Fun Winter Exercises to Lose Weight

It's easy to feel motivated to stay in shape during warmer months when swimming, roller blading, hiking, and skimpy clothes can keep you on track. But the winter season tends to bring cravings for carbs, sweets, and high calorie food. In part, it's a biological reaction to want to gain a few pounds when it's cold out and protect ourselves against the elements. But the reality is we're embarking on an uphill battle against the bulge.

If you want to fit into your new jeans or bathing suit by spring, you better start looking for winter exercises to get a jump-start on shedding the pounds. If you live in a warm weather state, this shouldn't be too difficult. But for those of us who are sitting in 10 inches of snow and watching football with a pack of beer, you might need a boost.

Start by getting innovative and incorporate unique exercises into everyday activities. It will make it harder to procrastinate getting fit and easier to make a habit. You can focus on muscle strength, cardio, or flexibility and identify resources that can help meet your goals. But before you start, don't make losing weight the goal, make getting in shape, having more energy, your clothes fitting better, or improving your health the real goal. They'll keep you more motivated than a number on the scale.

5 Fun Winter Exercises

1) If you're a football fan, rally your friends and commit to doing push-ups or jumping jacks every time your team drops the ball, misses an opportunity for a tackle, or gets a flag. To keep your heart rate up, commit to doing the same exercises every time the opposing team scores.

2) Planning to drink beer and watch some movies to wait out the cold? Make yourself work for it first. Collect all the beer you're planning to drink and put it in a bag with a handle. Start doing curls and dead lifts with the bag, alternating each hand. Keep it up for at least 30 minutes. Don't forget to switch to light beer to increase your end-results.

3) Want to get paid to workout? If you're suffering through the economy like the rest of us, turn your exercise goals into cash. Ask a few neighbors if they'd like their driveways or sidewalks shoveled at a fee. But to keep yourself motivated, have them sign a contract from now until spring that states you will shovel if it snows more than 3 inches. If you're charging $20 to $25 per client and can shovel one driveway in an hour and a half, you could easily sign-up 3 or 4 clients and make up to $100 a day.

4) The kids won't mind getting fit if you promise some winter sledding after a fresh snowfall. Pick a location that will require an uphill climb and make a race out of it with your family. Whoever reaches the top the most times that day gets to pick a movie that night. You'll be sore from snow hiking, running, and barreling over hills in a sled.

5) Don't forget you can burn calories ice-skating without even realizing you're doing it. If you live in an especially cold area, you probably know of free ponds or lakes that offer skating after a deep freeze. Or you could sign-up for a season pass at a local skating rink. Commit to skating one hour a day, four times a week. If you're in a relationship, you're significant other might think it's a romantic way to spend an evening. And if you're looking for an extra workout, inquire about joining a local hockey league.

What's your favorite, unique way to get fit during winter months?