a fun activity, but you will get almost similar results like lifting dumbbells for half an hour. You can burn up to 300 calories by doing this for one hour.

Do a Home Video/TV

The above-mentioned ones are the outdoor activities. But what about those who do not like to go or play outside? If going to the gym or enjoying outdoor activities in the snow is the biggest deal to you, you don’t need to feel bad. You must know that you can still manage your weight with multiple indoor activities.

This section is strictly for those who get breathing trouble in ice. On YouTube, you will get several workout videos. Alternatively, you can purchase the DVDs as well. You can select the type of workout as per your needs. You will be able to know how many counts of each exercise you will need to do from those videos.

You can select Zumba or Aerobics video too if you do not want the typical squats, sit-ups and planks. You may try different video on different days to get better results.  You can also arrange an inside class during winter and hire a specialist to guide you too. These are equally effective as your gym, but you have to maintain continuity.

Due to the benefits of Yoga, you can get a DVD of Yoga too so that you can stay flexible and energetic during winter. By doing this, you will be able to burn a few calories during winter. Also, you can take the help of Multigym near you for further assistance on indoor workout during winter.

Well, these are all the winter workouts, which will help you to remain healthy even if you are unwilling to go to the gym. Even hardcore fitness lovers feel a little bit of lethargy during winter because they want to spend some extra time relaxing on the couch. Well, that’s completely excusable because these exercises are equally effective as of your gym session.

However, if you consider the entire season of winter to skip a workout, you have to do the activities mentioned above daily. In case you feel that you are not able to control your weight and you are not able to do the activities regularly, it will be definitely better to practice indoor activities. Along with that, you will need to have a healthy diet for the winter. You definitely don’t want to be chubby again because of the temperature…right? So start the indoor or outdoor winter workouts.