I’m envious of my friends who live in climates vastly different from mine. Not long ago I saw a photo of a vegetable garden in full bloom. Help yourself to extra greens was the caption.
My garden is still an expanse of white, with almost four feet of snow.
See? Not a green leaf in sight.
But one can dream. I like fitness that has a purpose or that’s fun. Gardening is purposeful — raking, digging, toting, watering etc. I’m looking forward to doing more this year.
Shoveling snow is purposeful — snow removal is essential to leaving the house — but it is not fun.
Weight training is fun. It’s an opportunity to lift heavy things and put them down again. Swimming is fun. It is a form of meditation and puts me in a good mood.
Walking is also fun. It’s something you can do by yourself, or together with a friend. You don’t need any special equipment, as a pair of sturdy shoes will do.
You can add walking into everything: use the stairs instead of the elevator, walk to work or the grocery store, park your car four lanes further away from the door, etc.
Theorist BJ Fogg suggests making new habits stick by attaching them to parts of your existing routine. For example, if you need to stretch more, add a set of stretches while you brush your teeth.
I’ve played around with Fogg’s approach. I programmed my Fitbit to give me an alert every hour at ten minutes to the hour. It’s my cue to stand and stretch so I’m not sitting for three hours straight writing.
Running down two flights of stairs to get tea counts. So does making my bed ( have you ever wrestled with a king size wool duvet? It’s a workout!). Or sorting laundry.
The point is to add extra movement where you can. Our lives are busier now. Finding a full hour to hit the gym can be daunting. When you add in the prep and post tidy, it can feel like more time than you can realistically commit.
Winter can be grim, but it doesn’t mean you have to stop moving. Finding or creating small pockets of activity that are fun and physical throughout your day can help ease the grimness and benefit your physical well being. Spring will get sprung soon in my world, and I’ll be ready!
