Winter days and cooler temperatures are in sight and that means bundling up and more time spent indoors. But while staying cozy inside and watching your favorite holiday films is good for the soul, you need to make sure you’re staying active. In fact, regular exercise has been shown to help control your weight, reduce your risk of heart disease, and strengthen your bones and muscles.

With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping folks inside more often and away from the gyms, there are plenty of tips on how to get in or keep in shape while staying warm and healthy indoors.

Here are our tips for staying active in the coming months.

1. Build an exercise plan.
There is no single type of exercise that can take care of all your needs. In fact, to get the most benefits from your routine, you want a mix of activities during the course of a week. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services urge all adults to include the following types of exercise in their weekly routines:

• 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise per week (for example, 30 minutes on each of five days)
  or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity (or an equivalent mix of the two).
• two or more strength training sessions per week, with at least 48 hours in between to allow muscles
  to recover.
• balance exercises for older adults at risk for falls.

As you progress with your exercises, your plan changes. Be ready to up and enhance your exercises as your body becomes stronger.

2. Make the time.
Despite the pandemic, we’re all busy, some busier than before the virus, and because of our busy schedules, we need to adjust and make time for exercise. To get into the groove of exercise, find an available time that works on a regular basis — it could be 30 minutes every Monday and Friday and one hour on Sundays. What’s great about an at-home workout plan? You make the schedule! However, understand that life happens and schedules may have to be adjusted. Give yourself a pass every now and then, but don’t forget to get back into the swing of things!

3. Find the right fitness workout that works for you.
With YouTube and a dozen other streaming services, there’s a workout plan that was created for just about everyone’s schedule, body type, goals, etc. With a simple search, you can be following along to a workout in the comfort of your own living room.

Also, with the COVID-19 pandemic, many exercise classes have turned to hosting live Zoom workout classes for the safety of clients and teachers. Check with a local studio or class to see if video classes are being offered.

If you need motivation from others, try hosting a Zoom workout event on your own with friends and family — perhaps, it’ll become a weekly event!

4. Celebrate small wins.
Getting into the routine of exercising can be difficult. It’s even more difficult in the wintertime in the midst of a pandemic! Be sure to show yourself some love and celebrate yourself after a tough workout. The workout may have been tough, but you know it’s worth it in the long haul. Keep going.

This year has certainly been a tough one. And with the cooler months blowing through it can be both mentally and physically difficult to start or continue an active lifestyle. We hope these tips can help you on your health journey!